Colton SISSONS – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – NASHVILLE PREDATORS – Team Preview

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 16:00:57 +0000

_{NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 26: Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) is shown during game three of the Western Conference first round playoff between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, held on April 26, 2024, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)}

For much of 2023-24, the Predators were in the mix for a playoff spot, but far from a sure thing to advance. Following a 9-2 loss to Dallas on Feb. 15, Nashville was 27-25-2 and four points back in the wild-card race. Then Nashville’s core caught fire. Juuse Saros, who had a disappointing campaign to that point, went 15-3-3 with a 2.51 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 21 starts the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Filip Forsberg scored 23 goals and 41 points across Nashville’s final 28 outings, while Roman Josi and Gustav Nyquist recorded 36 and 34 points, respectively, over the same stretch. The result was Nashville reaching the postseason on the strength of a 47-30-5 record, but that was ultimately the high point for the Predators, who lost to Vancouver in the first round.

WHAT’S CHANGED? Backup goaltender Kevin Lankinen and offensive defenceman Tyson Barrie exited as unrestricted free agents, and Nashville dealt away 35-year-old blueliner Ryan McDonagh, but the Predators gained far more during the summer than they lost. High-end forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault signed from Tampa Bay and Vegas, respectively, bringing scoring depth and immense playoff experience to the franchise. Nashville also landed top four defenceman Brady Skjei to a seven-year deal. To replace Lankinen, Scott Wedgewood was inked to serve as Saros’ new understudy.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Nashville’s offence was middle-of-the-road last year, but with Stamkos and Marchessault joining Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Nyquist, and Thomas Novak, the Predators should have two excellent scoring lines this season -- maybe even three depending on how they spread things out, and if 22-year-old Luke Evangelista takes a step up in his second full NHL season. Meanwhile, Saros was a mixed bag last year, but when he’s good, there are few better. Coupled with the intangibles that come from bringing in players who have leadership and winning experience, this might be the best Predators team in a long time.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Age might get in the way. Josi and Stamkos are both already 34, while Marchessault will join them on Dec. 27. O'Reilly is starting to get up there, too, at 33. All of them were excellent last year, and there are certainly plenty of examples of stars who have staved off declines in their mid-30s, so regression is far from certain, but it is a potential concern. Saros’ inconsistent play is as well. So much is riding on him, especially after locking him up to an eight-year, $61.92 million deal over the summer, so if suffers prolonged cold streaks, that would be awfully concerning.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Nashville is expected to rely heavily on veterans this season, but as noted above, Evangelista could be a meaningful part of the Predators’ offence in 2024-25. He had 16 goals and 39 points in 80 regular-season contests in 2023-24, which isn’t bad given that he was limited to an average of 13:57 of ice time. Keep in mind, though, that Nashville’s offseason additions might result in him serving primarily on the third line and second power-play unit, which would in turn limit his contributions.

FORWARD

Ryan O'Reilly

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	24	52	76	0.97

A major part of Nashville’s roster shake-up was buying out Matt Duchene and signing Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year deal. His $4.5 million cap hit looks like a hilarious underpay after how the first year of deal went. As a long-time Selke candidate, his excellent two-way play was expected but his real value came from giving the Preds something they haven’t had in years, an undisputed top line center. He was their go-to guy in every situation, and he shined on the power play. His playmaking and hockey sense provided a great complement to Filip Forsberg, helping him have a career season. He was one of the best in the league on the power play from the hashmarks down, both at working the slot and the net front. Not just as getting to the blue paint, but with timing rebounds, knowing where the loose pucks are and positioning himself so that he can capitalize on open nets. O’Reilly is like having a coach on the ice with how smart of a player he is, always directing traffic from the bumper position on the power play and shouldering the burden on breakouts. A perfect player to shepherd the Preds into their next stage, O’Reilly will give them a ton of value both on and off the scoresheet. The added offseason additions of Stamkos and Marchessault should ensure he maintains or exceeds last season production.

Steven Stamkos

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	37	34	71	0.95

Shockwaves were sent around the hockey world when news broke that Tampa Bay would be walking away from their longtime captain Steven Stamkos. It’s not often you have the chance to sign a future Hall of Famer, so it was a major jolt in the arm to Nashville when he chose them as the place to spend the final years of his career. While the days of him going back-and-forth with Ovechkin for the Richard race are over, the resurgence Stamkos has had after a myriad of injuries is something to behold. Suffering a bloodclot in the 2020 playoffs, he was slow to get back to speed and since then, he’s had two 40+ goal seasons in three years. How does he look like on Nashville as a 33-year-old though? He is still reliant on that deadly one-timer, and he’s had the luxury of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point setting him up on the power play to get most of those goals. A lot of his value comes and goes with goal-scoring, as his play-driving strengths have gone downhill as he has gotten older. Tampa also had a tough time figuring out a permanent spot for him at even strength last year, yo-yoing between center and wing on scoring lines and checking lines depending on team needs. Nashville has a pretty good setup with a lethal top line and good scoring forwards emerging, so there are some intriguing options on where to slot their new toy. If anything, their power play should get a massive jolt. The adjustment will be real so expecting 35-40 goals and a point a game would be a good season in his new surroundings.

Filip Forsberg

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	54	48	102	1.24

Forsberg was always one of those players whose talent never matched up with his production, topping out as a 60-point guy due to injuries and low-scoring totals. That all changed two years ago when he reached the 40-goal mark and he did it again last season, coming two shy of hitting 50. He is one of the most gifted players in the league at puck-handling and creating his own shot. Strong on the puck with a dazzling set of hands, it’s incredibly difficult to get the puck away from Forsberg and he has that long stride where he can cover a lot of ground without possessing great speed. Combine that with his heavy, deceptive wrist shot, and you have someone who could garner some attention for a Hart Trophy when it all clicks. The problem for Forsberg is that it hasn’t “all clicked” for him except for a couple seasons in his career. The coaching change and his chemistry with Nyquist and O’Reilly helped a lot with this, as the two read off each other well and Nashville plays more of a free-wheeling style that allows Forsberg to get more puck touches and opportunities off the rush. He’s also become much better at forcing his way to the net if no shot is open. He is the engine that powers Nashville. Health allowing he could threaten 50 goals, though will defer to Stamkos at times on the power play in that regard,

Gus Nyquist

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	18	42	60	0.76

Even the biggest fans of Gus Nyquist were surprised with what he did in his 10^th NHL season, not only setting a career high in points but topping his career best by 21 points. He’s a jack of all trades winger who found a home on Nashville’s top line and enjoyed the many scoring opportunities that were set up on a platter for him by Forsberg and O’Reilly. It was also a two-way street because someone has to finish and get to the scoring areas for those chances to become goals and Nyquist did an excellent job of that. He started by scoring a lot by circumstance off rebounds and deflections, but it slowly began to look like a throwback to his Detroit days where the heavy wrist shot was his main weapon. His puck-protection skills, strong defensive stick and love of orbiting the offensive zone also helped him mesh as the third wheel on that Nashville top line. How the acquisition of Stamkos affects him will be interesting, as he plays the simplest game out of the three on the top line and the potential Stamkos brings on the off-wing might be too good to pass up. He’s also the most prone to regression on the scoresheet even if his worker-bee mindset shouldn’t be overlooked. Temper your expectations downward to 55 – 60 points, but meshed too well on the top line to overlook for possibly more.

Tommy Novak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	19	36	55	0.71

Last season wasn’t so much a “prove it” year for Novak as it was finding out what an average year looks like for him. Not that his scoring surge was purely percentage-driven, because he was excellent at driving offence, but he had never played a full NHL season at that point and his goal-scoring ability came out of nowhere. Novak proved some skeptics wrong because he was one of Nashville’s best players at driving rush offence, creating zone entries and setting up scoring chances, the scoring, however, was a little more evened out. He was streaker and a mid-season injury put him behind the eight-ball a little bit. On the whole, he had a nice year alongside rookie Luke Evangilista and journeyman Mark Jankowski, scoring at a top six rate and allowing them to show some of their skill. Playmaking is Novak’s calling hard and has been for a while. He’s very strong along the wall despite his size and his vision is among the best on Nashville’s roster. The goal-scoring, however, was a major surprise. Not just that it happened, but because most of his goals were pure sniper shots you wouldn’t expect from someone who has never scored 20 goals at any level. He’s getting better every season despite being in his late-20’s and should slide into a nice spot with Nashville’s improved scoring depth. If the top line stays together, he is likely centering Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault on the second line. Equally he will lose power play time to his potential new line mates but should break through the 20-goal level and assists should be in good supply with the two prior 40-goal shooters on his wing.

