Filip Forsberg appears to be done as a Nashville Predator

According to a report from NHL insider Andy Strickland, Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg is being shopped by the team prior to the NHL's March 21st trade deadline.

The 27 year old forward is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6 million annually and is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. It's unclear if he has told the Predators that he will not be returning to Nashville or if the two sides have even engaged in serious contract negotiations. 

Whatever the case, if Stickland's report is to be believed it appears that Forsberg's time with the Predators is coming to an end. 

Whomever acquires Forsberg either by trade this season or by free agent signing in the offseason is going to get a remarkably consistent scoring winger who some believe is one of the NHL's most underrated players. A cursory glance at Forsber's career stats may not wow you, but when you dive in deeper it's clear that he's a top tier winger. While he hasn't crested the 70 point mark in his NHL career, that's mostly due to injury. He hasn't played a full NHL season since 2017, so that's obviously cause for concern but he's set to demolish his career high in points this season with 26 goals and 44 points in just 38 games played. He's likely to hit the 90 point plateau if he can ever manage to play a complete season.

Now, injury history has to be taken into consideration if any team plans on signing Forsberg long-term. The fact of the matter is that he's not a very durable player and he's not getting any younger. Still, at just 27 years old you have to believe that he has at least 3-5 more productive seasons in him, again assuming he can stay healthy. Anything beyond a five year commitment is taking a HUGE risk, however. 

Honestly, I could see a team picking him up as a rental for a playoff run thereby giving him a bit of an audition for any teams who may be interested in signing him long-term. It's always interesting to see how a player adapts to a new team and a new situation after years of playing for the same team in the same system.