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2026 Trade Deadline Recap · Predators Official Podcast

0:03
Welcome to the Predators Official Podcast, a special 2026
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NHL Trade Deadline edition of The POP.
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I'm Brooks Bratton, alongside my friends Max Hers and Cara Hammer
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as we record this on Friday, March 6th, mere hours after the
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deadline has passed. I think we're all a little bit
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tired, a little bit worn out from what was a crazy week, but
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lots to talk about. And we wanted to jump on with a
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quick little episode just to recap everything, talk about
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what we saw over the last week or so and look ahead toward the
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future. But Max, I'll start with you it
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it's again a crazy week. We were on the road in Columbus.
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A couple of guys get dealt right before the game Thursday night.
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Michael Bunton gets dealt. What it what do you make of all
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this? And then how has your week been?
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Well, I think my big take away from what the president totality
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on deadline week, Brooks, is they traded away players on
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expiring contracts that each had a Direct Line to free up playing
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time the final quarter of this season for players with similar
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profiles, trading Nick Blankenberg away opens up a spot
1:10
for Ryan Ufko. Trading Cole Smith opens up a
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spot for Reed Schaefer down the stretch this season.
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Trading Michael Bunting opens up a spot for Zach La Rue.
1:19
And trading Feder or trading Michael Mccarran opens up a
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center spot for some combination of Feder, Svechkov and as we saw
1:27
earlier this week, Matt Wood to play some center.
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So I think those moves were all purposeful.
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They aren't moves that really kill the Preds playoff chances,
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but they are moves that get a draft pick each for UFA and the
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Preds in total get a second, a pair of thirds and a fifth in
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exchange for four roster players who become rentals for other
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playoff teams this year. Carol, what do you think of
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everything that you've seen the last few days and especially I'm
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curious to hear your thoughts as well.
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Thursday night, obviously your rink side there, Bridgestone
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Arena with a lot going on. What have you made of the last
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7296 hours or so? You know, I'm going to kind of
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hit off of what Max said and speaking with Roman Yossi,
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obviously, you know, interviewing the captain right
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before the game on Thursday night and he came out and my
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question him was it's been emotional these 72 hours.
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You know, you're uprooting, people's lives are changing.
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You look at Michael McCarron, Cole Smith, Michael Bunty and
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three guys with with young children.
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We saw their babies on the gold carpet walk.
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So, so you have that in the back of your mind, but Roman was very
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adamant of, hey, we still have a job to do, we're going to go out
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there, we're going to play, and we're still in a playoff hunt.
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I mean, when they were looking at Boston, another team in a
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similar situation, vying for fine to make the postseason,
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Roman felt like we have a chance.
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We're we're fighting for a playoff spot.
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So even without these these guys that you look at who seem like
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there's so much of the identity of the Preds, they don't feel
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like they're out of it. And they feel like, hey, having
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some of these young guys come up can help re energize the group.
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I mean, how many times have we seen players come up from
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Milwaukee who have been down, They come back up and they're
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hungry. They want to get in the lineup,
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They want to bring that energy. And I think we it was pretty
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evident last night against the Boston Bruins. 100% yeah, a Big
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63 win against the Bruins. We'll touch more on that in just
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a second. And Max, that mentioned
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everything and I want to just run through everything real
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quick so we confirm what has happened over the last few days.
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So you mentioned that, Max, it started on Tuesday in Columbus.
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Michael McCarron dealt to Minnesota in exchange for a
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second round pick. Then later that night after the
3:34
game, Cole Smith dealt to Vegas in exchange for a third round
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pick and a prospect. On Wednesday evening, it was
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Nick Blankenberg going to Colorado for a fifth round pick
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and then right before the game on Thursday night, Michael
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Bunting going to Dallas in exchange for a third round pick.
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As you said, Max, obviously those leave some roster holes.
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So four players over the course of the day on Thursday recalled
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from Milwaukee forwards Reed Schaefer, Fedorus Fetchkov and,
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you know, Kim Kemel and defenseman Ryan Ofko.