Jonathan Marchessault

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	34	26	60	0.73

There isn’t a situation where Vegas walking away from Marchessault would be received well. He doesn’t have the pedigree of Stamkos, but he was there since the team’s inception, holds most of their records and won the Conn Smythe in their Cup year. This was Nashville’s gain as they pounced on another franchise’s icon to help reshape their forward corps. There are a few reasons why Vegas didn’t keep him despite him coming off a 42-goal season, aside from the fact that he turns 34 in December. Marchessault wasn’t just a goal-scorer in his prime, he was a pure driver of offence and possession. You could play him anywhere in the lineup and get great results. Last year, the goal-scoring didn’t taper off, but the playmaking and possession-driving weren’t up to his usual standards. He’s more of a shoot-first type of a player now rather than someone who will work the give-and-go game and help with carrying the puck into the zone. This could be a sign of him slowing down or just a one-off because every year before this was excellent and the bonus goals more than made up for it. Nashville is flush with pure shooters now between him, Stamkos and Forsberg in their top six with some intriguing setup guys in O’Reilly, Nyquist and Novak. It’s the deepest forward corps they’ve had in years.

Luke Evangelista

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	19	26	45	0.55

Leading their AHL team in scoring when he was called up in early 2023, Evangelista impressed Nashville enough to make him a permanent fixture in their lineup. The rewards weren’t immediate, as he scored in only two games in his first 20 of the season. The slump kept him from being a regular top six member, but he still finished the year strong with 16 goals and he was a very good playmaker all season. He was one of the more skilled forwards on the roster outside of their top line and Nashville allowed him to play through some of his growing pains. An effective puck-carrier with a low center of gravity, Evangelista can make quick-strike offence happen and has a lethal shot when he gets space. He just doesn’t use it much and will look to pass instead, which resulted in him setting up a lot of point shots to probe the defence instead of making a high-risk play. Part of the reason why his play-driving stats were inconsistent up until the end of the season was when he, Mark Jankowski and Tommy Novak formed a red hot third line for the Preds to close the season. He still hasn’t put it together, but Evangelista does a lot of things that should keep him a contributing player in the league for a long time. He will have more of a fight for prime offensive minutes this year, although he could also see a linemate boost if his play improves.

Colton Sissons

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	14	20	34	0.41

The less-celebrated Nashville forward who reached a career high in goals and points under Andrew Brunette, Sissons’ game is all about defence and penalty killing. We live in an age where almost every forward was a high-scorer in juniors or another level and can burn you if given the opportunity. Sissons wasn’t necessarily one of those guys, but he isn’t a slouch when it comes to finishing opportunities put on a tee for him. This was the case last year, scoring most of his goals off deflections, rebounds and surprising goalies with the occasional snipe. Sissons has been a fixture in Nashville for years, one of their more relied on penalty killers and their most aggressive to break shorthanded. Has a good first stride to get a step on defenders and takes a lot of the burden with defensive zone draws, setting the table for the next lines to play more in the offensive zone. The one lower-scoring forward who doesn’t need to worry about his ice-time because of his role in the defensive zone, but he will have to adjust to life without longtime linemate Yakov Trenin, who was the forechecking presence on this line.

Philip Tomasino

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
58	7	14	21	0.36

In what appears to be a “make-or-break” year for the former first round pick, Tomasino’s had a lot of NHL time for someone who can technically still be considered a prospect. Making the team out of camp, he didn’t get consistent playing time until the middle of the season and was sent back down to Milwaukee in February, where he spent the rest of the year. Tomasino’s drawback is that he hasn’t figured out how to score at the same rate he did at other levels, although he has never gotten prime offensive minutes and last year was an uphill battle for him in terms of linemates and situational deployment. He still ended up scoring at a 39-point pace, which is comparable to rookie Luke Evangelista and other young players who are slotted as productive top nine forwards. This might just be the burden of expectations and Nashville not having a deep enough roster to put him in a position to succeed, the latter of which could change this year. He is a dynamic skater who can weave through traffic and can create chances from inside the dots on his own. It will take an injury to break into the top six, but he could see some secondary power play time. There’s some major boom-or-bust potential with him, as he can be someone that lights it up on their third line or ends up back in roster purgatory. At 23, this is usually the year where it goes one way or another.

DEFENCE

Roman Josi

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	24	66	90	1.13

It’s easy to take excellence for granted. It’s doubtful anyone who follows Nashville does this with Roman Josi. He’s been the face of the team since the departure of PK Subban and has done nothing but casually break the mold for how a defenceman should play. There were times when you would be shocked to see a blueliner leading the rush or flying the zone, but it’s a regular occurrence for him in Nashville. A change in strategy to decrease his workload on puck retrievals and zone exits helped take his offensive production to another level in 2021-22 and we saw a repeat of that this year. With Ryan McDonagh or Dante Fabbro handling most of the forecheck pressure, Josi was free to roam up the ice and find all the open space in the neutral zone. He’s still the best skater and passer on the Preds, so good things usually happen when the puck is on his stick. His defensive game has also rounded out the past year, getting burned on rushes less frequently and giving forwards less of a gap when he does have to defend one-on-one. He still has that riverboat gambler mindset but is less of a pure one-way threat now than he was earlier in his career. Forsberg is the engine powering Nashville, but Josi is the one driving the bus. Do not underestimate and could take a step yet offensively.

Brady Skjei

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	13	39	52	0.64

Needing a minute-eater, Nashville found a good one in Brady Skjei in free agency, although it did cost them a pretty penny at over seven million AAV for seven years. Skjei is a great case of a player’s development not stagnating when they hit their early 20’s. He was a player with a lot of flaws in his game when Carolina got him at the 2020 trade deadline, with not much to his game except his size, skating and cardio. With some time under their coaching staff and playing regular minutes, he formed one of the league’s best shutdown pairs with Brett Pesce. Skjei’s main contributions were his shot blocking, his mobility and his ever-improving offensive instincts. He scored double-digit goals in each of his last two seasons, Carolina’s love of point shots fueling that, and should be in a position to contribute offensively in Nashville with how involved their defencemen usually are. The question is where he slots, as he can be Josi’s puck retrieval guy and another big shot to worry about from the point, or a guy who can carry their second pair. One would think it’s the latter, as he has no issues playing the tough matchups if he needs to. He was also used on the power play sparingly with the Hurricanes, although he will probably be limited to second unit duty at most with Josi in Nashville. He should be closer to 35 – 40 points and 10 goals or more in his new surroundings.

Alex Carrier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	5	18	23	0.29

Seemingly on the trade block every year, Nashville went the other way and elected to re-sign the undersized defenceman to a three-year deal. Watching him play, it’s easy to see why most teams wanted him and why Nashville wanted to keep him. He can play the big minutes and is a mobile defenceman who can do all the little things. Carrier’s a great skater who can take a lot of hits despite his size, making him a great outlet in the defensive zone and he uses his low center gravity to time hits and break up plays at the blue line. His offence is also underrated, as he will jump into the play given the opportunity. Only has modest point totals to show for it, but he makes lives so much easier for the forwards in front of him with the work he does on the blue line. Great at walking the blue line and getting pucks through traffic as well. He’s a bit on the older side for someone who doesn’t have much NHL experience but can still hold the fort down on a second pair.

