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Preds making calls, ‘planting seeds’ prior to trade deadline

David Poile

David Poile

AP

Nashville Predators GM David Poile has shown in the past that he’s willing to do what it takes to bolster his team ahead of a playoff run. He hasn’t had the opportunity to do so in recent years because the Predators have struggled, but given that they lead the league with a 37-12-6 record, you can rest assured that Poile is looking to upgrade his squad further before the March 2 trade deadline.

“We’re calling teams and letting them know that if they had certain (players) available, we’d be interested in talking — just planting the seeds,” Poile told the Tennessean. “We’ll explore a number of avenues and specific players. If we can acquire one of them, that would be great. If we can’t … I think we’re pretty happy with what we have here and the depth we have in our organization, both here and in (AHL) Milwaukee.”

It’s believed that the Predators would like to acquire a veteran defenseman with size and bolster their scoring depth. In the past, Poile has been willing to part ways with their first-round pick to accomplish his goals and that should be a particularly desirable trade chip this year given that the 2015 draft class should be a deep one.

Despite Poile’s past efforts, the Predators have never advanced beyond the second round, but that hasn’t made him adverse to the dangers of being a buyer.

“I’ve done it in the past. But it’s painful. Only one team ends up winning it all,” he said. “So at the end of the day, if you win the Stanley Cup or you win some playoff rounds, it doesn’t matter whether you gave up the first pick or a lot of your picks. You’re a happy camper. But when you lose out in the first round, it’s like, ‘Really?’”

This year could be different as the Predators have never been this good in the regular season. They have secured 72.7% of their possible points so far, which puts them en route to set a new franchise record.

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