Heading into last week’s deadline, the Nashville Predators finally admitted it: This team is going nowhere.
Gone are the likes of Mattias Ekholm, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Tanner Jeannot. In return, Nashville welcomed an influx of draft picks and prospects as it looks to compete again in the future instead of trying to gear up for another, albeit unlikely, playoff push.
The Predators hitting the reset button comes on the heels of longtime general manager David Poile’s impending retirement and the ushering in of the Barry Trotz era in the front office. But the next era of Predators hockey also arrives after years of Nashville seemingly doing its best to be as mediocre as possible.