Dante Fabbro

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
66	2	12	14	0.21

Sometimes a player is “first pair” or “top line” in the lineup card only, that’s the case for Dante Fabbro. Usually paired with Roman Josi, Fabbro doesn’t always play every shift alongside him, usually subbed out late in the game for Ryan McDonagh or in long offensive zone shifts for someone with a little more pop. Fabbro gets the minutes with Josi because he can accept the role as the “retrieval guy” on the pair, taking a lot of hits and deferring most of the exits to someone else. He might not log major minutes, but they’re not easy to play and his role is one of the more underappreciated on the team. He hasn’t gotten to show some of the high-end offence he had in college because of his energy is burned in the defensive zone and you’re not going to get a lot of puck touches alongside Josi. Fabbro can still lean into a wrist shot from distance when he gets the room, but his relied upon to be a stabilizer more than a driver. Healthy scratch at times last year but has more of a clear roster spot now with Tyson Barrie leaving.

GOAL

Juuse Saros

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
61	36	19	6	4	0.910	2.61

If the Nashville Predators were especially lucky to transition seamlessly from perennially-elite starter Pekka Rinne to similarly-reliable Juuse Saros a handful of years ago, it seems their luck may have finally started to run out. The Central Division club, who were potentially poised to enter a new tandem era with Saros and top-tier prospect Yaroslav Askarov, found their hands forced by Askarov’s desire to start the year in the NHL instead of with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. His move to the San Jose Sharks at the end of August put Nashville’s goaltending situation into a very different perspective; things still aren’t as bleak as they could be, but this isn’t an obstacle they’ll be able to look back on and shrug off.

Saros has continued to be a commanding presence in the blue paint for Nashville. His ability to box opponents out of his crease and eliminate screens help him overcome any deficit he might incur as one of the league's shortest goaltenders. Even as Nashville has started to exit their contention window, Saros has looked like an almost seamless transition for the club from former star Pekka Rinne - and the hope was that Askarov would replicate the cycle all over again, coming in alongside Saros until he was ready to shoulder the larger bulk of the workload in the next few years. The Predators added veteran Scott Wedgewood on a multi-year deal to presumably serve as Saros' backup this year - which likely left Askarov convinced he’d spend the bulk of the year in the minors, prompting the discontent that led to his trade request. Now, Nashville will have to hope that Saros can continue to be their star without guaranteed help on the horizon; it's not an impossible feat, but it's far from the bright future Nashville fans have been eagerly awaiting since the 2020 NHL Draft.

2024 NHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks

Robert Howard — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:33:39 +0000

VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 31: Nashville Predators center Liam Foudy (18) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) vie for the puck as Nashville defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (3) and Vancouver defenseman Filip Hronek (17) watch the Vancouver Canucks game versus the Nashville Predators on October 31, 2023, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/Icon Sportswire)

Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks

This has the potential to be an exciting series between two teams who have defied expectations this season after missing the playoffs last year. Vancouver was 6^th in the Pacific with 83 points while Nashville was fifth in the Central with 92 points last year. The outlook at the start of the season for both teams was modest. McKeen’s team pre-season predictions (along with most hockey media) had them both just outside of a playoff spot.

Both teams were led by new coaches who should both receive some voting consideration for coach of the year.

Rick Tocchet led the Canucks in his first full season, after replacing Bruce Boudreau in January 2023 last season. With new captain Quinn Hughes replacing the departed Bo Horvat, the team bought into their new coach’s stability and his systems from the get-go, ultimately winning the Pacific Division handily with 109 points. Hughes emerged as a Norris trophy favourite registering 92 points while finishing fourth in the league with a +38. Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller rose to another level and are legitimate superstars. Thatcher Demko had a much-needed redemption season after a tough 2022-23.

However, the Canucks reward for winning their division and qualifying for the playoffs after missing for the last three seasons is to meet one of the hottest teams in the league over the last two months of the season.

In the first season in franchise history in which David Poile was not GM, after being replaced by longtime franchise fixture as coach (15 years) in Barry Trotz, the Preds return to the playoffs. The rookie GM moved quickly to put his stamp on the team with key buyouts (Matt Duchene), trades and free agent signings (Ryan O’Reilly among others) but significantly did not touch three foundational superstars in Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg and goaltender Jusse Saros, despite some pressure to take the rebuild to the foundation. Josi and Forsberg responded with exceptional seasons. Josi continued his dominant play from 2022-23, while Forsberg remained healthy for a full season for the first time in a while, burying 48 goals along the way. Saros had an up and down season but is peaking at the right time and returning to his elite form.

Andrew Brunette replaced John Hynes as coach in the offseason. His impact on the team became apparent as the season went on with the team finishing on an absolute tear. A cancelled team outing to a U2 concert at the Sphere in Vegas might be given credit as a catalyst for a blazing finish, but the foundation had been laid all season. Brunette has his team cooking at the right time.

Over the last two months of the season (Feb 18 to April 18) the Nashville Predators owned the best win percentage in the league (19-5-3, .759%) while the Vancouver Canucks ranked 18^th (13-10-3, .558%). Nashville ranked second in xGF (5v5) per game (68.34 total, 2.53 a game) while Vancouver ranked 14^th in xGF (5v5) per game (54.7 total, 2.11 per game). Over the course of the season, Nashville ranked sixth with a xGF% of 53.04% and Vancouver was not far behind at eighth with 52.27%.

While Vancouver won all three head-to-head matches outscoring Nashville 13 to 6 this season this is likely to end up a much closer matchup than the respective records might indicate given recent performance. They matchup well as both like to have possession of the puck. They are side by side among the leaders in offensive time zone percentage (NHL Edge) at fourth (Nashville 43.7%) and fifth (Vancouver 43.0%) behind the Oilers, Panthers and Hurricanes. They are also side by side in CF%, they are ninth (Nashville 51.46%) and 10^th (Vancouver 51.45%). Both will be looking to transfer to offense quickly and the team that wins that battle could hold the edge.

KEY MATCHUPS

Jusse Saros vs Thatcher Demko – Saros has the ability to be a difference maker here if he can outperform Thatcher Demko. He has played at an elite level in the past. This season Moneypuck.com has Demko at second in the league with 22 saves above expected in 51 games while Saros is at -3.0 in 64 games. A complete reversal from 2022-23 when Saros led the league with approximately 47 goals saved above expected while Demko was near the bottom with -5.7. Demko is just returning from injury but looks to be fine. The series could swing on which goalie shows up and gets dialed in early.

Vancouvers Power Play vs Nashville Power Play – Given the personnel both teams can roll out, on paper Vancouver should have the dominant unit. Nashville’s top unit is comprised of a core of Forsberg, O’Reilly, Nyquist and Josi. Vancouver has Miller, Hughes, Pettersson, Boeser along with a much stronger supporting cast, although they have been overly reliant on the big four for minutes all season. In the last two months of the season Nashville has been firing at 26.9%, good for fourth in the league. Vancouver is 20^th at 21.6%. Compared to their full season totals Vancouver is at 22.7% (11^th) versus Nashville at 21.6% (16^th). Can Vancouvers stars get to another level? Can Nashville keep a hot hand?

Quinn Hughes vs Roman Josi – Both are their respective team captains and likely direct competitors for the Norris trophy as best defenseman, with Hughes as the current favourite in the media. They finished number one and number three in defense scoring. Both play critical minutes, and it can be argued who carries a bigger load, with perhaps an edge to Hughes. He is emerging at the start of a long career, while Josi has been dominant for a long time. Hughes analytics fair better as well over the season but in a head-to-head seven game series either player can put their team on their back and make a difference.

X-FACTOR

Vancouvers depth should win out as they grind through the playoff series. Their strength down the middle in Miller, Pettersson and Lindholm should be a clear edge over Ryan O’Reilly, Tommy Novak and Colton Sissons. They are much deeper through all four lines over the Predators up front. On defense they may be comparable after their top two studs. Hronek had a very strong year to provide a slight edge.

FANTASY PLAYERS TO TARGET

There is a lot of firepower at the top of the line-up to target on both teams that we have already mentioned. Some sleeper picks could include Gustav Nyquist with 33 points in his last 26 games, who will likely be available late in your draft. On Vancouver Conor Garland has been hot down the stretch with 19 points in 26 games. Ryan O’Reilly always shows up for the playoffs and may be worth a late round flyer.

