Nashville Predators Sign Trade Acquisition to Long-Term Deal
The Nashville Predators have locked up a potentially important piece of their future for the foreseeable future.
Per a media release put out by the organization, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland announced that the Predators have signed former Dallas Star forward Mavrik Bourque to a six-year, $33 million deal.
Bourque was acquired from the Dallas Stars in addition to defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in a July 1 trade where Nashville sent a 2027 second round pick and a 2028 third round pick to Dallas. Bourque is 24-years-old and is coming off a 2025-26 season where he set career highs in goals, assists and points with 41 points on 20 goals and 21 assists. He scored the fourth-most goals on the Stars’ roster this past season.
MacFarland now has Bourque locked up for the long term on what looks to be a smart deal. The deal carries an annual salary of just $5.5 million, which is not bad of a deal at all to get a promising piece that is continuing to develop into an important offensive contributor.
“Mavrik Bourque is a quality, two-way player who will fit perfectly with what we are trying to build here in Nashville,” MacFarland said at the time of the original trade with Dallas.. “At just 24 years old, his age and style of play fits in with the type of players we are looking to bring in to help make us better. In addition, Ilya Lyubushkin is a veteran defenseman with significant experience who can log minutes and be a physical presence in our own end. We are excited to welcome both players to Nashville.”
Bourque has played in 156 career games with the stars over the past three seasons and has scored 31 goals and assisted on 35 of them. During the 2023-24 season, Bourque won the AHL Most Valuable Player Award for his 77 points in 71 games.
Bourque immediately gives the Predators a new offensive presence on the ice. A player that proved last season he can contribute to the offense in a number of ways. Under Nashville’s coaching staff and management, Bourque is going to look to develop into an even better version for next season. If Bourque can continue on the trajectory he is on over the next few years, he will make himself part of the core of what Nashville is building.
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Graham Baakko writes for both Nashville Predators On SI and Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as an intern for GamecockCentral.