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Kemel, who by the way, was not recalled until the Predators
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figured out that they had a deal in place for Michael Bunting.
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Barry Trotz saying on Friday that Kemel did not even land in
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Nashville until 6:15 for a seven O 8 puck drop.
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If any of you have never been to Nashville International Airport
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at 6:15 on a Thursday night and tried to make it downtown less
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than an hour, good luck for whoever got him down there.
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I know Brandon Walker played a role.
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What a role it was to get Camel not only from the airport, but
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into the lineup and onto the bench.
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Right as Paul McCann was saying, let's play some hockey.
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Joakim Kimmel joins his team on the bench.
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He plays the game. He almost scores a goal.
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We talked to him on Friday after practice and he said, yeah, it
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wasn't ideal, but a game in the NHL, you'll certainly take it.
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So, again, a wild few days for the Predators, but all they did
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was come out and win 6, three against Boston.
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They talked about being a little bit rattled on Tuesday in
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Columbus. You're seeing guy like Michael
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McCarron leave before the game even started, or at least not
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even play in the game. And then Cole Smith dressed, He
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was on the bench, but he didn't play knowing a deal was
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imminent. Max and Cara, I think the big
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take away, and you touched on a Cara as well, is just the
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response from Tuesday compared to Thursday.
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The press a little bit rattled in Columbus.
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It was a tough day, but they rallied and that was helped a
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lot, I think maxed by the kids that were in the lineup.
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But a really good and then kind of a fun showing for the Preds
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on Thursday night, as you said, realizing they're still very
5:35
much in the thick of. This, it gives you hope for the
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last 20 games of the season. The younger players taking on
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bigger minutes, mixing in with the veteran Preds.
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And look, the way Matt Wood played, the chances that Fetters
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Fetchkov and Reed Shaffer generated in their first game
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back after really hot stretches in the AHL since the last time
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we saw them a month ago. And Ryan Ofco gets his first NHL
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point. So Kara, I think it's everything
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you could want to see with what this team's going to look like
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the rest of the season. Yeah, and I mean, Max, you're
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hitting the nail on the head. This is exactly what Barry Trotz
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talked about Friday afternoon in his press conference of why
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these decisions were made, why certain players are still here.
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He he singled out. You look at a guy like Ryan
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O'Reilly wasn't able to get what we would want for him.
6:20
But what he brings to the locker room, what value he can add to
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these young guys. You same with Eric Hall.
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I mean, what these veterans can do for these younger players is
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going to help immensely down the stretch and for the future of
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this franchise. Absolutely.
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And you mentioned the care. We heard from Barry Trotz on
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Friday afternoon, addressing the media as every general manager
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usually does around the league once the trade deadline does
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pass, the Preds not making any deals on deadline day itself.
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Eric Holla, Jonathan Marsha. So they did not practice on
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Friday, officially listed as maintenance days, but Barry
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Trotz admitting that there were some offers on the table for
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Eric Holla. We know that Marsha so was a
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possibility. Guys like Ryan O'Reilly, Steven
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Stamkos, Barry Trotz mentioning that he spoke to those players
7:05
as well. But ultimately, I think one of
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the takeaways was that you've got to have a willing partner to
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make a trade, right? Or you've got to have at least a
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partner that's willing to offer what you want to accept for a
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player. And then some of the trades that
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the Predators made, Barry Trott saying he thinks that those were
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fair values, fair trades for the group.
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Otherwise, maybe not so much for other guys that remain on the
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roster on this Friday night. So Max, you were in the room, I
7:35
was in the air listening to it. I think I got all of it on the
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airplane. But you were in the room.
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What was your main take away or takeaways from what Barry Trotz
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had to say? Yeah, I, I wrote down a few
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things, some of which you already said.