PREDICTION

Vancouver should be able to beat Nashville in six games with a much deeper roster. How their young players respond to playoff pressure as the home team could be a factor as well. The Predators are led by some stabilizing veterans with more playoff experience. That along with the momentum the Predators are carrying into the matchup, along with goaltending, could be equalizers. At the end of the day, it is hard to bet against a Canucks group that has come far this season.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – NASHVILLE PREDATORS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 19:58:08 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 19: Nashville Predators center Thomas Novak (82) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers, held on December 19, 2022, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

Review: The Predators have rarely been listed among the main contenders for the Stanley Cup in any given year, but they have managed to stay consistently competitive, making the playoffs for eight straight campaigns from 2014-15 through 2021-22. They nearly reached nine consecutive seasons but came just short with their 42-32-8 record last year. Juuse Saros deserves most of the credit for keeping Nashville close. He’s one of the most reliable goaltenders in the world, and he stayed strong in 2022-23, posting a 33-23-7 record, 2.69 GAA and .919 save percentage in 64 contests. Consider that Nashville ranked 28th in 5-on-5 expected goals against (199.01), suggesting the Predators were among the league’s worst teams defensively and would have consequently been easy to score against if not for some stellar netminding. Saros’ role was even more important because Nashville didn’t do much offensively. None of the Predators reached the 60-point mark, though it didn’t help that Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and especially Roman Josi missed meaningful chunks of the season. The silver lining is Saros is just 28, and the Predators have two more seasons left at a team-friendly $5 million cap hit, so there’s still time to build around him.

What’s Changed? Deciding major turnover was necessary, Predators GM Barry Trotz bought out Matt Duchene’s contract and traded Ryan Johansen to Colorado. Nashville leveraged that freed cap space to ink top-six forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist. They also added defensive defenseman Luke Schenn, which might make life a little easier on Saros.

What would success look like? The Predators could absolutely make it back into the playoffs, but their push needs to start with another great campaign from Saros. Assuming they have that, an injury-free year out of Josi would do a lot to make up the rest of the gap. Meanwhile, it will be the first full NHL campaign for forwards Thomas Novak, Luke Evangelista and Juuso Parssinen, who could combine to make Nashville a significantly better team offensively than they were in 2022-23.

What could go wrong? Whenever a team relies so much on a single player, as Nashville does with Saros, the nightmare scenario is always an injury to said player. Although Nashville does have a sufficient backup in Kevin Lankinen, but being forced to rely on him for an extended period would be far from ideal. It’s also not clear how much offensive help O’Reilly and Nyquist will be. Both had up-and-down campaigns last year, so if Nashville was hoping to swap Duchene and Johansen for safer bets, they may end up disappointed.

Top Breakout Candidate: After scoring 17 goals and 43 points in 51 games last season, Novak is perhaps too easy of a choice, so instead let’s focus on one of his projected linemates, Evangelista. The 21-year-old also had an encouraging, albeit much shorter, stint with Nashville in 2022-23, contributing seven goals and 15 points in 24 contests. Evangelista also excelled in the AHL with 41 points in 49 outings and turned pro with plenty of offensive upside. He’s a big part of why Nashville has reason for optimism about the long-term outlook of its forward core.

Forwards

Filip Forsberg - LW

Looking to follow up a fantastic 42-goal season, Forsberg started off a little slow with only two goals in the first month of the season. He hit his stride over the winter, scoring at a point-per-game pace in November and December before a concussion in early February sidelined him for the rest of the season. Streaky scoring isn’t out of the ordinary for Forsberg, as he is the type of player who will run hot, and he was on-pace to match his typical season totals before getting hurt. Talent eventually shows through with most players, and he is the type you can always count on to go on a scoring tear at some point. Terrific at generating offense on his own, Forsberg is one of the most creative shooters in the league. He can test goalies despite being covered or tricking defenders by passing at the very last second to set up a breakaway or a lay-up goal for his linemates. He had fantastic chemistry with Matt Duchene in 2022 for this reason and while they struggled to repeat that last year, Forsberg still found a way to get on the scoresheet with a revolving door of linemates. His 42-goal campaign might have been an aberration, but at the end of the day the Preds will be happy with what they get out of Forsberg.

Ryan O’Reilly - C

Nashville shook up their forward corps this summer, shipping off veterans Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen and bringing in Ryan O’Reilly as their new centerpiece. Whether you’re a contending team or navigating a rebuild, O’Reilly is a good player to build your forward group around. He can handle the big minutes and the tougher matchups, which will make life easier for the Tommy Novaks of the roster. Nashville’s blue line will also benefit from him, as he acts like a third defenseman with how deep he plays in the zone and how good he is at starting breakouts. This along with his strength in making plays on his backhand are his calling cards. He has also made the most out of playing with some of the scraps in the St. Louis’ forward corps, as the more talented players were moved to more scoring lines. Last year he formed an excellent checking line with Josh Leivo and Brandon Saad. O’Reilly is the type of player whose line will usually dominate territorially even if they aren’t scoring a lot of goals, so this bodes well for what he can do in Nashville. Very high floor, but a lower ceiling than there used to be with him.

Tommy Novak - C

The former Minnesota Gopher might have been the best player in the second half of the season that you’ve never heard of (unless you’re a Nashville fan or a fantasy hockey player). Known primarily as a playmaker and a pass-first player, the 17 goals in 50 games Novak scored last year was one fewer than his career total in four years at college and more than he scored in any season in the AHL. It wasn’t the “playing out of the string” type of production either, as Nashville was fighting for a playoff spot in the second half and three of Novak’s goals were scored in overtime. He showed signs that he could be a good player during his first cup of coffee with the Preds. He has excellent hands and was very good at making safe plays to keep offensive zone shifts going. What changed last year was that he really started poaching for more offense and began shooting more. Some of that is from getting endless breakaway opportunities but he also worked his way into the slot to create his own shot instead of reverting to the point or passing it off to someone else. At 26, this was probably Novak’s last chance to prove he belongs in the NHL and to say he proved that is an understatement.

Gustav Nyquist - LW

Every team needs a player or two like Nyquist, a decent scoring forward who isn’t a top-liner but can keep up with your big dogs if you need someone to fill-in. Nyquist has that Swiss-Army Knife toolset where he can do just enough to help everyone his line without being the main driver of it, not being the first one on pucks, but usually being in the right spot to receive a pass or setup a give-and-go. Uses his stick well in the defensive zone and was a regular on Columbus’ aggressive penalty kill for years, scoring seven shorthanded goals in three years with Columbus. Had no real consistent linemates with the Jackets last year and didn’t see any action with Minnesota until the playoffs where he played on a line with Ryan Hartman. Doesn’t have the shot or the game-breaking skill to be the driver on his line, or a consistent offensive threat, but will pitch-in enough to help any line that he is on. Modern day utility player and a nice placeholder for the Preds.

Cody Glass - C

Spending all of 2021-22 in the AHL, Nashville made it a priority to fix Cody Glass’ development after getting him from Vegas. The former third overall pick had a rocky start in the NHL and his first full season with the Predators was a major step forward. Finding his way as a middle-six center, Glass seemed to find his niche as a goal-scorer and a net-front guy on the power play. Scoring six of his goals with the man advantage, Glass is more of the “goal/point vulture” mold right now, he hangs around the net most of his shifts and has slowly figured out the ins-and-outs of scoring a lot of dirty goals. He has terrific hands but slow feet, so this is a good way for him to make an NHL career. It makes him more of a secondary player on his line, as he doesn’t play with a lot of pace, or handle the puck much, but it’s also something you can work around since he will do the little things away from the puck. His defensive game was especially encouraging, always in the right spot in coverage to help generate easy exits. Great things were expected for Glass when Vegas took him with their first ever pick and a detour to Nashville seems to be just what he needed to get his career back on track.

