The Nashville Predators made it clear prior to the trade deadline that their intention was to win now. That was the approach for numerous teams, but the Predators put their future on the line by making deals near the deadline. The team dealt away their first-round pick for the 2015 Draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli.
Unfortunately, the Predators crashed out of the playoffs in the first round thanks to the Chicago Blackhawks and now the team is reflecting on their trade and wondering if it was the best move.
Via The Score, Predators GM David Poile discussed the deal and the fact Franson didn’t end up being the perfect fit he had hoped.
“Our defense was very good this year, and I think in the playoffs he played better than he did maybe sometimes in the regular season. It wasn’t a perfect fit to be very honest and – bottom line – it wasn’t like we didn’t know that before we made the trade, but we were hoping it would work probably a little bit better.”
That’s a pretty interesting quote to hear from a GM. You won’t hear a GM bluntly say they made a mistake, but Poile came awfully close. The Predators forced Franson into a role he wasn’t completely used to (he came from a team where he played a ton of minutes and was placed in a more limited, depth role and he wasn’t his best) and it didn’t improve the team as Poile hoped.
You also have to question why the team made the trade if they had their doubts prior to pulling the trigger. It sounds like they simple traded to make a trade and that’s usually a costly mistake. The Predators will be fine moving forward and teams have given up way more for much less (remember when the Capitals gifted Filip Forsberg to the Preds for Martin Erat and Michael Latta?), but this may be the perfect example of a time where it might be better to stand pat instead of forcing the situation.
