The Nashville Predators lost to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but they quickly flipped this season’s page into the next one. They did so by completing the first high-level trade of the offseason.
With a good chunk of money off their books, people are speculating about a potential Predators trade for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner.
On Tuesday, May 21, Tennessean’s Alex Daugherty asked Nashville’s general manager Barry Trotz about those rumors, and the GM avoided trouble by giving a funny answer.
I asked Barry Trotz if he’d be interested in acquiring Mitch Marner, with now some $25 million in cap room.
His response is pretty hilarious and he shrugged it off as “just rumors.”
“I don’t think Mitch [Marner] is a free agent,” Trotz told reporters on May 21. “I have just been… well, they haven’t talked to me and I haven’t talked to them. So not that I know of.
“I read the same stuff as you. It’s just rumors.”
Predators Opening Cap Room With McDonagh Trade
On May 21, the Predators sent veteran Ryan McDonagh back to Tampa Bay in a trade that cleared $6.75 million in cap space entering the offseason. Nashville retained no salary. In other words, the Lightning will take all money into their cap, freeing it from the Predator’s books.
As Trotz joked with his answer, Marner is not a free agent, and if the Predators want to acquire him ahead of next season that’d have to come via trade. Marner is under contract for one more season, with his $65.4 million contract running through June 30, 2025, according to PuckPedia.
The Leafs forward will earn $10.9 million, so the Predators would need to keep working on their salary allocation. As things stand, PuckPedia projects the Predators to have $26.02 million in cap space come July 1. However, that figure only includes 15 of the minimum 23 players the franchise must roster.
The eight open spots belong to upcoming free agents who played for the team this past season. The Predators will likely re-sign some of them, thus taking up some of that cap space.
Predators & Leafs Could Complete a ‘Hockey Trade’
Fans talked about a potential Mitch Marner trade on social platforms before the May 21 trade of McDonagh, and the speculation will only intensify going forward.
One of the possible transactions discussed among fans of the Leafs and the Predators could be described as a classic “hockey trade,” a one-for-one exchange filling the needs of both teams.
The Leafs would send Marner to the Predators in exchange for netminder Juuse Saros, as initially proposed by The Hockey Writer’s Spencer Lazary on May 8.
In Lazary’s scenario, the Leafs would send Marner and Calle Jarnkrok to the Predators, receiving Saros, Jeremy Lauzon, and two draft picks (2024 2nd-round and 2025 1st-round) in exchange for that package.
Trading Marner for Saros Could Benefit Predators & Leafs
Getting back to his initial proposal, Spencer Lazary revisited the trade idea in an article published on May 21.
Lazary acknowledged both franchises would need to find a way to make the salaries match while navigating the upcoming free agency to complete the trade.
“Any potential trade involving Saros and Marner would be dependent on various factors, including the salary cap and how the overall trade proposal would look.”
After Nashville traded McDonagh to Tampa Bay, accomplishing that should be easier.
“Nashville has significantly increased its salary cap flexibility,” Lazary wrote regarding the McDonagh’s trade that had not been completed when he published his initial proposal. “This newfound cap space could be leveraged to address areas of need within the team or to facilitate a blockbuster trade with the Maple Leafs this offseason.”
If completed, Lazary thinks the trade could benefit both franchises. The Predators would gain offensive power with Marner and the Maple Leafs would secure stability in goal with Saros.
“The trade presents an intriguing proposition for both teams,” Lazary wrote. “For the Predators, acquiring a dynamic forward like Marner would inject additional offensive firepower into their lineup, addressing a need for scoring punch.
“Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs would gain a proven goaltender in Saros, offering stability and reliability in goal, the lack of which has hurt the team in recent years.”
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Predators GM Barry Trotz Addresses Mitch Marner Trade ‘Rumors’