Alex Pitman
It seemed as though David Poile, Predators General Manager and the Nashville Predators, who greatly needed a shot in the arm, weren’t going to strike a deal at the deadline. The fanbase was growing eerie as Western Conference foes were making big moves. The Winnipeg Jets made 6 trades at the deadline that was headlined by big Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers. The 6’5” centerman will look to fill the void that Paul Stastny left when he signed with Vegas in the off-season. Speaking of Vegas, the Golden Knights probably made the biggest trade of the entire deadline by getting Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators. That deal especially hurt for Nashville because the Preds were reportedly working hard to get Stone in gold. Even Matt Duchene, who has been linked to Predators trade rumors for years now, wound up in Columbus. It wasn’t looking good for the central division leaders, but never count David Poile out. News broke about a rare 1-for-1 trade that brought Mikael Granlund to Nashville in exchange for Kevin Fiala. Poile wasn’t done working his magic, however, as he brought Wayne Simmonds in from Philadelphia at the last minute. Both players look to make a big impact on offense and on the power play, but the big question remains: Was it enough?
I’ll begin by breaking down the Mikael Granlund trade. Giving away a young, potential star in Kevin Fiala hurt, but the fact of the matter is, he wasn’t producing the way the team needed him to. I’m on the record for saying that Fiala will probably develop into big time scorer in the NHL because he’s full of potential and only in his second full season and had 48 points last season. Unfortunately, right now he’s struggling to find his game. He only has 32 points this season with a -11 +/- rating and he’s turned the puck over at an alarming rate. Now, I will say that he has been struck by a bit of bad puck luck, but the Preds are in win now mode and cannot wait for the young winger to find his true potential. That’s why David Poile pulled the trigger on Granlund, who has already found his potential. In 2016-17, Granlund tallied 69 points and the following season he racked up 67 points. Those numbers would’ve led the Predators in both seasons. He has 49 points so far this season which includes 18 power play points. He’s going to provide consistent scoring on the second line and hopefully spark the league’s worst power play. He has enough talent to even play on the first line if he needs to. Granlund’s ability to produce offense from either the center or wing position, his power play prowess, and the fact that he is under a reasonable contract for another season makes this trade a great one for the Preds.
Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers is a guy I said the Predators have needed to get for a couple of seasons now. He hasn’t been too impressive this season for the Flyers as he has only amassed 16 goals and 11 assists with a putrid -20 +/- rating. His numbers are a little skewed because of how bad the Flyers have been this season. The Predators are hoping those numbers will pick up once he is surrounded by better players. The biggest thing Simmonds brings to this team is size and toughness. Let’s be honest, in the playoffs last year, Winnipeg bullied the Preds roster. While the Preds aren’t lacking in skill, speed, and finesse, they needed to add a “tough” guy to the roster. Simmonds has made a name for himself in this league by constantly putting his body out on the line and making sure the other team literally feels his presence. The great thing about Simmonds is that he brings quite a bit of skill to his gritty style of play. Most people, myself included, thought that the trade for Brian Boyle a couple of weeks ago filled the Simmonds-sized hole. It defintiely doesn’t hurt to add another scoring bruiser, though, to your roster. Especially when all you gave up was Ryan Hartman and mid round pick. Fans loved Hartman, but he didn’t seem to fit in very well with the lineups anymore and throw in the fact that he was going to be a restricted free agent this summer and you can understand why he was shipped out. If Wayne Simmonds can get a second wind and play like he did just a few seasons ago then the Preds are going to be much better off.
What started out as a disappointing trade deadline, it ended up being a great day for the Nashville Predators. They might’ve missed out on some of the bigger names such as Stone or Duchene, but Poile worked his magic once again. He was able to add proven and quality scoring depth without sacrificing a first rounder or top prospects (Eeli Tolvanen, Dante Fabbro). These two acquisitions won’t solve all of Nashville’s problems, but they should help tremendously. For a team that was already at the top of the Central Division, these should be the types of moves that cement their status as favorites. Only time will tell if Granlund and Simmonds will be enough or not, but if the Preds are the last team standing then you can probably thank these two moves.