I don't see any upside for NSH here. What's the point in getting younger, if you're downgrading your roster significantly, and not getting any worthwhile futures?

So I wanna break this down to help me think through this.

The way I see it:

Forsberg >> Necas

Novak > Kotkaniemi

I know KK is signed for a long time and is younger, but his contract isn't great at all. Hopefully he can grow into it. But right now I'd go so far as to say it's a negative in this deal.

Necas also needs a new contract and with the growth of the salary cap I'm sure he'll be looking for somewhere north of 6.5 mil maybe more, not sure on the specifics.

So how does Raanta, Koivunen, and a 2nd cover the difference in value for those guys.

Nashville has no need for a goalie, has depth in the organization for RW, and already has a lot of day 2 picks in the 2024 draft. So I think the offer is missing a top prospect and a first to start. The truth of the matter is Forsberg retires a Pred unless you sell the farm for him.

Yeah, Necas would be nice to have - but not at the expense of Forsberg. Other than him, the pick is the only thing of much value - and the two of them don't amount to enough value for Forsberg.

Kotkaniemi and Raanta are cap dumps. Koivunen isn't much of a factor in a deal like this.

I would argue from Nashville's perspective that Necas and Forsberg are on pretty similar footing if not better for Nashville. Timing is everything in this league, Nashville is most likely going to need a rebuild or at least a retool as they wallow in Cap hell for at least the next two years (realistically 3). By that time, Forsberg will be a power forward on the wrong side of 30 with an $8.5 Mil salary. Alternatively, Necas would be a 27-28 year old prime finesse forward with excellent goal scoring and playmaking ability who has had a couple years experience in the system and is ready to help Nashville set up for a playoff push. Furthermore, he is also able to contribute to the team in his current form without any investment. I would argue that if Nashville currently had Necas and Canes currently had Forsberg, if the Canes were to offer Nashville a 1 for 1 swap of Forsberg for Necas that Nashville would say no for the reason I just showed above.

Alternatively for the Canes, while I love Necas, his play style simply does not compliment Rod's system, and I believe his talent is being squandered in NC. In the right environment, I could see Necas reaching as high as 90 points being truly one of the most explosively fast players in the NHL. At this point, I believe a talent like Forsberg would be a better compliment to Carolina's system, and given our position of being in a "win now" mode, we'd be willing to take on the risk of what is going to be the serious downside of the back-half of Forsberg's contract.

The true point of debate is the Novak for KK, Antti Raanta (correctly identified as a cap dump), and pocket change of picks and prospects. I thought it was pretty close to fair value, but I'd be willing to throw a bit more at this side of the deal to make it work out. Let me know your thoughts.

There's a couple of things I'd point out about the Necas to Forsberg comparison, but first Nashville won't be in cap hell in any year. We've managed our contracts well and even with the Duchene buyout and Johansen retention there are no issues. Both of those really don't even hurt Nashville all that much with the cap growing and the younger guys coming up that'll be able to provide value on ELCs or bridge deals.

The thing is Forsberg has more value, period. If he were on the market teams would be paying an insane value for him. You're also saying you can see Necas as a 90 point guy in the right system. What if he's only ever a 70 point winger who really doesn't even drive the offense on his own line. Forsberg drives the top line of the Predators. Necas has a lot of value, but nowhere near as much. So, while yeah Necas might be more valuable to a team like Nash who is retooling and Forsberg has more value to a team competing now, Forsberg has more value overall and to every other team around the league so it would cost more to get him from the team he's on. Especially when you consider the Preds are actively in the playoff race and not tanking. This team wants to compete. As much as the franchise would be better off if we did bottom out, the guys in that locker room want to compete, and want to go to the playoffs.

To the point of the debate, KK package for Novak. It won't be pocket change picks and prospects. Nashville would want a first, because even though KK has a lot of potential his contract is bad and long. The prospect would have to be one in a position of need for Nashville like RD or C. Maybe Nystrom so it's not the top of your prospect pool, but still someone with a lot of promise.