On the Nashville Predators …
Pierre LeBrun: (on Poile saying he doesn’t want to trade any of the defense) It means they are going to have to get creative if they want to trade for Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene. It isn’t there at this point.
Adam Vingan of The Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile said they’ve traded enough defenseman in the past year and a half and he doesn’t plan on moving any in the near future.
“We will not be touching our defense in the near future here.”
The Predators lost James Neal in the expansion draft and are looking at the trade market to possibly find an offensive replacement.
They were tied to Matt Duchene at the Draft, but the Avalanche are looking for an NHL ready defenseman in return.
“I think I touched base with just about everybody in the two-and-a-half days that I’ve been here,” Poile said. “I think our team is still pretty good. … If we could get a top-six forward, that would probably be my first choice.
“I’m not desperate to say we’ve got to go out and do something specific, but obviously I want to weigh all the different possibilities. There are still some good players out there whose names have been mentioned that could be available in a trade. I’m going to make sure that we put our best foot forward if we think it can improve our hockey club.”
The Predators plan to speak with “five or six different players” when free agent window opens.
“It’s not maybe as plentiful as past years,” Poile said of this summer’s free-agent class. “It depends on what you need. If you’re looking for a checker or you’re looking for a fourth-line player, you might be able to find exactly what you want. If you’re looking for somebody that scores 30 to 40 goals, that might not be there.”
The Predators don’t plan on bringing back Vernon Fiddler and P.A. Parenteau next year. They’ve spoken with Harry Zolnierczyk but haven’t reached a deal yet.
Poile plans on speaking with Mike Fisher this week to see if