Predators make lineup change for trade-related reasons.

It appears that the Nashville Predators are on the verge of making a trade.

On Saturday morning, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Nashville Predators have made a significant lineup change, one that has been made for trade-related reasons. According to Friedman, veteran Predators forward Gustav Nyquist will be held out of today's game in an effort to avoid any potential injuries, with a clear indication that Nyquist is about to be traded out of Nashville.

Nyquist is a very experienced NHL player with over 800 games under his belt but has struggled, as has the team around him, with just 9 goals and 12 assists for a total of 21 points over his 57 games with the Predators this season. That being said Nyquist is only one season removed from a much better campaign with the Predators, one that saw him record 23 goals and 52 assists for 75 points over 81 games last season. 

Additionally he won't be a cheap pick up either in terms of the salary cap, with Nyquist currently in the final year of a 2 year deal that carries an average annual value and salary cap hit of $3.185 million.

Friedman has not indicated where Nyquist will be traded at this time but did speculate that the Minnesota Wild may be a likely destination with Friedman indicating that the Wild have been aggressively pursuing Nyquist leading up to the National Hockey League's trade deadline.

Given the dip in his performance this season as well as his relatively sizeable cap hit, I do not expect that the Predators are anticipating a huge return for Nyquist in this deal.

Stay tuned for more on this quickly developing story.