Yakov Trenin - LW

Appropriately nicknamed “The Yak,” the Nashville winger is probably most known for being one of the only players to fight Zdeno Chara twice. What they might not know is that he’s become one of Nashville’s more reliable players since then. Scoring double-digit goals in back-to-back seasons, he found a home on what was dubbed “The Herd Line” by Preds fans. He was one of the straws that stirred the drink on that line because he is very direct in how he plays. He shoots the puck at every opportunity and will lay a shoulder into any player that is along the boards. The more skilled parts of his game showed out a little last year, carrying the puck into the zone more and surprising defenders with his puck-handling. He still doesn’t drift too far from his bread and butter, always hanging around or behind the net to set up shop in the offensive zone and being a nuisance to play against. Also, a fixture on Nashville’s penalty kill alongside Colton Sissons. Trenin should continue to be a regular middle-sixer for Nashville even with The Herd Line disassembled.

Denis Gurianov - RW

Dallas finally decided to cut bait with their former first round pick, sending him to Montreal in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov. Far removed from his 20-goal rookie campaign, Gurianov struggled to find the scoring touch after that and hasn’t found a niche in the other parts of the game. His last year in Dallas was his low point, with only two goals in 43 games. If you tuned into their games, you know it wasn’t for a lack of trying, as he averaged more shots per 60 minutes than almost any of their other forwards and the blistering one-timer is still there. Being able to get it on the net has been the issue and his game went from one-dimensional to zero-dimensional as a high-shot volume player who couldn’t score. A fresh start in Montreal helped for a pinch, scoring four goals in five games after the trade but they ultimately let him become a free agent. He brings some qualities that Nashville could use, especially as a triggerman for their second power play unit and someone who plays with a high-motor and will at least work hard in his minutes. It’s tough to say if he will get regular playing time with so many players from Milwaukee looking for full-time jobs too.

Colton Sissons - C

A hero from their 2017 Stanley Cup run, Sissons has been a mainstay in Nashville’s bottom-six for years, centering The Herd Line with Trenin and Jeannot. He was one of a few players that had their role increased last year due to injury, playing close to 19 minutes some nights and even getting some prolonged time with Filip Forsberg in the top-six at times. Sissons is typically the “next man up” for Nashville in these situations because of how reliable his game is as a defensive player and that he has the stamina to play bigger minutes if needed. Most of the time he has a pretty thankless role as the center who takes most of the defensive zone faceoffs and the main job is surviving the shift before even thinking about making a play with the puck. It’s a tough, but necessary role on most teams and you can do worse than Sissons. He usually finds a way to get to the 25–30-point range despite that, though. Last year was his highest goal total since 2019, as the extra ice-time allowed him to poach for more offense at times. He can also play the wing if needed, so should continue to be a fixture in Nashville’s lineup next year.

Phillip Tomasino - RW

After spending all of 2021-22 in the NHL, the former first round pick wasn’t called up to Nashville until February. This decision was met with the refrain of “it’s about time,” as he was a sleeper pick for some people last year. Not setting the world on fire but showing some flash as a playmaker and looking like he belonged in the NHL at the very least. His play down the stretch was more of the same, Tomasino getting more of a run in the top-six and showing some of that creativity that got him drafted so high. Why he was in the AHL for so long is tough to say. Either Nashville didn’t want to have one of their top prospects stuck as a checker or they felt his overall game needed more work. Regardless, it looks like he did enough to be on the opening night roster this year. He was a decent weapon on the second power play unit, setting up a lot of plays from the right faceoff circle and scoring a few “surprise” goals off deflections. The lack of goal-scoring and his spotty play-driving are legitimate concerns, but hopefully he will get a full-season to iron those out this time around.

Defense

Roman Josi - D

Following up a record-setting season is tough. Perhaps it’s even more difficult when someone on another team breaks your own record, which was the case for Nashville’s star defenseman. He was the first defenseman to top 90 points, something that hasn’t been done post-lockout, until Erik Karlsson scored 101-points this year. There wasn’t a lot that changed about his overall game this year except the puck went into the net less often, mainly on the power play where he had 13 fewer points. Josi was the same, roaming player he has always been, always looking to push for offense. Nashville’s forwards not scoring as many goals as they used to is what hurt his point total more than anything. The same passing plays he created in 2022 weren’t as freely available last year, so the points didn’t come as easily for him. The main difference for the Nashville captain this year was adjusting to a new partner in Ryan McDonagh, pairing him with another lefty for the first time in a while and someone who is a little tougher around the edges than Dante Fabbro. It made breakouts a little easier, as Josi didn’t have to go the full 200 feet to create offense and could get up in the play more with a steady partner back. Still projects to be the team’s best player for the upcoming season.

Tyson Barrie - D

Some players are a product of the situations they’re in and Tyson Barrie has been living his best life running the top of the umbrella of the Oilers power play. His vision and deception from the point made him a good fit for that spot, as he can do more than just distribute from the point and find the soft spots in the penalty kill. Nashville got to see glimpses of that during his audition with the team after the trade deadline. He’s also a decent goal-scoring threat for a defenseman, tallying 10 last season. He has some utility at 5-on-5 but was used primarily on the third pair during his final year with Edmonton, as he doesn’t handle forecheck pressure well and has trouble translating his strong puck-skills when the game gets quicker. Most of his value is attached to what he does on the power play, which was a lot with the Oilers. 54-percent of his points with Edmonton were with the man advantage. He could see a bigger role in Nashville but will have a tough time unseating Roman Josi as the team’s power play quarter back.

Ryan McDonagh - D

Few players deserved the “underrated” tag more than Ryan McDonagh in his prime. He did everything you want out of a top-pairing defenseman and could control 5-on-5 play better than almost anyone. As he has gotten older, he’s gotten less concerned with putting up points and more with taking care of his own zone first. He’s a strong skater still and will jump in for a splash play occasionally, but he’s not the one-man breakout he used to be. Pairing him with Josi made sense on paper, as McDonagh can still be effective with taking hits and killing the play along the boards so Josi can scoop the puck up, but there is only so much you can do as a defenseman playing this style. You’re making the first play, but everything else is out of your control, so the downside is you might have a season like McDonagh where you spend most of the time blocking shots and preventing damage in your own zone. There’s a role for these players, but it’s a taxing style on their bodies and McDonagh already has a lot of miles on his tires at 33-years old. His skating is still strong enough to keep him a viable option on the penalty kill and the top-four.

Alex Carrier - D

The young defenseman suffered two setbacks, first was having his season derailed by an injury, second was losing Mattias Ekholm, Carrier’s defense partner for most of his brief career. His game isn’t too different from top-pairing defensemen around the AHL or in other leagues, just needing a chance to finally get a chance in the AHL. He’s a good skater that uses his stick to disrupt plays without taking penalties and was a great fit for John Hynes’ system where the right defensemen step up in the neutral zone regularly. Very good with the puck even if it doesn’t translate to a lot of points, as exiting the zone with control is a strength of his. Could be in a tough roster situation this year with Nashville having four right-handed defensemen under contract and his regular partner now playing for another team. Mobility and willingness to play anywhere in the lineup should be enough to keep him a regular, although maybe with a different role depending on how the roster shakes out.

Goaltending

Juuse Saros - G

The Nashville Predators missing out on the postseason last year was hardly goaltender Juuse Saros’ fault. The undersized – but remarkably well-positioned and hard-to-shake – number one put up one of the league’s best performances last year, despite the raw numbers showcasing nothing more than an overworked (but better than average) starter on an underperforming team. No goaltender in the NHL made more saves above expected last year than he did, with the 28-year-old keeping his team not just in games, but close to the playoff hunt quite literally down to the bitter end. The Predators missed the postseason by a mere three points last year, and it’s hard to believe they would have been anywhere but the league basement without Saros’ steady presence in more than two-thirds of their games.

Of course, there’s only so long that the team can continue to trot out Saros for over sixty games a year. It’s hard to imagine they don’t want to split the workload more evenly, and there’s a chance that he’ll be able to take some breaths of relief with prospect Yaroslav Askarov looking more and more ready for regular NHL action. But ultimately. Saros is a smaller goaltender who has to rely on picture-perfect precision in his game to keep the team from backsliding; if they keep playing him with the kind of workload they’ve asked of him for the last few years, it’s hard to imagine it won’t start to show up in the form of fatigue errors before they’re ready to get Askarov into regular game action. The Predators have to find the balance between treating their current starter right and avoiding any kind of rush job for their goaltender of the future – and right now, they’re toeing that line a little too closely for comfort.

