Are The Nashville Predators Preparing For a Big Move?

Before I start, I would like to point out that the following thoughts are merely conjecture and logical conclusions rather than reporting on any rumors or hearsay trade proposals.

You may have heard that just recently the Nashville Predators traded the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis along with a conditional 2011 draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers to reacquire Ryan Parent, a defenseman that the Preds originally drafted in 2005 and later traded for Peter Forsberg. The trade was obviously done to try and gain assets for a player that had no intention of re-upping with Nashville and thus not being a total loss for a team that almost traded him at the deadline. While this move is an interesting one for Philadelphia, it is even more telling for the Nashville Predators especially when considering the next deal Nashville made.

The Predators went on only hours later to trade team Captain Jason Arnott back to the New Jersey Devils for Matt Halischuk and a 2nd in 2011. The move freed up over 4.5 million dollars in cap space. Obviously a salary dump (although Halischuk fits into the Preds system quite well) but not because of supposed financial problems. The financial problems people say the Preds have, are in fact a fallacy. Why they may never spend up to the cap, the Preds have a solid ownership with actual money on hand and not a owner who is a crook (like the previous owner). Ownership might finally realize the benefits of going after a playoff series win.

For a team that specializes in drafting defense talent trading for another defenseman might be considered insurance. But for a team already bursting at the seams with defense prospects and full of NHL talent defenseman, it raises eyebrows. Nashville already has a top 2 that is as good as any in the league but for reasons as simple as playing in Nashville, are quite underrated. Weber and Suter are Nashville's premier duo and provide the team with a solid starting point. Francois Bouillon is an underrated veteran that provides solidarity behind them and just got resigned. Kevin Klein and Alexander Sulzer round out the 5 defenseman that Nashville has signed for next year and although both are relatively young they provide the team with two cheap youngsters who can be counted on with both combining for 184 games played.

Then the Predators have Dennis Grebeshkov (acquired at the deadline from Edmonton), Cody Franson (6 foot 4 behemoth who impressed in his first season with 21 points in 61 games and plus 15) and the aforementioned Ryan Parent. That's 8 NHL talent defenseman who all have experience in the league (which includes playoff experience for all of them). Now that doesn't even take into account the prospect system which boasts such players Jon Blum (NHL ready), 2009 first round draft pick Ryan Ellis and Roussell to name a few. With such a dearth of talented players, they have depth at defense that teams envy.

Now is where I get to the interesting part. It hardly seems logical that Nashville would keep 8 defenseman all year. It doesn't make sense for a team as cost conscious as the Preds. Could the Predators shop one of the NHLers along with one of the prospects and their 1st or 2nd round pick this year in an attempt to shore up their offense, something that has plagued them for so long?

A package like that could be quite tempting for teams looking for defense. A team like Anaheim, with only 5 defenseman signed and only one RFA, might be willing to part with Bobby Ryan (with their depth at forward and apparent contract problems between the two parties) in attempt to shore up their defense. Teams like Dallas or Columbus could come calling to Nashville looking for an offensive defenseman like Blum, Grebeshkov or Ellis and might offer players like James Neal or Jakub Voracek in return for the right package.

It only makes sense for Nashville to try and fix their offensive issues with the plethora of defenseman they now own. They tried last year to go after Phil Kessel only to be beat out by Toronto. It was even rumored they offered a larger package for him but didn't pull the trigger for fear of Brian Burke just offering Kessel an offer sheet and losing all those assets for just picks. Logically, it only makes sense they would make another play this year for an offensive start to headline for them. A team with the underrated defense headed by Weber and Suter, with the goaltending of Pekke Rinne and a star like Ryan as their go too forward, could do some serious damage and win their first playoff series ever next year. Just an astute observation for what is shaping up to be a very interesting NHL offseason.