The Predators likely staying at No. 22
Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean: The Nashville Predators pick at No. 22 tonight and GM Barry Trotz has tried to move up with no luck.
“I’ve tried to move up,” Trotz told the Tennessean on Thursday, “But I’ve had teams tell me, ‘unless you knock my socks off, I’m not moving down.'”
The high cost to acquire means the Predators are likely staying at No. 22.
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The Wild are in Rutger McGroaty, are open to moving back, Filip Gustavsson, and Patrik Laine
Michael Russo of The Athletic: The Minnesota Wild are one of the teams talking to the Winnipeg Jets about Rutger McGroarty. They’d likely be willing to trade their No. 13 pick.
There’s also the possibility of trading down and getting an extra second-round pick. The Chicago Blackhawks moved up from No. 20 to No. 18 and may be looking to move up even further.
The Wild are talking to teams about goaltender Filip Gustavsson but they won’t just give him away. If they don’t trade Gustavsson, that likely means Jesper Wallstedt starts in the AHL.
The Wild are looking for a middle-six winger.
Patrik Laine may interest the Wild but the Blue Jackets would need to retain half of his $8.7 million cap hit.
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The Wild don’t have a lot of salary cap flexibility and it makes it difficult for GM Bill Guerin.
“I’ve kinda done my poking around and stuff,” Guerin said. “It’s kinda funny. You’ve kinda done your poking around, and you get here and it’s been pretty quiet. But (Friday) is usually the day, right? Either way, I still like the makeup of our team. We could (make a trade or sign a free agent), but we need to get back to our identity. We need to get our swagger back. We need to get back to the way we’re capable of playing, but with our identity. To me that’s the biggest thing.”
