A lot of people were surprised to see that Nashville competed with Carolina as much as they did. I have to say, I was expecting Nashville to sneak in and take the series but alas, they fell short. However, they put up a good fight, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6. What hurt Nashville the most was not getting a win in games one or two. Every game after that was a one goal game, the last two in overtime. Had they managed to pick up a win to start the series it may have gone to seven and the Lightning could’ve been getting ready for a different match up for round 2. On top of that, Nashville's lack of offense was certainly concerning, especially in those first two games.
Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve’s aside, Nashville has been eliminated and you have to wonder if it was more of Carolina just being a good team or if Nashville just doesn't have what it takes anymore. The answer is somewhere in between, the Hurricanes have built a solid team in the last couple years, Rod Brind ‘Amour is a great coach and Alex Nedeljkovic had an outstanding showing in this postseason. Nashville on the other hand has a fair share of question marks, not to mention their best playoff runs may be behind them, having lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.
I have to say, I like Nashville, I thought they had a chance in this series. I've liked them a lot in years past, but the time for a rebuild might be now. David Poile, assuming he moves forward with Nashville as one of the league's longest running General Managers, will have a lot of work to do this off season. The first tough decision comes with Pekka Rinne whose contract expires at the end of this season. Pekka has been their guy for so long, he’s one of those guys you can’t picture on another team but at the same time, he deserves a cup as much as anyone. Will he look to chase a cup with a different team or will he settle for being Jusse Saros’ backup? Speaking of Jusse, he will also need another contract as he will be a restricted free agent come this off season.
Mikael Granlund, Erik Haula, Brad Richardson, Erik Gudbranson are among the key names of guys who will also become UFA’s this summer. I don’t really see the Preds looking to keep any of these guys around as they have plenty of RFA’s they need to give their attention to, including their goalie and two young studs Dante Fabbro and Eeli Tolvanen. All the more reason Poile should start thinking about a rebuild, Fabbro, Tolvanen and Saros are the pieces you want to build your team around right now, especially if Rinne is going to hit Free Agency, why not take this opportunity to create a new identity?
Mathias Ekholm is a name that has been floating around in trade rumors a lot this past year. He has one year left of his deal and you have to think Nashville will look to move him at some point before the next trade deadline barring any miracle run for next season. Filip Forsberg is another name that may be no stranger to trade discussions as he also only has a year left on his current deal. This is just the beginning when it comes to potential trade scenarios the Nashville Predators will have to consider.
Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen are two players with large cap hits and questionable futures. David Poile will be exploring options on moving one of, if not both of these names in the off season. Matt Duchene, who is two years older and signed for a year longer than Johansen, may be the odd man out. They may have to retain salary, and even then it may not be an easy move to pull off but it’s likely they will explore the idea. Take the Luke Kunin trade for example, it’s moves like that David Polie should consider moving forward, gaining younger players as well as draft picks.
Nevertheless, Nashville has a lot of tough decisions to make and they will be an extremely intriguing team to keep an eye on this off season. They land in the 18th overall spot for the 2021 entry draft, start by drafting a potential piece there and continue making moves that add pieces to the puzzle building toward their new future. They had a lot of great runs in the past but unfortunately a good chunk of that core has already moved on and with Pekka Rinne’s contract expiring, it appears the final glimpse of that team will fade this off season.
Chris Feldman
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