McKenzie expects a big move on the horizon from the Predators.

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile has never been a man afraid of making the big trade when he feels the opportunity is right. One need look no further than the blockbuster trade deal he made when he traded his captain, star defenseman Shea Weber, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for P.K. Subban. Every move has always been made with one goal in mind, to capture the Stanley Cup Championship as the world's very best hockey team, and it appears that this year will be no different. 

In a recent radio interview on TSN's 1290 radio in Winnipeg, TSN's National Hockey League insider Bob McKenzie made some very interesting comments regarding both Poile, the man himself, as well as the direction for his Nashville Predators as we head into the 2019 NHL trade deadline. 

“Because Nashville is even further down the road than Winnipeg - Nashville has been doing this for a year or two or three longer than the Jets - they got to the Stanley Cup Final. That whets their appetite even more to get back there. This is what keeps [general manager] David Poile up at night. David Poile, I think he’s the most experienced general manager – certainly the longest tenure with one team now that Lou Lamoriello has bounced around a little bit. But Lou and David are guys that have been around seemingly forever, relative to all of the other general managers in the National Hockey League,” McKenzie said.

After singing the praises of Poile however McKenzie touched on the fact that the Nashville Predators general manager remains a man with a singular focus in spite of all his vast experience at the NHL level.

“I know David real well, and I think the only reason David is still around is because he won’t retire until he wins a Stanley Cup. That’s what drives him, and as I said, that’s the thing that keeps him up at night, thinking, ‘How can I do this?’”

Although McKenzie did not touch on any specific trade possibilities when it comes to the Predators, at least not during this particular interview, there was no question that the insider expects Poile to make a significant move prior to the deadline in order to get his team to the next level. 

“They’ve got an opportunity here to do things not just this year. So it’s not so completely crazy our of your mind ‘Sacrifice all the elements of the future, do it for this year,’ but there’s an enormous drive –  I don’t want to say pressure, because it’s all self-imposed – I think there’s an enormous drive on the part of David Poile to do everything he possibly can to give this team a shot to win, and that moment is now.”

If McKenzie believes the "moment is now" than you can rest assured he has it on pretty good authority that the Predators are indeed cooking up a significant move ahead of the deadline, what that move may be however remains to be seen. The Predators could mortgage their future for a Stanley Cup ring this season, and after coming so close but failing to capture a championship in the past I would not be surprised to see David Poile push all of his chips onto the table.