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We hit, we hit all the values that we put on the players that
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we traded. And I think those returns make
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sense for those guys. A second for Michael McCarron,
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even though it's 3 drafts away, is a strong return. 1/3 for Cole
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Smith is a strong return. And you saw the teams in the
8:05
West that are loaded at the top of their lineup spend big to add
8:10
to the bottom of their lineup, and the Preds were beneficiaries
8:13
of that. Now, I think there were Eastern
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teams that may have been in on some of these Preds that didn't
8:19
get traded. And if you don't offer enough,
8:22
you don't make the move. And that's what I've been saying
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about a potential Ryan O'Reilly trade for months now.
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I think he is one of the most valuable players in the NHL, so
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you do not sell him short with a full year remaining on his
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contract. I think Barry Trotz made a
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mature decision to sell the guys he did and I think he made a
8:40
mature decision to keep the guys he did.
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So I I think there athlete could have been more with what Barry
8:47
Trotz told us today. And as I try to read my really
8:49
awful handwriting, he answered Robbie Stanley's question about
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Ryan O'Reilly that they got very close to hitting his value, but
8:56
it didn't happen. And I think big picture, if
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you're able to step back, it sets up Barry Trotz's successor
9:03
who potentially takes over as the Prince GM this summer with
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Barry Trotz retiring. It sets that GM up with the
9:10
ability to make some of those big decisions and be able to get
9:13
their own clean slate. Yeah.
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And I don't know that there was necessarily any shock with the
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deals that were made for the Predators.
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They were all guys on expiring contracts.
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I think we expected something to happen regardless of where the
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team was in the standings. And you make the deals that are
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there and as you said, Max, the deals that aren't you don't have
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to. And you also we've talked about,
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you know, you had to recall a bunch of guys from Milwaukee.
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You weren't getting any players in return, only draft picks.
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Cara, you can only decimate the roster so much.
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You have to have bodies to play. You have to have guys,
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especially at the center ice position.
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And you can only take so much from Milwaukee.
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And and as Max mentioned, if if the deals aren't there, you
9:55
don't make them. But the make up now of the
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roster that is still here, curious to see it moving forward
10:02
because there was a lot of energy as we saw last night from
10:05
the kids as well. Yeah, yeah.
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And there's one more thing that that we should hit on.
10:10
And this came from Barry Trots before the game.
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We had a chance to interview him for the broadcast asking, you
10:16
know, when did the decision come that you were going to be a
10:18
seller? When did the decision come?
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And and Barry was very open that he felt it was after the the
10:23
Detroit game, they they started to think about making moves.
10:26
And one thing he hit on during that conversation was and we
10:30
aired it on the broadcast. But in case you missed it, was
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that where we are in the standings currently, the team
10:36
was healthy. He goes, you look back at the
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beginning of the season, you know, we did have some injuries,
10:40
but up until this point we've been healthy and this is kind of
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where we are. So if you're wondering why Barry
10:46
was making these decisions, it that played into it.
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He looked at the health of the team, what they were able to get
10:51
to. And currently, you know, I think
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what we're three points out of the the last playoff spot at the
10:57
moment. So there's still hope, but I
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think now it's just relying on some of these young guys to
11:03
step, see what they're able to do.
11:05
Yeah. I think that's going to be a
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theme down the stretch is what can the young guys do?
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And, and again, we saw a lot of that on Thursday against Boston.
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Max, as you mentioned, Ryan Offco getting his first career
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point, a secondary assist, which was kind of funny.
11:17
I asked him on Friday, how's it feel to have Steven Stamkos and
11:21
Philip Forsberg on the scoresheet for your first
11:23
assist? He's like, it's easy.
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All I have to do is pass them the puck and they take care of
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the rest. There's there'll be a lot of
11:29
assists that way if he keeps that up.
11:30
But again, a guy like Ryan Offco, who's been Milwaukee's
11:33
best player leading the Admirals in scoring, getting another
11:36
chance, a guy like Fedorus Fetchkov coming back who wasn't
11:40
having a great showing at the NHL level, goes down to
11:42
Milwaukee, get some confidence. And we asked him yesterday, what
11:46
is the mindset right now? And he said very simply, and I
11:48
love this, the confidence, he simply said the spot is mine and
11:53
I'm going to grab it. And that was it.
