While trading Afanasyev looks like a big loss, something had to be done this offseason so to not lose even more.
The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks made a trade involving two of the better prospects for each team. The Predators moved Egor Afanasyev and got Ozzy Wiesblatt in return.
The first big thing to note about this trade is that it gives the Predators an extra year to figure out their top prospects internally without as big of a risk of losing one. All three of Philip Tomasino, Juuso Parssinen, and Afanasyev are RFAs this summer and all of them will now be eligible for waivers starting next season. If any of them were to be sent down to play in Milwaukee again, they would be available to every NHL team to scoop up for free before clearing.
There was a debate as to which of the three would be moved before the season as it wouldn't have made sense to undoubtedly risk losing one. The Predators have too much money to spend to not make a couple of big moves and add, limiting even more roster spots available.
At best, two of the three would make the team this coming season and Afanasyev would have had a challenge in coming up with a roster spot and holding it as Nashville is hoping to compete again.
This 1-for-1 swap made sense in that Wiesblatt has one more year on his entry-level deal and one more season before requiring waivers. There is no doubt that he will spend next season with the Admirals, a team that he's fortunately already acquainted with. The Sharks loaned Wiesblatt to Milwaukee for the final 16 games of the 2023-24 regular season and for the 15 playoff games.
Afanasyev has proven to be much more skilled offensively in the AHL so far, but is also one year older than Wiesblatt. Afanasyev put up 27 goals and 54 points in 56 games this season while Wiesblatt only produced four goals and 16 points in 50 games, but they each had nine points in playoffs, showing the new Predators prospect can do more.
There is much less risk for the Predators to acquire this former first-round pick who is under contract and has been in the organization rather than dealing with the possibility of losing Afanasyev to Russia or on waivers if he doesn't beat out Tomasino, Parssinen, and more for a spot.
An interesting note is that no matter how much Afanasyev lit it up in the AHL, he couldn't find his footing in the NHL, scoring one goal and no assists in 19 games. Wiesblatt has yet to play an NHL game and may not even get into one next season, but the Predators have time to make decisions about the future of their prospects.
Now that Afanasyev has been moved, the spotlight in training camp shines brighter on Tomasino and Parssinen to not play themselves out of roster spots. While I don't believe Afanasyev would have made the Predators next season with the competition, he has a much better chance on a young, rebuilding team in San Jose to not only make it, but play higher up in the lineup.
It isn't ideal for the Predators to have to move such a productive prospect with potential in Afanasyev, but there is only a certain amount of space on each team and the future looks bright in Nashville regardless.