GM David Poile comments on the P.K. Subban trade rumors.

There have been rampant trade rumors floating around the Nashville Predators following their first round playoff exit against the Dallas Stars and that is because it seems extremely likely that Nashville Predators general manager David Poile will be making changes to his roster this upcoming offseason.

Poile has made no secret of the fact that he was disappointed by his team's performance this season and although he is not going to pull the trigger on a trade deal just for the sake of saying he made a trade, he admitted that his approach this offseason will be different than the one he took last year. 

“I’m not discouraged. I’m just disappointed,’’ said the veteran general manger as per The Athletic. “And I’m ready to go on for next year. I don’t know what’s going to happen exactly. Last year I pretty well said we weren’t going to make any changes. I’m not saying that this year. I’m also not saying we’re going to totally re-make our team. I’m just going to do my job, see who’s available, make some inquiries. If there’s opportunities to make our team better, I will do that. But certainly not in the mode of making a change for the sake of making a change.’’

So it is clear that something has to change in Nashville and if the rumors around the team are anything to bank on, then star defenseman P.K. Subban may be among the primary trading chips in Poile's cabinet. It makes sense, Subban is still quite young for an NHL defenseman and in spite of his cap hit and injury woes in recent years he remains a versatile asset on the blue line. Not to mention there have been rumors in the past, primarily from his time as a Montreal Canadien, that Subban can rub some in the locker room the wrong way. If you watched the Predators this year it is clear that team chemistry was not on point and moving a big time personality could be a way to shake up that chemistry. 

Add to that the fact that the Predators are expected to sign captain Roman Josi, also a defenseman, to a massive new deal this summer and suddenly making Subban a trading chip begins to make more and more sense. Poile of course has heard the rumors surrounding Subban and he was quick to dismiss them as just more of the talk that has floated since the Predators acquired Subban.

“From the day we traded for him there’s been articles about us trading him. It’s been there for the last three years,’’ Poile said.

His most interesting comment however came when he was asked if that mean Subban would be staying in Nashville. It was quite clear that Poile would not rule out the possibility of that deal potentially being made this summer.

“Anybody can be traded. P.K. is a top, top player,’’ Poile said.

Something tells me we have not heard the last of this.