The Nashville Predators took NHL Free Agency by storm over the summer. Fans are all well aware of the moves this team made. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault signed to bolster the Predators' top-six forward group. And Brady Skjei joined Nashville on a seven-year contract to give the team a defensive partner for captain Roman Josi.

Teams spending big in NHL Free Agency is certainly nothing new. In hindsight, it wasn't exactly surprising to see a team go on a massive spending spree given the rising salary cap. Still, there is always risk in making these sorts of moves. They can always blow up in a team's face no matter how established the new players are.

The Predators are facing the harsh reality of the risks involved. Nashville is currently dead last in the entire NHL with a 9-17-7 record. In fact, Nashville is the only team in the league with fewer than 10 wins on the season. It is an unimaginable disaster considering how they ended the 2023-24 campaign.

Nashville made its moves with the aim of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be happening. The Predators are headed toward an NHL Trade Deadline with tough decisions ahead of them. However, one decision should be relatively easy for this team to make.

Predators' Gustav Nyquist is a pending free agent

Nashville Predators center Gustav Nyquist (14) in action during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Gustav Nyquist has a very solid track record as a goal scorer in the NHL. The 35-year-old winger has scored 20+ goals four times in his career, with the latest occurrence happening in 2023-24. He also has extensive experience in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, skating in 77 games. He went to the Western Conference Finals with the San Jose Sharks in 2019 when San Jose lost to the St. Louis Blues.

These traits are likely what piqued Nashville's interest in 2023 when they signed him to a two-year contract. Nashville didn't need the veteran winger to play like a superstar. They needed him to score goals and provide some offensive help. As mentioned, it worked in 2023-24. But the scoring has fallen off with the rest of the team this year.

Nyquist has six goals and 12 points through 32 games in 2024-25. This puts him on pace for 15 goals and 31 points in 2024-25. It's a far cry from his 23-goal performance in the season prior. And it's one of the reasons that the Predators are lingering at the bottom of the league to this point in the season.

Predators general manager Barry Trotz is committed to not going to a full-fledged fire sale at this time. “It’s not a rebuild,” Trotz told The Athletic on Thursday. “I’m not in the business of not winning. I’m in the business of trying to win. We’re not selling off. We are resetting. We know where we are. It’s not where we thought we would be. But we want to move forward.”

Trading Nyquist could fall within where Trotz sees this team. The 35-year-old is a free agent after this season and likely wants to win a Stanley Cup before he hangs up his skates. It's unlikely he will win that Cup with the Predators this year, though. Trading a player who is likely to leave in the summer is the sort of trade Trotz could be willing to pull off.

It's hard to gauge what Nyquist's value on the trade market could be. In any event, he is an experienced winger who has played in the playoffs and can provide secondary offense. A lot of contending teams could covet a player like that in March. The Predators should do what they can to find Nyquist a new home before the NHL Trade Deadline arrives.