NHL Rumors: Nashville Predators Shopping Defenseman

According to Frank Seravalli, the Nashville Predators have made Mattias Ekholm available for trade.

This is a little bit of a surprising development, as the Predators just signed Ekholm to a four-year $25 million contract this offseason. It appeared that the Predators wanted to keep their defenseman around for the long run when this deal was made, but now things have changed on that front.

Teams looking for a second-pairing, left-shot defenseman will certainly be calling the Predators as we get closer to the deadline. It appears that Nashville may be ready to embrace a bit of a retooling period with this latest development. As a result, we could see other notable Nashville players be made available as we inch closer to this year’s trade deadline.

In 36 games this season, the 6-foot-4 defenseman has three goals to go along with 13 points. Although those offensive numbers are not dominant, his steady defensive play is what makes him most valuable.