Projected starts: 60-65

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – NASHVILLE PREDATORS – NHL Player Profiles

Corey Sznajder – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 20:09:35 +0000

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 05: Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) skates during a timeout during the NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators on March 5, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Filip Forsberg

It might surprise some folks that last year was only the third time Filip Forsberg eclipsed the 30-goal mark and the only season where he was a point-per-game player. Widely considered one of the league’s stars, it was always a struggle for him to have the point production that matched his talent. That changed in 2021. Forsberg had the golden touch, scoring on almost 20% of his shots, benefitting from Nashville playing more off the rush than in past years. For years, the Preds were a team that created off long, sustained possessions with Forsberg pulling the puck off the wall, using his great hands to create chances with minimal space. This was still part of Nashville’s game, but there was more of a direct approach with Forsberg this year. He attacked the net more frequently after entering the zone, taking more shots instead of looking and being selective. It made a lethal combination with Matt Duchene, as the two frequently set each other up on give-and-go plays. Forsberg is such a gifted player that he can play any style and be effective, but the rush-based approach did a lot for making him more of a game-breaker, giving Nashville a huge spark in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. His playmaking also came a long way, ranking as one of the best players in the league in assists on scoring chances. With goal-scoring on the rise, Forsberg is set to have another good year. Will it be the heights he reached last year when everything went right, or will he settle back into being the 25-30 goal guy he’s been for most of his career?

Nino Niederreiter

A player like Niederreiter is always going to be useful because even if he’s in a scoring drought, he is going to do something to help his line. He has the top-six skill with a fourth line mentality. He’s very smart with how he forechecks and disrupts plays without taking penalties and can keep pucks pinned below the goal-line for an entire shift. It made him a vital member of Carolina’s shutdown line with Jordan Staal last year, as he was the “skill guy” on the line, creating looks off the rush and being the first one on pucks to wear down defenders. The interesting thing about him is that while he’s productive, a lot of the goals he scores are of the “odd” variety. You’ll see a lot of bank shots off the goaltender or goals from impossible angles. Not many players will have back-to-back 20-goal seasons scoring goals like this, but that’s been the case for him. There’s a lot of different things Nashville can do with him. He would fit right in with Tanner Jeannot on the checking line, but he was moved around in Carolina before settling in on Staal’s wing, so he brings some versatility there. Special teams’ ice-time is the one thing to look for with him, as he produced with limited usage on the Carolina power play and didn’t kill penalties either. He could be more of a fixture on both in Nashville.

Matt Duchene

One year removed from being available in the expansion draft, Matt Duchene had the type of season Nashville fans were waiting for. It was his most productive season in his long NHL career and the first time he reached the 40-goal mark. Nashville changing their approach to more of a transition team and pairing him with Filip Forsberg was the main cause. He always created a lot of shots but would often find himself too close to the goaltender or at too weird of an angle to make any moves or use his great shot. Most of that is from the Preds expecting Duchene to drive his own line with other checkers instead of pairing him with another elite talent like Forsberg. Skill works with skill and the duo were unstoppable for the Preds, Duchene getting the full benefit of playing more off the rush and using his speed as a weapon more. He created less offense in volume, but the chance quality was at another level because of how much time and space he would have to shoot. This also applies to the power play because while he still played the net-front role, the Preds set him up with more diagonal passing plays, giving him space for one-timers at the side of the net instead of looking for rebounds and deflections. There is some concern on if Duchene can produce without Forsberg by his side, but the Preds likely won’t mess with a duo that gave them such great results last year. They figured out how to cater to their best players strengths, which is an encouraging sign for the team going forward.

Ryan Johansen

Johansen was another player who had a renaissance season in Nashville, reaching the 20-goal mark for the first time since his Columbus days, although his rebound season wasn’t talked about as much. His game isn’t as flashy as it used to be. Hips surgeries have impacted how much power he can get behind his stride and while his strength is still there, he isn’t the same player who can setup shop in the offensive zone like in the heyday of the JOFA Line. His hands, however, are still as strong as ever and you saw that with how great he was as a goal-scorer. Nashville set him up in a lot of ways from the bumper position on the power play, he might have been Josi’s favorite passing target with his precision on tip plays and how he could get himself open for one-timers. It’s a different look from his old days of quarterbacking the power play from the wall, but goal-scoring is where he was the most effective and it caught some teams off-guard. He still had more of a pass-first mindset, especially after getting bumped up to the Forsberg line, it just wasn’t as extreme as it was in previous season, and it was rare for him to be the one driving a line. Someone else had to set the table for Johansen to get into the zone or create a chance and it was up to him to make the final play. It worked last year, but it’s clear that he is more of a specialist than he was in previous years. Most players have to adapt and change their games as they get older, and Johansen is going through that right now.

Tanner Jeannot

It’s hard not to love watching Tanner Jeannot play. He is very easy to notice anytime Nashville is on because of how aggressive he is anytime the puck is in the offensive zone. He’s always the first one to deliver a big hit or get in on the forecheck, which is always going to be part of Nashville’s DNA. His 24 goals were a bonus with everything else he brought to the table, leading all rookies in that department. He scored a lot of “dirty” goals off deflections and rebounds where the puck took an odd bounce, or he found himself behind the defense. Jeannot had some very good offensive seasons in Moose Jaw, but not many had him pegged as a 20+ goal-scorer, especially in the role Nashville had him in. His line with Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin played in more high-leverage situations as the season went on and Jeannot’s penchant for going to the net for tip plays made them more of a dual threat than just a line that forechecks. Repeating that next year might be tough, as his line didn’t create a lot of shots unless it was coming off Trenin’s stick and Jeannot was more of an opportunistic scorer than someone who drove play. Although Nashville will be happy if they got even half of what Jeannot produced last year with how good he is at being an agitator.

Mikael Granlund

Granlund is one of the tougher players to project on Nashville’s roster. He plays a lot of important minutes, which includes killing penalties and centering Forsberg/Duchene, but when you look at what he does on his own, it’s not much. He had another good season in terms of points, with 25% of them coming off secondary assists and was a mainstay on their top power play unit. It’s just that he’s more of a support player now and his production will mirror whoever his linemates are. If that’s Forsberg and Duchene again, he’s in for a good season. If he’s centering another line, he might go back to the 40–45-point player he was before. That’s not to say he’s a bad player, because he wears a lot of hats for Nashville and helps facilitate the rush offense for Duchene and Forsberg by doing most of the work away from the puck. His endurance and lower body strength make him a key part of the Preds but he kind of struggled against quicker opponents and made him more of a power play specialist than in years past. That said, he should be the 1C for Nashville unless someone else dethrones him.

Phillip Tomasino

The young winger had a solid rookie season in Nashville despite not having a clear role. His linemates were inconsistent with Nashville not trusting him on the second line just yet and the Jeannot line playing more third line minutes. Tomasino ended up getting the leftovers and he did surprisingly well with a rotating cast of linemates, producing more primary assists per 60 minutes than any other Nashville forward. He has the tools to make the jump to a top-six role, as he’s more of a shoot-first player despite the boxcar stats and has a deceptive release. He’s also a smooth skater and showed some ability to create off the rush, although it didn’t lead to many goals. Tomasino was pigeon-holed into more of a shoot-first role last year because of who his linemates were (Johansen, Cousins, Novak) and while he did fine, he was better as a playmaker in junior and the long stick he uses made it awkward for him to get the shot he wanted even if he was in good position. His passing was still a threat, but Nashville has a lot of similar forwards that they needed a finisher on his line. This will likely be the next step in his development. He had a good season with limited minutes and should be in line for a bigger role next year.

