GMSB Addresses the media
Nashville Predators GMSB found himself busy at this year's trade deadline. In return for departing ways with familiar faces and future assets, 6 new faces were introduced to the organization. Fans and media were expecting such additions as the team prepares for the playoffs however, they too also found themselves very busy at this year's trade deadline, not due to participation, but reaction.
The most notable trade this year included the newly named captain Aleksander Barkov being moved to central division team the Minnesota Wild, alongside a boat load of valuable drat picks in return for right winger David Pastrnak. Seemingly the buzz could be summed up to 'But why Barky? The team's newly named captain?' Having all of Eichel, Barkov and Point, the writing was on the wall that one of Point or Barkov would be gone. "Look, it was very hard to trade Aleksander. It isn't like we wanted to. What is clear though, is that Smasvhille is expecting another cup. Okay, we have 3 elite centres, one of which is our captain. We also had both Patches and Norris, the trigger men for their respective lines, injured. I said to myself, okay, we need somebody to bury the puck. You know, it was very difficult to trade our newly named captain... very difficult. We still have long timer Preds Kuch, Pointer, Serge, Neal and Juuse. We had gone without having a captain for many years during our retooling years but, the culture that has been developed throughout the years did not leave when this trade was made. Aleks impact lives through all of them and us, his legacy wasn't traded. Remember that. Our championship banner? Still in the rafters. Our rings? Still tucked away in our drawers at home or in a display case. Revenue, growing fan base, a loud arena... all still here and we thank Aleksander for what he has done for the organization leading the way to where we are now. Although our captain is gone, his legacy has been imprinted in our record books and lives on through our cup contending core, the city and state." GMSB said.
GMSB did confirm a new captain would be named for the 2023-24 season but refused to comment on who it would be. There is speculation that it will end up being either Nikita Kucherov or Brent Burns.
Coming in from Los Angeles are depth players Adam Lowry and Dylan Demelo. They add even more veteran experience as supporting players to an already tight knit core. The blue line has been a bright spot for the team with a quarter of our top 6 forwards being on the IR. The blue line has now received a boost of support with this trade.
On that note, the team also traded for Vladislav Namenstinkov, a player who has the track record of also playing in a top 6 role. With Patches being re-injured and youngster Kakko still developing into a permanent top 6 solution, the team is looking to see if Vladdy can replicate what he has done in the past. This success in a top 6 role was when he played on the same line with Kucherov, who he has shown he has had chemistry with in the past, dating as far back into their AHL days. "For now, we want to see how Pasta plays with Nikita. Vladdy will get his chance on the 1st line soon" GMSB said.
Nashville still pursued more offense, this time in the form of a defenceman in Shayne Gostisbehere. With Addison being dealt at the trade deadline for an upgrade in net, it looks like Shayne was brought in to play the role that was left open when Addison eventually got traded. GMSB went on to say, "Ghost was a necessity. Our defense core has been a big contribution to the team this year and we feel we upgraded it with him introduced into the fold. We think our blue line could be a deciding factor in the playoffs so we wanted to make sure we not only add depth, but also to improve it."
Lastly, Nashville traded for goalie Vitek Vanecek. The deal to land the netminder included centre Lars Eller, prospect Declan Chisholm, highly touted d-man Calen Addison and future considerations. "Addison gained a lot of interest at this year's trade deadline. GMs also called all throughout the year on Calen. It is tough to move on from a graduated prospect, but depth is key in the playoffs. In our division a couple of teams have depth in the goalie department, so we needed to match that" GMSB said.
With these moves, Nashville now currently sits with no draft picks for the next two years. When asked if he was concerned about the future of the organization mortgaging 2 years of it to win now, he responded, "I work to have Nashville stay a contender year after year. Inherently, this includes the future, so it is embedded in our main goal to have players in their prime constantly playing for the blue and gold to win a cup, how this gets achieved.. well, I cannot see into the future. Like in life, there are multiple ways to approach a task. Timing is everything, it will be addressed once the time is right." GMSB said when finishing his press conference.
-Hockey reporter for The Tennessean
