Predators open to further trades, under one condition.

The situation is not critical, but still problematic.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Predators open to further trades, under one condition.
NHL.com

It's been a pretty intense week in the NHL, with the Expansion draft and the regular draft taking place back to back. Some big trades were made during the period, but not many Earth shattering ones. However, the real action will take place on July 1st, when the UFA market will open. 

David Poile, Nashville's GM and Coach of the year, opened up about his intentions come July 1st.

"I think I touched base with just about everybody in two and a half days I've been here," Poile said. "There [may be framework] to generate some form of a trade, and we're only a few days away now from free agency and that's another avenue that we're going to look at. I think our team is still pretty good. We're down a man losing James Neal at the Expansion Draft, and if we can get a top-six forward, that would probably be my first choice."

Replacing Neal won't be that easy, him being almost a perfect mix of skills, leadership and vision. However, in order to acquire a quality forward, Poile will not touch his top 4 defenseman core. It's an absolute condition, and he's totally clear about it. 

"We've traded enough defensemen in my recent history," Poile said. "I think everybody would be pretty much on the same page that our defense drives our team and our core is as good as any in the League. We will not be touching our defense in the near future here."

There's also the Mike Fisher's decision that will be part of the problem. If Fisher decides to retire this summer, the Preds will be short two quality forwards and the UFA will cost a fair bit to replace them, 

Big headaches incoming for the leading GM! 


Source: NHL.com