The Nashville Predators, and their wallets, breathe a sigh of relief as its former center Michael McCarron just signed a massive contract with the Minnesota Wild.
McCarron, 31, inked to a six-year, $20 million contract Tuesday with the Wild, the largest of his career. He was dealt to Minnesota at this year's Trade Deadline for a 2nd-round pick in 2028, playing 20 games with the club where he scored three goals and five points. He topped it off with two goals and four points in 11 postseason games.
In his time with the Predators, McCarron played 292 regular season games, recording 31 goals and 66 points, including a career-high 22 points in 2023-24. While never a top player for Nashville, he served as a reliable bottom-six center who could kill penalties and hit opponents.
The news of his extension with the Wild gave the Predators an idea of what retaining him could've entailed. His contract would've dug them deeper into the hole they've been trying to escape for the last few years.
The contract would've proved fans right again
A fan-favorite to many Predators fans, it was only a matter of time before Big Sexy was dealt elsewhere. Rumors came about last season, marking the Edmonton Oilers as a prime target for a McCarron acquisition. While a trade never fell through, it only handed the team more ideas if it didn't start seeing success in the coming years.
One year later, McCarron was traded away for what is considered an absolute steal for Nashville, retaining a 2nd-round pick. If the Preds considered keeping him, what would his extension look like? To be fair, it probably wouldn't have been as grand as his current one, but it could've been similar. They're notorious for handing out long contracts, especially ones with trade clauses.
Speaking of trade clauses, in case you didn't see, McCarron's new contract carries an NMC for the first three years, later turning into a 15-team no trade list in years 4-6. For a team that was and still is looking to reconstruct its roster for the future, clinging onto McCarron such expense would've ruined the Predators plans all together. The inability to move him at a moment's notice would disrupt Nashville's push for better center depth with Brady Martin, Yegor Surin and Vitali Pinchuk in the system.
An extension similar to Minnesota's would've proved to fans that this organization is relying on old habits. We did this with Colton Sissons in the past. While it paid off for Nashville, that doesn't mean that a similar path for McCarron would've. Sissons explored other lineup options, being a scorer for the Predators in addition to being a defensive specialist; McCarron on the other hand maintained a similar role his entire tenure with the team: a physical presence with occasional scoring.
With his previous contract set to expire this summer, it was smart on Trotz's part to move on from Big Sexy. Sure, he would've brought a lot of reliability to the center core, but taking into consideration the youth awaiting at center, it was a timely decision to let him go.
If there is one thing for Predators general manager Chris MacFarland to take from the news, it's to always look at the bigger picture. Keeping McCarron would've set up a roadblock the years to come; he should begin to examine the roster to see if this trend would appear elsewhere for Nashville.