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And, and he knows what to expect now this time around, especially
11:59
what the team wants from him. Reed Shaffer, who's been up
12:02
here, he's gotten a taste. He's back up with more
12:04
confidence. You could say the same thing for
12:06
yo Kim Kimmel, who almost scored his first NHL goal on Thursday
12:09
night. And even a guy like Matthew
12:11
Wood, guys, I would argue that I, I know that Woody had a hat
12:14
trick in Madison Square Garden earlier in the season, but I
12:17
would argue last night that that was his best game at the NHL
12:20
level. Well, if anyone pushes back on
12:22
you for that, Brooks, they're absurd.
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And I'll be on your side for that one because that was that
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game was like 50 things from Matt Wood that we'd never seen
12:29
before playing top 6 center in the NHL.
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And it went so great. And I love seeing him grab it
12:35
and grow up before our eyes. Until he goes to be interviewed
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by my favorite person in the world, Kara Hammer, after the
12:43
game as the number one star and while the mic is on, very
12:46
politely asked her, would you like me to sit or stand for the
12:49
interview? Nobody.
12:50
You're a big boy now. You do what you want.
12:54
That's. So funny you say that, Max.
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In like history, I think for my first seven years, I never had a
13:00
player sit. Everybody came over and stood.
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And then one time somebody sat. Now it's become a thing.
13:05
I'm like, are we sitting? Are we standing?
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Are we sitting? Are we?
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Standing I just. Followed their lead.
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But I you know what? I gotta agree with you guys.
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Last night was Matt Woods best game.
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I was so excited for him. I mean, how perfect was his
13:19
shorthanded goal to come out? And can we talk about him
13:23
standing up for his teammates? I mean, you're also looking at
13:28
who's on the other side and you're thinking Matt Wood.
13:31
Let's not go against anything with Tanner Genoa if he comes
13:34
out-of-the-box, but you go Matt Wood, no.
13:37
He he knew that. He said after the game, Yeah,
13:40
yeah, he. Said that post came, he said,
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yeah, he said, I know that that's not a recipe for success.
13:44
Yes, I have the size, but it kind of ends there against a guy
13:47
like Tanners, you know, or Nikita's the door out.
13:50
But again, as you said, you love to see that from him.
13:53
He's like, I saw Phil getting picked on a little bit and he
13:56
wasn't going to stand for it. So yeah, really great game to
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talk about. Again, a young guy taking an
14:01
opportunity, playing the center ice position, taking the chance
14:04
and grabbing it. And that's what we want to see
14:06
down the stretch, the Predator. So guys, let's wrap on this.
14:08
And you know, we've touched on it a lot.
14:10
There's 20 games to go. You wonder, and we've seen this
14:14
not only from the Preds, but from other teams in the NHL in
14:17
in recent seasons where you're in a situation like this, you're
14:20
right on the cusp of the playoffs.
14:21
You trade a few guys at the deadline.
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You have some young kids come into the lineup.
14:26
And that inflection of energy kind of keeps teams in it until
14:30
the very end. We saw with the Preds a few
14:31
years ago, in 2023, they made a little push and almost squeaked
14:34
into the playoffs at the end of the season.
14:37
That is certainly the goal for the Predators.
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You talk to any of the veterans on this team, they say we're not
14:41
out of this yet. We are still very much in the
14:43
thick of this. And I liked what Barry Trotz
14:47
also said on Friday, guys like Ryan O'Reilly, Steven Stamkos,
14:49
Romaniosi, he said our quote all in on the rest of the season's
14:54
plan moving forward with young players coming into the lineup
14:57
and not only the older guys getting a chance to mentor those
15:00
guys, but also to see what they can do in this stretch.
