One of the Nashville Predators’ three first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft is in a little better position thanks to the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers closed out their first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 30, winning Game 5 and taking the series 4-1. Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen finished with four points in the 6-3 win, helping Florida eliminate Tampa Bay in the first round for the third straight season.
Advertisement
With the Lightning officially out, their slot for the 2025 draft will be somewhere between No. 22 and No. 26.
But the Predators own that draft pick, thanks to the Tanner Jeannot trade on Feb. 26, 2023. The Predators traded Jeannot to the Lightning for five draft picks, including their 2025 first-round pick. After the playoffs conclude, Nashville will own Tampa Bay’s pick, which could be as high as No. 22, depending on how the rest of the playoffs unfold.
The Predators’ own first-round pick position will be determined on May 5, when the NHL holds the draft lottery. They have an 11.5% chance of winning the top pick and cannot fall lower than No. 5 in the lottery.
Nashville also owns the Vegas Golden Knights‘ first-round pick in the 2025 draft. That pick came courtesy of the San Jose Sharks, who traded it to Nashville as part of the Yaroslav Askarov deal. The Golden Knights lead their series 3-2 against the Minnesota Wild.
Advertisement
The Predators have 10 total picks in the 2025 NHL draft, including three in the first round; two in the second; and two in the sixth.
WOOD’S PATH: How rookie forward Matthew Wood can follow Filip Forsberg’s path to Nashville Predators
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: One of Predators’ 1st-round NHL draft picks improves thanks to Panthers