Four Teams Interested in Mattias Ekholm Trade

The Nashville Predators are open for trades and one of the biggest names on their 'touchable' list is defenseman Mattias Ekholm. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers all have interest in Ekholm.

With only Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne on the Preds 'untouchable' list, it's shifted the focus to who is available as the team is struggling this season. Ekholm would provide any team with a steady top-4 defenseman who can perform on both sides of the puck. He's also under contract for this season and next, so his cap hit of $3.75 million is certainly attractive to other teams.

We've seen the likes of Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez get traded over the course of the past couple of seasons where they had a season and a half left on their deals and the return was substantial, with Ekholm that would also be the case.

So far this season, the currently injured Ekholm has recorded three assists in 12 games, along with 15 blocked shots.

No guarantee that the Predators will move Mattias Ekholm, but in my weekend piece I examine four potential fits if Nashville begins its rebuild with a bang:https://t.co/I8ajk6agLr
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 20, 2021