The rest of the season can go either way for the Nashville Predators. The team is currently in the second wild card position in the West, so the big decision for general manager David Poile is whether to make trades for assets or to make a playoff push.
Defenseman Barrett Jackman feels the Predators should opt for the latter. "I'm sure (Predators general manager) David Poile and the management have a few different plans," Jackman said, "but our thoughts in this room are picking up points and being a playoff contender... and making this team better and making a run for the Stanley Cup," according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean.
"The beauty of our game is that players play the game and managers and coaches put the pieces into place," Jackman continued, acknowledging that the managers know what's best for the team long term. "You've got to go out, no matter what talk or what pieces are put in, and you've got to perform. That's your job."
Nashville has had offensive problems all season long, ranking 28th in the league in goals scored, with 100 in 54 games, according Elias Sports Bureau, wrote Vingan. With the playoffs in reach, Poile could make some big moves to gain offense. The general manager is known for being "aggressive" near the deadline. He had already made a beneficial trade on Jan. 6 for center Ryan Johansen, who has proved to be great on offense, with 15 points in 14 games with the team. A shakeup could certainly happen depending on how the next few Predators' games go.
"Since I'm here, they don't wait until the last minute to do it, so you never know," center Mike Ribeiro said. "It can happen at any time. Obviously, the next two games, I think, could dictate a little bit of what they want to do or not do. If you win both, you might step back a bit and go from there," according to Vingan.
They have also had some goaltending setbacks, as Pekka Rinne "is on-pace for his lowest save-percentage in any of his full seasons," according to Elliotte Friedman. Friedman suggests the team may try to bring in a goalie because of this.
"You always try to improve your team. We're on the bubble here and I'm sure they're looking at improving the team. There's a lot of teams on the bubble, too, so it's hard to move guys when you're still competing for a playoff spot. I guess we'll wait and see," Friendman wrote.