Eeli Tolvanen

While Tolvanen has struggled to be the force he was in junior, he has found a niche as a defensive-forward for Nashville, although it’s not always obvious when watching him play. He still has the bomb of a one-timer and shows flashes of high-end skill, but it’s been tough for him to produce at the NHL level even with decent minutes. However, he made himself an everyday NHLer by finding other ways to be productive. He was an excellent forechecker and was very good at using his stick to force turnovers, setting the table for the Jeannot line to follow it up with offensive zone shifts. Sometimes this is what you have to do if you’re skill isn’t producing results like you’d hope, and it showed some maturity in Tolvanen’s game. It could make him a nice fit with Nino Niederreiter in the middle-six or on the penalty kill if they want to use him there. That said, Nashville is hoping for more offense out of him if they’re going to continue to give him power play time. We’ve seen how good of a shooter he is in spurts and making his shot more of a threat is one thing the Preds can do to take Tolvanen’s game to the next level.

Yakov Trenin

You can take one look at the monstrous Yakov Trenin and have a good idea of how he plays. He is there to crash bodies, shoot the puck and be a general pain to play against. He was the catalyst of Nashville’s “Herd Line” with Jeannot and Sissons, usually the one taking most of the shots or hitting Jeannot for a deflection. It’s easy to forget that Trenin was a good goal-scorer at other levels, including fairly recently in the AHL, so his 17 goals weren’t totally out of left field. He shoots from everywhere in the offensive zone and isn’t a one-trick pony with taking empty calorie shots off the rush. He will go to the net and is skilled with getting deflections off point shots. It was just a perfect marriage of playing styles with him and Jeannot, as the duo spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and Trenin could play to his strengths more with playing a straight-line game and getting ga lot of shots on goal. He is the most likely member of The Herd Line to repeat his production from the past season.

DEFENSE

Roman Josi

The biggest catalyst of Nashville’s newfound offense was their best player, Roman Josi. The Norris runner-up was a few goalposts and mishits from being the first defenseman to reach 100 points since Brian Leetch. Better scoring from the forwards was part of it, but something else was a change in approach in how they used their star. Nashville tried to keep Josi out of the defensive zone as much as possible, sending him on the ice off opposing line-changes and having his partners retrieve the puck more, allowing Josi to get up in the play and create off the rush without expending as much energy. It also allowed him to play longer shifts in the offensive zone, which already catered to his strengths. He could treat five-on-five play like a power play and attack off the rush on more “re-load” type of plays against tired defenders rather than going the full-200 feet. Nashville already knows what they have in Josi, now they wanted to maximize how gifted he is with the puck rather than have him carry the entire defense on his back. Safe to say they got the result they wanted. It didn’t matter which forwards he was paired with because he can make anyone dangerous with how much attention he draws from defenders. Someone usually gets open and Josi is one of the best passing defensemen in the league. It was showcased even more on the power play, where he set career highs with 37 points and scored 11 goals, more than he has had in the past three years combined. Josi will get his offense, but it will be tough to replicate the gaudy point total he had this year, as so few defensemen have been able to replicate the type of season he had.

Mattias Ekholm

The workhorse of the Preds defense, Ekholm played more of a pure shutdown role than he ever has before. He started the bulk of his shifts in the defensive zone against top lines and did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to limiting damage. There were few defensemen in the league who had more successful puck retrievals in the defensive zone, both to kickstart breakouts and to clear the zone. It was a bit of a thankless role, as Ekholm didn’t get to be up in the play much at all and his offense took a small hit. They were also very taxing minutes, and he doesn’t get enough credit for avoiding as many hits as he does because he’s so quick to make the first play after going back to get the puck. Killing other team’s forechecks is an underrated skill for a shutdown defenseman, as most are concerned with blocking shots and delivering hits. He fits the mold of a modern defenseman but doesn’t have the flashy plays that a Jaccob Slavin or Devon Toews, so he gets overlooked in that discussion. It also shouldn’t be overlooked that he took on these minutes alongside a rookie partner in Alex Carrier, who slowly picked up on some of Ekholm’s traits with protecting the puck from forecheckers to move it out of the zone. The downside is that this type of workload eventually catches up. Always playing on your heels, clearing pucks and swimming upstream has a trickle-down effect on the rest of your shifts if you’re not creating any offense. Ekholm managed to do well but it’s a tough role to play every year.

Dante Fabbro

Ending the previous year as a healthy scratch in the playoffs, Fabbro got his career back on track by solidifying himself as Roman Josi’s right-hand man. He had the less desirable job of the duo, going back to get most of the pucks and being the safety value while Josi did his usual roaming in the offensive zone. It had its perks. Fabbro got to play a little more on offense, utilizing the more skilled part of his game we saw at Boston U. Before then, he looked like a player who could eat a lot of minutes but not really do anything to shift the tides of the game. While that’s still somewhat true, Fabbro did show he can hang with the stars on the team, being a productive member of their top defense pair isn’t anything to scoff at. Especially since you’re going to deal with a lot of unpredictability with Josi as your partner. The most encouraging thing is that Fabbro translated some of his skills to the defensive side of the game, using some of his finesse to help start breakouts and using his skating to help get back to cover for Josi or defend entries. It’s exactly the type of thing you want to see with your young defensemen. Can he do it with a partner that isn’t a Norris runner-up? That remains to be seen.

GOALTENDING

Juuse Saros

In a perfect world, it’s hard to believe that the Nashville Predators would want to leave starter Juuse Saros to shoulder such a large chunk of the workload during the regular season. But thanks to the covid-19 league-wide hiccups and a slew of start-and-stops that left some of the league’s most storied veterans struggling to get themselves into top game shape, the 2022-23 season features a few too many open spots for tandem jobs and a few too many established names to fill them – which has left teams like Nashville to take gambles on available reclamation projects while hoping that starters like Saros can handle heavier volumes of work without fizzling out around the postseason.

The good news for Nashville is that Saros has been exactly what they hoped he would be, without suffering much in the way of growing pains as he adjusted to life without mentor Pekka Rinne sharing his crease. A structurally precise goaltender who tricks teams with his smaller stature and keeps them on their toes with surprisingly fast footwork and good pad reach, Saros has kept Nashville from plummeting once their giants hit a decline and left them facing down a likely-closed Stanley Cup window. What they might need to worry about, though, is just how healthy Saros can remain when holding down the fort every night – especially with a fairly unknown quantity behind him in fellow Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen, who arrives fresh off a tumultuous handful of years with the Chicago Blackhawks. Lankinen’s speed and enthusiasm don’t necessarily compensate fully for the technical gaps in his game, particularly when it comes to his ability to adapt his play hinging out from the blue line – and Chicago’s complete lack of defensive structure left him with few good examples in the way of effective reading and reacting in the way of blue line systems. He has a lot of promise to his game, but a lot of bad habits that he’ll need to unlearn if Nashville hopes to utilize him as a quality backup option to tandem with Saros beyond this year.

Projected starts: 60-65

CENTRAL DIVISION PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Nashville Predators – Preds Late Surge May Not be Enough for Solid Canes

Corey Sznajder — Fri, 14 May 2021 17:41:54 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 18: Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14), of Sweden, and Carolina Hurricanes right wing Martin Necas (88) pursue the deflected puck during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes, held on January 18, 2021, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

Out of all the first round matchups, this is probably the most lopsided. Carolina has been one of the best teams in the league by most statistical categories this year and finished just a couple points off Colorado for the Presidents Trophy. Nashville needed a miraculous 18-6-1 run in their final 25 games to even make the playoffs, finishing with a goal differential of plus-2. On the surface, this looks like a quick series, but we know there is more than meets the eye when it comes to playoff matchups.

As someone who has followed both teams for awhile, I always saw Carolina trying to build in a similar path to Nashville. The Preds strong defense was their foundation and the Hurricanes have been trying to build a similar group through the draft for years. Two of their late round picks in Brett Pesce & Jaccob Slavin ended up being their cornerstone pieces along with Dougie Hamilton, who is the engine of their blue line. Carolina has a defense corps that rivals Nashville’s in their heyday and it’s exciting that these two are about to play their first playoff series against each other, especially since most of the pieces from Nashville’s old “big four” are still there.

