NHL history: Worst trade in each team’s history
By Nick Villano
NHL history: Worst trade in each team’s history: Nashville Predators
This one might fall under the radar, but the second half of the Matt Duchene trade is just as bad as the first because of who the main piece of the deal became. The Colorado Avalanche got a legitimate top defenseman in Sam Girard as part of a bigger package for Kyle Turris, who was sent to them in the Matt Duchene trade with Ottawa.
The Avs probably have the best young defenders in the league with Girard, Bowen Byram, and Cale Makar leading the pack. Girard only played five games with the Predators before they shipped him out as a 19-year-old stud prospect. It’s already a terrible trade if it was Girard for Turris straight up. However, there’s more to it.
Vladislav Kamenev was a decent prospect, but he never really got a chance in Colorado and he left for the KHL. That was just a year ago, so the Avs will hold onto his rights for a while. If he decides to return to the NHL, the Avalanche would be able to either welcome him back or get something for him in a trade.
The 2nd-round pick ended up turning into a 3rd-round pick and a 5th-round pick after a trade down with Pittsburgh. It’s way too early to just those picks, as they take too much time to develop.
The Predators have a pretty good defense led by Roman Josi. It was even better when they made the trade because P.K. Subban was still there, but after trading him, Ryan Ellis going to the Flyers, and Mattias Ekholm could be the next guy gone via trade. Having Girard in this lineup would make these defensemen trades make sense, but the Preds seem like they could be sent into a rebuild because of this missing piece to the puzzle.