Nashville Predators trade Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton Oilers as selling continues

First Nino Niederreiter hit the road to Winnipeg. Then went Tanner Jeannot to Tampa Bay. On Tuesday, it was Mattias Ekholm’s turn.

The 32-year-old defenseman, who has made clear in recent years his desire to stay with the Nashville Predators, was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators also sent a sixth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Tyson Barrie, 19-year-old forward Reid Schaefer (2022 first-rounder), a first-round pick in this year’s draft and a fourth-round pick in 2024.

Ekholm told The Tennessean on Tuesday morning it was tough to see his former teammates traded and that his focus remained on trying to make the playoffs with Nashville.

“I feel like it’s every other year now,” Ekholm said of hearing his name in trade rumors. “I don’t even know how to answer. I stand here now and feel confident to be with this group. I want to be here, obviously. I signed a contract to stay here and I have no other thoughts in my head, whether I’ll be traded or not. It’s not up to me.”

Outgoing general manager David Poile and incoming GM Barry Trotz both have referred to the franchise’s strategy as a “reset,” but Poile did acknowledge to The Tennessean the team would, indeed, be selling leading up to Friday’s NHL trade deadline in an effort to stockpile draft capital.

The team received a second-round pick from the Jets for Niederreiter and a first-, second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick, along with defenseman Cal Foote from the Lightning for Jeannot.

“Sort of the same situation as Tanner,” Poile said of trading Ekholm. “You kind of set a price. A number of teams called, so all those rumors you read are true. We set a price and nobody met what the price was until today. I didn’t want to trade him but it was just too good of a deal. A little bit of that reset we’re trying do.”

Ekholm signed a four-year, $25 million extension before last season and has spent his entire 12-year career with Nashville, which picked him in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft. He has 62 goals and 206 assists in 719 regular-season games with Nashville.

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Barrie, 31, who is in the second year of a three-year, $13.5 million deal, has 105 goals and 373 assists in 744 career games with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Oilers. Going into Tuesday, he was tied for 11th among NHL defensemen in points with 43 (10 goals, 33 assists) in 61 games for the Oilers. His 28 power-play points are the most among defensemen this season.

The Predators have 12 picks in this year’s NHL Draft, which will be held in Nashville — one in the second and sixth rounds; two in the first and fifth rounds; and three in the third and fourth rounds. Nashville has nine picks in the 2024 draft — one in the first, third, fifth and seventh rounds; two in the fourth round; and three in the second round.

The Predators also acquired forward Austin Rueschhoff from the New York Rangers for future considerations earlier Tuesday afternoon.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators trade Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton Oilers