Nashville Predators' Best Trade Of The Past Year

Take your pick at the great deals the retooling Nashville Predators have made recently. In a year where they are still in contention for the final playoff spot, they have not only suffered a ton of key injuries, but also traded away some impactful players, setting the stage for Barry Trotz to take over as general manager in the offseason.

There are three trades to note even though it may seem fairly obvious what the Predator's best trade of the past year is. First came the shocking trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning that most would agree is their best trade, possibly ever. Tanner Jeannot was having a down sophomore season as the 25-year-old followed up his 24 goal, 41 point rookie season with five goals and 14 points in 56 games. He does have a cap hit of just $800,000 and is a RFA at the end of the season, but the Predators somehow got a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth round pick along with Cal Foote in return. Jeannot does have a style of play that is highly sought after in the postseason, but he has just one goal and four points in 18 games since the trade.

A trade that went under the radar if you don't know much about prospects is the acquisition of Isaac Ratcliffe from the Philadelphia Flyers for future considerations. Ratcliffe was having a troubling start to the season in the AHL for Philadelphia with just two goals and four points in 26 games, but since being acquired by Nashville, has three goals and 13 points in 15 games. He has 10 games of NHL experience from last season when he recorded one goal and four points.

The Predators then went on to trade away Mattias Ekholm and a sixth round pick for Tyson Barrie, former first rounder Reid Schaefer, a first and a fourth round pick. Just a few days later, the Predators got a second round pick for arguably an overpaid Mikael Granlund with two years left at $5 million AAV. With a number of young players able to step up this season with opportunities, Nashville did great in setting themselves up for the future. In terms of the best trade, it was moving on from Jeannot.