3 Trade Candidates Listed for Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators, you could say, 'won' the last offseason by landing three huge free agents in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. But they haven't been winning much since the actual games began. The team is in 14th spot in the Western Conference, 14 points out of a playoff berth.

So what are they waiting for? According to beat writer Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, the Preds should be sellers as we head toward the trade deadline in less than two months. You'd be hard-pressed, however, to find many of their players on any 'trade boards' making the rounds in the NHL, with the exception of Ryan O'Reilly, who likely isn't going anywere.

But Daugherty has proposed three candidates that he feels GM Barry Trotz should be putting up for auction.

Gustav Nyquist

A pending unrestricted free agent, the 35-year-old isn't following up his career year from last season very well. After his 23-goal, 75-point performance in '23-'24, he has just seven goals and 17 points in 41 games this time around. Perhaps there are teams that still have last season's rejuvenating performance clear in their memories and would be willing to offer something for the 13-year veteran forward.

Daugherty suggests a third or fourth-round pick could get it done.

Colton Sissons

A strong face-off man and a defensive presence, the physical center has proven over the previous two seasons that he can be a secondary scorer as well, posting 27 goals over those two years. That offense has largely dried up this year, with just four markers, but he could be a decent bottom-six acquisition for a team in need. He still has another year to run on his contract at a $2.86M cap hit. Could he garner the Preds a second-round pick?

Jeremy Lauzon

A sizeable, physical defenseman is high on any contender's radar at the trade deadline. The NHL's hit king from last season (386 hits), there are a couple of problems with suggesting Lauzon as a trade candidate, however:

1) He's currently out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the second time this season he's missed significant time; and

2) When he is healthy, he's still signed for one more year at just $2 million, and as we relayed last month from Elliotte Friedman, "the organization loves him and has zero desire" to consider trading him.