Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Expansion Draft Did Not Help The Nashville Predators

07/22/2021 at 8:19am EDT

from Gentry Estes of The Tennessean,

The Seattle Kraken didn’t take the bait. They didn’t reach a sweetened deal or voluntarily pay up for Matt Duchene or Ryan Johansen in the NHL’s expansion draft.

Instead, they took a bargain in Calle Järnkrok.

And the Nashville Predators winced and took a loss.

Strange as it might sound, retaining their two top centers – given their long-term deals and overpriced salaries – was the worst thing that could have happened to the Preds on Wednesday night. They’d have much rather lost Duchene or Johansen than Järnkrok.

Which speaks to how complicated things have become.

A pivotal offseason for the Preds has accelerated into an eventful flurry of recent activity, and it has done so without a decipherable direction from general manager David Poile.

He’s not gearing up. He’s not rebuilding.

Really, what he’s doing is trying to erase his own mistakes.

continued

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Chet in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 2 minutes ago
Comment by Cigar-Nurse in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 3 minutes ago
Comment by Kate in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 4 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 5 minutes ago
Comment by Chet in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 5 minutes ago