Rumor: Trade may be the real reason behind consecutive healthy scratches for Kyle Turris.

Turris and the Predators may finally be headed for a split.

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Rumor: Trade may be the real reason behind consecutive healthy scratches for Kyle Turris.
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As of the time of this writing veteran Nashville Predators forward Kyle Turris is still saying all of the right things and doing his best to maintain appearances when in front of the cameras, but it now sounds like there may be much more here than meets the eye.

The Predators raised some eyebrows this week when they made Turris a healthy scratch for consecutive games in spite of the fact that he appeared to be showing signs of recapturing the form that once made him such a valuable asset to the organization. You will remember that it was Predators general manager David Poile who went out and traded for Turris, only to then sign him to a long term contract extension that would keep him in Nashville for the foreseeable future. Turris of course has not lived up to the expectations of that deal and as a result there have long been whispers of turmoil between him and the Predators organization, as well as a regular stream of rumors regarding what many feel will eventually be the inevitable trade out of Nashville for Turris. 

"I'm just trying to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities I get and go from there,” Turris said as per the Nashville Post when asked if he feels like he’s been put in a position to succeed this season.

"Obviously, it's very frustrating. But at the same time, I'm just going to work hard. I mean I want to be here. I want to win."

Turris was tasked with taking on a bigger role once again this season when Predators' forward Filip Forsberg was the victim of an injury, and it was during that time that Turris finally started to look like the players the Predators thought they were getting when they acquired him. However the return of Forsberg saw Turris once again demoted down to 4th line duties and that has since been followed up by multiple healthy scratches. As a result of that series of moves Predators reporter Casey Gower now believes a trade is highly likely.

From Gower:

Barring any internal reasons unbeknownst to the media — i.e. an undisclosed injury or the all-too-real possibility he’s a piece of a potential trade and the team is wanting to keep him healthy in the meantime — it’s puzzling trying to understand how 22-year-old Mathieu Olivier or struggling forwards such as Granlund (three goals, six points in 20 games), Craig Smith (two goals, six points in 20 games) or Austin Watson (three goals, six points in 20 games), give Nashville a better chance to win than a player who has the fifth-most goals on the team. This will definitely be a situation to monitor closely in the coming days. 

Turris had previously appeared in 19 games for the Predators this season, recording 4 goals and 5 assists for a total of 9 points and a plus minus rating of -2 to go along with it. Those numbers may be deceptive however as Turris kick off the season with four points in the team's first 6 games and then went off for a goal and 2 assists during a 3 game point streak when he was bumped up the lineup due to the aforementioned Forsberg injury. Turris numbers only dipped back down when he was relegated to duties on the team's 4th line, and his obvious frustrations with the current situation he finds himself in may have played a major factor in his more recent performances.

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