NHL Trade Deadline Primer: Filip Forsberg trade would not be easy

The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is Monday, March 21 at 3 p.m. ET. As we get closer to the deadline we will take a look at some individual players who could be on the move. We continue today with Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg.

There was an interesting name added to the NHL’s trade deadline rumor mill this past week when reports surfaced that the Nashville Predators could potentially be shopping forward Filip Forsberg.

This is significant because Forsberg is one of the Predators’ best players and having an outstanding season, and also because the Predators are right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race and look to have a strong shot at a playoff spot. Selling one of their best players would not seem to be ideal given those circumstances.

The problem is that Forsberg is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season and Nashville would probably prefer not to lose him for nothing after the season if they can not reach an agreement on a new contract. A new deal would almost certainly cost between $7-9 million per year against the cap (and the Predators certainly have the salary cap space to afford that) over a long-term contract. Forsberg is 27 and scoring on a 50-goal pace (27 goals in 40 games) this season and should still have several high level years ahead of him.

But would they actually consider trading him this season if they can not get him signed?

This is tricky because there really is not much precedence for a team in a playoff spot trading a player this good before the deadline, even if they are pending unrestricted free agents. Remember a couple of years ago when Columbus was a fringe playoff team and faced a similar situation with Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky? Not only did they