Predators Rumors: Nashville Considering Trade Offers for Alexandre Carrier

The Nashville Predators are slipping out of the playoff race in the Western Conference and because of their latest tough stretch, the team has cancelled a long-awaited trip to The Sphere in Las Vegas to see U2. That's not the only thing going on in Smashville, turns out the Predators are active in trade talks as GM Barry Trotz is looking to re-tool on the fly. One player to circle, RHD Alexandre Carrier.

Alexandre Carrier +1 in a game his team lost 9-2 pic.twitter.com/GA19t1phcz
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) February 16, 2024

Carrier is a shut-down defender who will be a hot committy before the March 8 trade deadline and since he's a pending free agent, Trotz will look to cash in on the rental market. Carrier's game is suited for the postseason and there will be several potential contenders interested in what Trotz is asking for him.

Carrier has appeared in 50 games this season, chipping in 15 points, playing a ton of minutes on the penalty kill and collecting 46 hits and an impressive 102 blocked shots. Recently hockey insider Frank Seravalli listed Carrier on his trade board and had this to say about the 27-year-old blueliner who is owed $2.5 million this season:

If you’re looking for a trade comp, one NHL pro scout referred Carrier as “a poor man’s Jared Spurgeon,” for comparison, which sounds like a knock but isn’t. They are roughly the same size – and Carrier has a few of the same steadying dynamics as the Minnesota Wild captain that would make him attractive at the trade deadline.

In fact, steady is one of the perfect words used to describe Carrier. He plays a simple game. Carrier handles the puck well above average for a defenseman on breakouts, committing the 18th fewest giveaways in the defensive zone among all defensemen with 40 games played this season. His mobility and backwards skating are fluid and he can move laterally, east and west across the rink, with ease. Carrier relies on his hockey intelligence to scan the ice. He doesn’t necessarily shut down the rush early, but he is in the top tier among denying the rush after it enters the zone, playing well in between the dots.

Trotz is expected to cash in before the March 8 trade deadline as regardless of where the Preds sit in the standings, he'll be continuing to re-tool on the fly.