We’re expecting a chaotic trade deadline this season. There’s already been big moves made and more are on the way.
For the Nashville Predators, I’d hope that they drown out the noise. The team is in funny spot; they’re in the midst of a division full of the league’s Stanley Cup contenders and its bottom feeders. The last thing they need is to hop on the ‘buy now’ or ‘sell hard’ train. Yes, I believe this team should still sell, but I do hope that it is a steady start and not ripping up the franchise’s foundations.
To pull off this move, we must focus on selling smaller, but valuable names rather than put the focus on moving bigger pieces. Here’s my argument for why.
Winning teams are willing to spend more for the right depth piece
We’ve seen time and time again contending teams overpay for a depth player around the deadline. The first instance that comes to mind is the Sean Walker trade in 2024. In case you forgot what happened, here’s how the trade went down:
To break this down, the Flyers got a first rounder and a former Preds centerman who was on LTIR and their contract didn’t take up as much salary. The Avalanche, who was a season out of a Stanley Cup win, gave away their first-round pick for a bottom-four defenseman.
Walker was playing nearly 20 minutes a night with Philadelphia, but that dropped to 18 when he joined Colorado. For comparison, Nick Perbix on Nashville plays more minutes (19:22) as a bottom-four defenseman. The Avs were willing to spend a ton of assets to ensure they got somebody reliable for their defensive core, even if he wasn’t going to be a top guy.
In the present day, the Avs are still spending big to potentially win big. They acquired Brett Kulak, a bottom-four defenseman, from the Penguins in exchange for Samuel Girard, arguably a better defenseman, and a draft pick. Trades like these can work, but a lot of the times they just benefit the selling squad.
Making a trade is a huge gamble, but winning squads are willing to take it. Why keep a first rounder pick with a good chance of using it to draft a prospect 2-3 years out of playing, when you can use it on acquiring a guy that can be crucial now? This is the current state of the game among contenders, and it works if played right.
For Nashville, they must consider this when entering the deadline week. It isn’t about how much you can give; it’s about how much the other team is willing to give you.
Big names carry big contracts, adding a roadblock in the deal
Feb 4, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
If we somehow found a way to grab the trade value of every player (excluding goalies) on the Predators roster just like it’s shown in the video games, I’d bet you it’ll be: Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, and Jonathan Marchessault in that order.
However, if we factor in contracts, it’ll look more like O’Reilly, Marchessault, Forsberg, Stamkos, and Josi. Having an expensive contract with a clause will not only lower your value, but also just make it harder to trade in the midst of a season.
It isn’t smart to juggle players or take on a lot of salary in the middle of the season when adding more players and signing extensions is still a need. This is why we see a lot of big names get traded over the offseason, when extensions are already signed and there is more cap space. It’s just better to take more risks when you’re given more time to see change and adapt.
Let’s just say we wanted to trade Stamkos. Realistically, we’d have to retain some salary and maybe take on some just to make the cap work for the other team. Considering that Stamkos’ contract is already expensive, that’s going to limit the amount of work the other team can do. This is why we would be given less in return; it’s only fair.
Now, if we waited for the offseason to make these big moves, maybe teams would be more lenient to pursue such deal. They can make some free agency signings and still be able to trade players. This gives them time to see if the deal they made works, and make changes if needed.
Shipping off good value depth pieces is a smart move
Teams are interested in pieces that will make a difference but won’t shake up the core. Take Michael Bunting for example. He’s a reliable piece and draws a ton of penalties; however, he isn’t a top six guy per se. He can be put in the bottom six and still but up enough impact to make a difference to the team.
Same applies for a guy like Michael McCarron. He’s a gritty power forward who’s got the skills of a true enforcer. He can lay hits, dodge them, and set up plays thanks to his height advantage. His contract is cheap which makes his value even higher. Some teams are interested into that type of player, potentially leading to an overpay.
The trade deadline isn’t until next Friday at 3 p.m. so we still got about a week to see some actions. GM Barry Trotz should start calling and listening to what other teams want and have available; it’s going to be a chaos, but promise is in the air for Nashville.