When it comes to the free agent market, Barry Trotz has been extremely aggressive.
Forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault were able to sign with him. By extending a long-term contract offer to defenseman Brady Skjei, the team is also bolstering their blue line with talent.
In other words, the Preds have significantly improved lately.
However, Mitch Marner has been the subject of a lot of conversation lately in Nashville.
The forward for the Leafs was the subject of multiple rumors linking him to the Predators, but the story never came to pass.
But that doesn’t mean Nashville doesn’t want him.
When Marner was a member of the Leafs, Ryan O’Reilly attempted to persuade Barry Trotz to cut Marner loose.
Given the Predators’ recent additions, it makes sense to assume that the project will not go forward.
I say that because the Preds currently have zero cap space as of this writing.
In order to make the deal work on the payroll, Barry Trotz would therefore need to send salary to Toronto, which is also not going to happen.
In any case, I don’t see Trotz giving up Roman Josi ($9.059 M) or Filip Forsberg ($8.5 M) in order to acquire Marner.
After all, we are discussing two of the team’s pillars.
Brad Treliving could have ultimately danced with Barry Trotz if he had targeted Yaroslav Askarov, one player in particular.
I’m exaggerating a little bit, but the Leafs have struggled with goaltending for a millennium, so that would have made sense.
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