NHL Rumors: Nashville Predators have interest in Matt Duchene

According to the latest NHL rumors, Darren Dreger is reporting the Nashville Predators have interest in soon to be free agent forward Matt Duchene.

Even though the Stanley Cup Playoffs aren’t over yet and free agency doesn’t begin until July 1, teams are still planning their offseasons. According to the latest NHL rumors, the Nashville Predators will likely pursue Matt Duchene if he becomes a free agent.

This report comes from TSN’s Darren Dreger. He said the following during a recent interview with TSN690.

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"I think the Nashville Predators are gonna have a fair bit of interest in Matt Duchene as a pending unrestricted free agent."

Duchene would be a terrific fit for the Predators. Kyle Turris hasn’t been the second line center they were hoping he would be. Duchene would give Nashville’s second line a bonafide star and would make them a much more lethal team on offense.

However, in order to sign him, the Predators will likely have to clear some cap space. Dreger said in the interview two names that have come up in that regard are P.K. Subban and Turris. The latter is the guy the Predators would obviously love to get rid of.

It could, however, prove to be difficult, if not impossible, for Nashville to get rid of Turris’ contract. He has five years left on his current deal with a $6 million cap hit. That’s quite a bit for a center who only had seven goals and 23 points in 55 games during the regular season.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Turris had a goal and an assist for two points in six games as the Predators got knocked out by the Dallas Stars in the first round. Nashville got him, ironically, in the three-way trade which sent Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche to the Ottawa Senators.

If the Predators can’t find a taker for Turris, trading Subban, in a vacuum, makes some sense. Getting his $9 million cap hit over the next three seasons would certainly help them get the cap space necessary to sign Duchene.

However, one has to wonder if the Predators would get a fair return for him. Subban is coming off a down year. He’s won a Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman (2012-13) and has been named a finalist on two other occasions (2014-15 and 2017-18).

Expect the Predators to pursue Duchene. He’d be a huge improvement to their roster and would fit in with their likely offseason strategy of bringing in some new blood. However, it could prove to be tricky for them to find a way to bring him in under the salary cap.