Predators forced into seller mode for trade deadline

The Nashville Predators announced earlier today that star forward Ryan Johansen will miss the rest of the season following a leg surgery last night.

In case you missed it, Johansen had his leg sliced open by a skate in Tuesday evening's win over the Vancouver Canucks. He left the game immediately and obviously did not return to action. 

Today's news all but confirms that Johansen's season is over, barring a long Stanley Cup Playoff run from the Preds. The thing is though... they're currently 5 points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and are losing ground every day. So, let's get real... Johansen's season is over.

Maybe more important though is the impact that Johansen's injury will have on the Preds' plans for the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. To me, this injury almost certainly ensures that the Preds will enter into 'seller's mode' for the deadline and means that GM David Poile will be looking to gain some assets and get a head start on his offseason.

The thing is... the Preds don't have any stereotypical rentals to ship out.

Cody Glass, Tanner Jeannot and Dante Fabbro are all pending free agents, but they're RFAs and all three of them likely factor into the team's plans moving forward. So... what can the Preds do? There have been rumors that defenseman Mattias Ekholm could be on the move, but he's signed long-term so that deal can go down any time and Poile needn't be rushed by the trade deadline.

Stay tuned. There's something here.