If there’s one thing Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile has shown over the years, it’s that he doesn’t like to get burned twice.
The last time Poile had to fill out a protection list for an expansion draft, the 71-year-old chose to protect young, emerging center Calle Jarnkrok over higher-scoring power forward James Neal, thinking he could swing a trade with then-Vegas GM George McPhee to keep Neal and entice the Golden Knights to pick a different Predators player.
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