The Nashville Predators are in a unique spot in that they are competitive and going to make the playoffs this season, but have a great prospect pool and lots of cap space to work with this offseason.
There are contracts that are going to have to be dealt with and players the team will have to make a decision on, so this offseason is going to be a big one for the Predators one way or another.
There are a few ways the offseason can go for the Predators, but with Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg playing the way they are, a full on rebuild should be off the table. That being said, the Predators have had this great season with a lot of cap space to work with. The team even brought in Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier at full price and still have more than enough space this season. The offseason will open up even more cap room for Nashville to work with as they should have around $20 million to spend.
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Considering $20 million is just under 1/4 of the cap space each team has, there is a lot the Predators could do with that. A less attractive way to spend some of that is bring in a bad contract from a player that can still be effective in the NHL, but doesn't fit on the team trading him away. The Predators could upgrade the fourth line for next season and contenders are always looking to dump bad contracts. Unless the Predators go out and bring in 2-3 big free agents, their cap space won't fill up.
It's not exactly like the Predators need to go and bring in a contract that is being dumped. They have more than enough draft capital and strong prospects already. So speaking of that, the team has the assets to pull off a big offseason trade and potentially fill a hole for multiple years. Nashville has three first-round picks in the next two years and 15 picks in the first four rounds in the next two drafts as well. Package a couple of those together and potentially add in a prospect and the Predators could acquire someone very impactful.
Now we can't forget about what might happen with the goaltending. Kevin Lankinen is the only netminder without a contract next season between him, Juuse Saros, and Yaroslav Askarov. Whether Lankinen stays or goes, I don't think it's imperative to make a decision this offseason on Saros and Askarov. There is speculation that one might be moved, but running with them both for a number of years could be the best outcome if the Predators want to stay competitive and not have to get worse before getting better from this point.
The ample amount of cap space and tons of assets to work with this offseason will make for what hopes to be a big splash as Barry Trotz has already shown he's not afraid to put trust in the Predators and make moves to help the group now and in the future.
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