1 of 6
John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images
The Predators are the biggest disappointment in the NHL. Actually, that is not even entirely fair. They are worse than a disappointment. They are simply the worst team in hockey through the first two months and have fallen flat on their faces after an all-in offseason that saw them invest huge money in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Juuse Saros.
On paper? And based on last year’s second-half run? They should be a Stanley Cup contender.
They are not even close to that, and general manager Barry Trotz has already made some threats at starting a rebuild as a result. Those threats might be somewhat empty because you are not going to throw away all of these multi-year contracts this quickly.
Still, some changes might be on the horizon.
He has already made a couple of trades, dealing Scott Wedgewood to the Colorado Avalanche for Justus Annunen and then sending Philip Tomasino to Pittsburgh for a mid-round draft pick.
Those are not really earth-shattering moves, however. They are not likely to get anybody’s attention.
What might get some attention is trading a more established veteran and somebody who has actually been a part of the team. Somebody like Nyquist.
Assuming the Predators continue on their current path and do not reverse course this season in the standings, Nyquist figures to be a trade deadline trade chip anyway given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent. Given his production throughout his career, there should still be teams that have an interest, especially a potential playoff team that needs some additional scoring depth (looking at you Tampa Bay, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs).