The Nashville Predators started off last season just as poorly as this season, but the difference is that the team spent a ton of money to enter into contender status before the 2024-25 campaign and there wasn’t any big expectations before 2023-24.
It has been a very poor start for the Predators who are 6-10-3 and the new additions haven’t shown up as advertised yet. While Nashville turned it around and went on an 18-game points streak last season to get into the playoffs, did that stretch of games hurt the organization more than it helped?
Last season, the Predators had some good players, but not enough to do any damage in the postseason as we saw happen. Overall, it was a lackluster roster that overachieved because of a great stretch of games, strong coaching, and banding together right after the U2 concert was cancelled.
Roman Josi is one of the best defensemen in the league, Juuse Saros is one of the best goalies in the league, and Filip Forsberg is a superstar, but even with that core, it isn’t enough.
Bringing in pieces like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei should have made a major positive impact on the group as this added legitimate top-6 forwards and a top-4 defenseman to the mix after a strong season for Stamkos and career years for the other two.
While Barry Trotz might have gone out and spent the way he did in free agency whether the Predators made a season turnaround and snuck into the playoffs, he accelerated the timeline and opened the window to win the Stanley Cup right now. With the age of the top players on the team, this window isn’t open for very long.
Josi, Ryan O’Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist are older while Saros and Forsberg are middle-aged, so time was running out to make an impact right now, but the team does have a lot of young talent on the way.
I wouldn’t say that bringing in Stamkos, Marchessault, and Skjei blocks the young talent as they have been inserted in the lineup this season and many need more time to develop. It also didn’t cost any assets to acquire any of them, which is fortunate and looks better than throwing away draft picks and prospects for underperforming veterans while the team loses games.
Related: Podcast: Nashville Predators are Exploring the Trade Market … for a Defenseman?
I believe that with all of the money available to the Predators and Trotz’s tendency to always try to make the team better, he would have made some big additions, veteran or otherwise. It opened the window to win, but unfortunately the group just hasn’t performed up to standards yet.
Young players like Luke Evangelista, Zachary L’Heureux, Philip Tomasino, Juuso Parssinen, Marc Del Gaizo, and Spencer Stastney when he returns will all play a fair amount this season.
If the Predators do continue to struggle, even with more changes, then we really start to question the moves. Nashville must then start looking towards getting larger roles for their young players and inserting more top-end prospects onto the team so it’s a shorter transition to sustained success.
Visit The Hockey News Nashville Predators team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, podcasts and more.
Nashville Predators Likely Scouting Bruins’ Charlie Coyle
Report: Predators Searching Rigorously for Centers on Trade Market
Predators Are Wasting a Great Start From Juuse Saros
Stamkos Scores Twice on Power Play to Lift Predators to 5-3 Win Over Canucks