Who doesn’t love a reunion?
There could be some former Predators players who shake loose from their current teams this offseason. Does a return to Nashville make any sense for them or the team?
Here are three players to consider:
Brian Boyle
Boyle, acquired in a trade last season, made a positive impression on the Predators during his brief time with the team.
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“Brian was very good for us, great person,” Predators general manager David Poile said last June, when Boyle was a pending free agent. “If I can find a way to bring him back, we have time for that.”
Poile ultimately went in a different direction, and Boyle signed a $940,000 contract with the Florida Panthers in October. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound forward had 15 points in 39 games this season.
Evolving Hockey projects that Boyle, 35, will receive a $1.074 million deal in free agency when it opens next month. That seems like a reasonable price for a team in need of a no-nonsense leader, particularly one who already has a feel for and the respect of the dressing room.
Boyle, a veteran of 805 NHL games, also played for Predators coach John Hynes during parts of two seasons with the New Jersey Devils from 2017 to 2019.
Patric Hornqvist
In the six years since the Predators traded Hornqvist to the Pittsburgh Penguins, he has become, as colleague Josh Yohe recently described him, a “franchise folk hero.” (Do not click on this link unless you have the stomach for it.)
Drafted by the Predators with the 230th and final pick in 2005, Hornqvist, 33, personifies the “Predators Way” that Poile reminisced about at the end of the season. He has been a supremely effective sidekick to megastars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin by creating chaos at the net front and scoring 132 goals over six years.
The chart from Micah Blake McCurdy illustrates Hornqvist’s isolated offensive (top) and defensive (bottom) impacts at 5-on-5. (He was separated from Crosby and Malkin this season.)
As expected, Hornqvist’s durability has taken a hit after 12 seasons of physical play, but he is still a nuisance on the ice. The Penguins are in cost-cutting mode and retained half of forward Nick Bjugstad’s $4.1 million cap hit to trade him to the Minnesota Wild earlier this month. If they would be willing to do the same for Hornqvist, who has a $5.3 million cap hit until 2023 and full no-trade clause through next season, the idea of a reunion is intriguing.
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Yohe said the Penguins would want “a top prospect or a couple of picks” in return for Hornqvist. Although the Predators have extra second- and third-round picks this year, that might be too rich for them as they try to get younger and improve their prospect system.
James Neal
Last week, colleague Jonathan Willis argued that the Edmonton Oilers should buy out the remaining three years on Neal’s contract.
There are plenty of Predators fans who would hop in Doc Brown’s DeLorean, gun it to 2017 and protect Neal in the Vegas expansion draft. If the Oilers decide to take Willis’ advice, then Neal could solve a few of the Predators’ problems on offense.
At 33, Neal is still an effective shooter, scoring from high-percentage areas with a variety of shot types. He would also bring some bite to the Predators’ lineup, an element that has been missing since he left.
Neal and Matt Duchene could be two-thirds of a productive second line. It would also take the pressure off the Predators’ younger forwards.
Willis analyzed a hypothetical trade involving Neal and Predators center Kyle Turris, concluding that it would not satisfy the Oilers’ needs.
(Photo of Hornqvist: Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images)