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So we'll be realistic about it. It's it's not going to be easy,
15:08
but I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited to not only see
15:11
what the young guys can do with these opportunities, but
15:14
continue to play some meaningful hockey down the stretch here.
15:17
It'd be quite enjoyable in March.
15:19
Yeah, it's it's time to go get it for Fetters Fetchkov who's on
15:24
call up #3 now go get it. You're going to play center the
15:27
rest of the year in the NHL, go get it.
15:29
For Ryan Ofco, this may be the longest look he ever gets.
15:32
Go get it. It's your time.
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You play 2 NHL games. But hey, treat it like it's your
15:37
last chance. And I think the way he's played
15:40
this year in Milwaukee, don't change a thing.
15:42
Just go out there and do that. Reed Shaffer looked great on
15:45
Thursday night. Yo, Kim Kimmel, hopefully we'll
15:47
get a chance to warm up for his games in the future.
15:51
But the, the energy these guys bring is fun.
15:54
After practice on Friday, trade deadline day, 2 hours before the
15:57
deadline. What's a stressful day for a lot
16:00
of people? These guys are bringing laughs
16:03
and smiles and energy lack. Zach LaRue is screaming about
16:06
going to Buffalo and singing to himself and doing whatever the
16:09
heck goes on in his head that perhaps we can explore in an
16:12
interview on the Future podcast. Joachim Kimmel and Feder
16:15
Svechkov are locker mates now, and now that Nick Blankenberg is
16:19
gone, Sorry, Luke Evangelista, you're not part of the best
16:22
friendship on the team anymore. It might be those guys.
16:25
And they're absolutely electric in everybody's face, laughing
16:28
and smiling and having matching buzz cuts and being pretty
16:32
adorable together. And look that this is where the
16:35
Preds are at for the rest of the year.
16:37
Like Eric Hollow walks across the room.
16:40
Everybody, all the media is like, oh, he hasn't been traded
16:43
yet, He's still here, and he didn't get traded.
16:46
But Ozzie Wiseblatt just stares at him and starts laughing.
16:49
Like this. This is the mix of Fred's
16:51
youngster and oldster energy that we've got for the rest of
16:54
the season. And let's see if it gives us
16:56
something pizza. Party it's worth.
16:59
It really. Is a pizza party we're.
17:01
We're still having a pizza party factors in the mix, as are a lot
17:04
of other guys, and we're excited to see it.
17:06
And you talk about the opportunities.
17:08
In the words of the great Herb Brooks, this is your time.
17:10
Now go go out there and take it. That's the mentality for a lot
17:13
of guys on this Nashville roster and we'll see what they can do
17:16
in the next little bit. So we I am in Buffalo right now
17:18
as the press gets set to play the Sabers on Saturday.
17:21
It's the start of A5 game trip. Will it will then go out West
17:25
for the next week and a half. Big games against the crack in
17:28
the Canucks, the Oilers and The Jets.
17:31
We'll see how that plays out. And we will be back next week
17:33
with a full episode of The POP. But for now, Max and Cara,
17:36
thanks for joining on a Friday evening for this quick little
17:40
trade deadline update. It's been a pleasure.
17:43
Do we have? Time for a quick biggie.
17:46
Awesome team of the week. Throw it.
17:48
Out the Nashville. Sled Preds, shout out to you
17:50
guys taking on the Metro Detroit Sled Hockey team after the game
17:54
on Monday at Bridgestone Arena. So, so cool as the Paralympics
17:58
begin this week to have the Nashville Sled Preds
18:01
representing USA Sled Hockey, many of whom live here in
18:05
Nashville. So thanks to them for being a
18:07
part of our day on Monday. Awesome.
18:09
Well said, Max thanks to you guys again for getting together
18:13
here and thanks to all of you out there for listening, for
18:16
watching, and we will talk to you next week.
18:18
Enjoy the weekend. This has been the POP trade
18:21
deadline edition for Cara and Max.
18:24
I'm Brooks Bratton, have a good weekend.
18:25
We'll talk to you soon.