Speaking of defense, this might end up being a tighter series than most think. Carolina is the higher scoring team & are going to get plenty of chances but finishing them is another story. The Hurricanes have used their top ranked power play as a lifeline all season and part of that is because their five-on-five goal-scoring is only in the middle of the pack. They finish their chances at about the same rate as Nashville (2.32 five-on-five goals per 60 minutes compared to 2.31 for Nashville). The Preds don’t create chances as the same rate that Carolina does, so they’re going to spend some time in their own zone. That said, this is something most teams who have played Carolina before are used to. They know they’re going to get pinned in for stretches of the game & will have to weather a storm. With how dialed in Saros was during the stretch run, there is a greater than zero percent chance of these games turning into 1-1 affairs with the Hurricanes winning the shot battle by 20. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened in the playoffs.

Canes Cohesion and Chemistry on Power Play on Full Display

If the Hurricanes make this a quick series, it’s going to be because of their power play, which was the best in the league during the regular season. It’s easy to say “stay out of the box,” but if there’s anything less predictable than a hockey game, it’s how its officiated so the Canes power play is definitely going to get their looks. What makes it so good? It’s all about striking early and keeping the opponent guessing.

There are a few things that stick out here. First is that they have three players tied for the team lead in power play goals & neither of them are their two main shooting options (Andrei Svechnikov in the left circle & Hamilton at the center point). Vincent Trocheck has been excellent as both a netfront option & a bumper in the slot, stealing a few goals from Dougie Hamilton with crafty deflections. Jordan Staal, more of a “true” netfront guy, has made his living jumping on rebounds and second chances while Sebastian Aho is their Swiss Army Knife, not really staying in one spot & moving around to give the Hurricanes a few different looks to their power play. They’ve made a habit out of striking early in power plays off faceoff wins by Staal & even then they’ve given teams some different looks there.

Trocheck with a power play goal from his office. Almost the exact same play/spot he scored from a few weeks ago against Florida. pic.twitter.com/UyzsmPxEdq

— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) March 7, 2021

The cohesion & team chemistry has been on full display with the Canes power play this year & while there is a huge dropoff on the second unit, Nashville needs to be careful about going to this well too often. Nashville runs a fairly aggressive penalty kill with Colton Sissons & Erik Haula pushing for shorthanded chances, so that’s one thing they can do to even the terms here, but it’s still a tough ask.

Hamilton Head to Head with Josi

Another interesting dynamic to this series is you have Dougie Hamilton and Roman Josi going head-to-head. These are two of the top offensive defensemen in the league who go about their business in completely different ways. Both are two of the highest producing defensemen off the rush in the league, but the difference is that Josi leads the rush while Hamilton allows his team’s forwards to do most of the work. Carolina is known for having an active defense, but it’s rare for them to lead the rush, especially Hamilton. That doesn’t mean they aren’t involved, though.

Josi is probably the most unique defenseman in the league when it comes to sparking Nashville’s transition game, because he does it all by himself. Hamilton contributes to the rush in a very similar way to Josi, but he does it more through passes and joining the play as a trailer. The Preds aren’t completely devoid of talent up front, so I always wondered if it was necessary for Josi to lead the rush as often as he does, but it’s something that has carried over through multiple coaches in Nashville. Duchene, despite his dreadful statline, can still create off the rush and so can Filip Forsberg. Would it be in Nashville’s best interest go get them more touches in a game & have Josi act as more of a trailer? It’s worth asking. Of course, getting into a firewagon game with the Hurricanes could be asking for trouble because they are one of the top teams in the league at making the most out of their rush opportunities.

Part of this is talent and the other is partially due to how good Alex Nedeljkovic & Petr Mrazek have been for them in goal. Rush looks can be generated through control breakouts & sound defensive plays, but how often do you see a great save at one end turn into a goal the other way? Carolina has gotten plenty of that this year, boasting the third highest five-on-five save percentage in the NHL. Juuse Saros has been mostly flawless during this stretch run, but one of his few bad games came against Carolina in mid-April where he gave up four goals on 29 shots. All four of them came off the rush or a neutral zone turnover where Carolina created an odd-man rush or had a clear path to the net.

The extra player or space to make a move or two makes all the difference in the world against a hot goalie.

Nashville has likely gone over this ad nauseam and will likely try to play a mistake free game because that’s where they got burned in the season series. They can probably make this a close series, but it’s tough to see where the goals are coming from unless Forsberg or Arvidsson regains their form. The best line they’ve had recently is the “Herd Line,” a checking line that has turned some solid forechecking & physical play into territorial & xG dominance for them over the past month. Is that enough to balance out what the Hurricanes will do? It’s really tough to see that happening, especially if the Preds get into penalty trouble.

Carolina-Nashville

Carolina in 5

Fantasy Hunches

Nedeljkovic

Trocheck

Hamilton

S-Pekka-Tacular – Nashville Predators 2018-19 Season Preview

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 18:10:56 +0000

REVIEW / STATE OF PLAY – The Nashville Predators went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016-2017 and looked like a serious contender again for 2017-18. A lot certainly went right for them in the regular season. While they had no player reach the 30-goal or 65-point milestones, they still finished seventh in goals scored with seven players chipping in at least 15 goals and 13 players reaching double-digits.

Pekka Rinne also put forth a superb effort to capture the Vezina Trophy for the first time in his career after some near misses. The end result was that the Nashville Predators captured the Presidents’ Trophy with 117 points. Like the other recent winners of the Presidents’ Trophy though, playoff success didn’t follow. It wasn’t a disaster, but after besting Colorado in six games, the Predators were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets in seven games.

SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH – Mike Fisher came out of retirement late in the 2016-17 campaign to join the Nashville Predators for one last run. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in the former captain being able to cap his lengthy career with a Stanley Cup championship, but it was an opportunity for Predators fans to say one final goodbye. Though perhaps someday he’ll be back in a coaching capacity, as Predators bench boss Peter Laviolette has tried to persuade him to do.

Beyond Fisher’s departure, they also lost defenseman Alexei Emelin, who averaged a modest 16:53 minutes. In his place is Dan Hamhuis, who agreed to a two-year, $2.5 million contract with Nashville after recording 24 points and averaging 20:11 minutes in Dallas last season. Scott Hartnell is also gone after being limited to 12:01 minutes per game and that role might be partially filled by Zac Rinaldo, should he make the team after agreeing to a two-way contract.

While the Predators are going into the season with largely the same team though, there were some noteworthy re-signings over the summer. Juuse Saros inked a three-year, $4.5 million contract and has the opportunity to transition into the starting role given that Rinne will turn 36-years-old in November and is entering the final season of his contract. Meanwhile, Ryan Ellis was signed to an eight-year, $50 million contract that begins in 2019-20. Of Nashville’s defensive core of PK Subban, Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi, and Ellis, only Ellis’ contract is set to expire before the summer of 2022 (Ellis’ deal is up in the summer of 2020).

Pekka Rinne

WAS CHANGE NECESSARY? – The Predators already had the reigning Vezina Trophy-winner, a young backup goaltender that’s showing promise as a future starter, and a defensive core that’s the envy of most of the league. The only thing the Predators really lack is star power up front and the importance of that is debatable.

Nashville showed that it was more than capable of generating offense by committee last season and there is some reason to believe that that same group might do better this time around. Filip Forsberg was limited to 67 games while Ryan Johansen had his lowest points per game pace since 2012-13, so the Predators might get more out of both of them this season. Viktor Arvidsson also has some potential upside left after back-to-back 61-point campaigns.

The Predators will also have a full season with Kyle Turris after he was acquired on Nov. 5, 2017. While the difference from having Turris at the start of the campaign versus November might not be huge, it is another moderate change to the Predators’ advantage and all those potential factors do start to add up.

The other thing that the Predators have going for them is that they’re still a relatively young team. Rinne’s age was mentioned above, but he’s the only member of Nashville’s core that’s even reached the age of 30. Nashville’s window is still very much open so there are plenty of reasons why the Predators don’t need to rock the boat right now.

OUTLOOK – Nashville is entering the season as a serious Stanley Cup contender once again. There are a few other powerhouse teams in that group, but Nashville stands apart from many of them by drawing its strength by stellar defensemen and goaltending rather than amazing top-end forwards. That doesn’t make the Predators better or worse than those teams by itself, but it does give Nashville a bit of a different flavor from the other potential juggernauts as the campaign begins.