3 Nashville Predators Not Expected Back Next Season

The Nashville Predators exceed expectations this season but unfortunately could not get themselves out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing in six games to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Predators have a ton of options on how to make some changes this summer and GM Barry Trotz is expected to be busy as soon as the NHL Draft next month. Trotz has $19.2 million in cap space to work with and while he'll be in the market for a free agent or two, look for Trotz to re-tool on the fly via trade.

Here's three Predators who are not expected back next season:

Juuse Saros

The trade rumors were running wild early on this season as there was a ton of speculation several teams called Trotz about Saros' availability before the season even started. Trotz admitted he was thinking about the move but then Nashville got hot and didn't want to batter the confidence of his hockey club by moving out the starting netminder. Look for Saros to be among the most talked about when it comes to trade buzz at the draft and there's going to be a long list of potential suitors including the LA Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New Jersey Devils. Saros does not have any trade protection and now has one season left on his deal at $5 million against the cap.

Alexandre Carrier

Carrier, like Saros, was almost moved ahead of the deadline as trade offers were coming in early and often. He's a right-handed defenseman who plays with some jam and these appear hard to come by if you ask any GM across the league. Carrier now heads to free agency and is going to land a lucrative deal, as with a very thin defensive market, a team is going to overpay. It won't be the Preds. Carrier finished last season with 20 points in 73 games and blocked 137 shots. He'll improve any penalty kill he joins next season.

Tyson Barrie

It's surprising Barrie lasted this long as his beef with head coach Andrew Brunette ran wild all season long. In and out of the lineup, Barrie couldn't find a groove and now will head to free agency without a contract offer from the Preds. Even though he's 32, Barrie can skate and has tremendous offensive instincts, even though he only produced 15 points in 41 games this season. A big reason for the drop was that he wasn't running the power play in Nashville, which he's very used to from his days in Edmonton, Toronto and Colorado. Barrie will land on his feet somewhere come July.