Barry Trotz continues to shake up the Predators roster as the Nashville Predators have traded Philip Tomasino to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2027 fourth round pick.
This isn’t what I would call a great trade for the Predators as Tomasino was a first round pick in 2019 (24th overall) and had some solid partial seasons offensively for Nashville in prior years.
After scoring 11 goals and recording 32 points as a rookie in 76 games during the 2021-22 season, Tomasino never got the same opportunity in the NHL with Nashville. He played 31 games, scoring five goals and 18 points the following season, scored seven goals and 20 points in 41 games last season, and has only gotten into 11 games this season.
Looking back to the move Trotz made a couple of days ago in calling up Fedor Svechkov, this trade makes more sense now. The Predators do have talented forward prospects pushing for roles in the NHL and higher in the lineup like Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux, so seeing Tomasino only record one assist in 11 games wasn’t enough to keep him around when the Predators needed a shakeup.
Tomasino looked good in training camp as part of the third line, but that didn’t play out as expected in the regular season and he was in and out of the lineup. Heading to Pittsburgh, he should have more of a chance to play and joins two former Predators in Cody Glass (traded in the off-season but currently injured) and Anthony Beauvillier (signed in free agency).
The return is lackluster for a former first round pick just five years ago with a good amount of NHL experience and production to show for it. Pittsburgh is going through changes as well, so a young forward with Tomasino’s potential could do well there and at very low risk of a fourth round pick in three drafts from now.
The Predators have to do a better job hitting on high draft picks, but the future looks brighter with what they still have after this trade. We’ll soon see how this works out for Nashville.
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