The NHL season doesn’t start for another two months, but who’s to say after a busy free agency that the hype around the Nashville Predators organization can’t be discussed without high expectations?
Between Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei & Scott Wedgewood the Predators dished out $111.5 million, a fair reason for the fanbase to have immediate trust they can witness a home playoff win for the first time since May 23, 2021 & advance past the first round.
Nashville also spent a combined $75.5 million re-signing Juuse Saros, Alexandre Carrier, Spencer Statsney & Adam Wilsby.
Other moves are on the horizon before the season begins to be salary cap compliant. General manager Barry Trotz said there would be a move or two back on July 1 when he addressed the media.
The Predators invested $187 million into their team this summer & there’s reason to believe the 24-25 campaign could be one of the most memorable ones in team history.
I’ve made some predictions & if they sound too reckless then let me know.
Juuse Saros Awarded 1st Vezina Trophy
After playing in 64 games last season with Kevin Lakinen as his backup Saros will play a little less & win his first Vezina Trophy.
Since the 2018-19 season, Saros has the 4th most wins in the NHL (161) playing in 302 regular season games. While that’s just fodder compared to some of the other best goaltenders Saros finally gets his due with at least 35 wins & 15 losses at the worst.
While Saros has never posted a save percentage of .920 or better since 2021-22 he could do that this season with the help of Skjei & Carrier being part of the defensive corps.
Wedgewood could be a major help in all of this as well depending on his play after signing a 2-year deal this summer. He was able to assist the Dallas Stars to a respectable 52-21-9 record last season providing 16 of those wins, stepping up when Jake Oettinger went down with an injury too.
Saros’ workload will need to lighten up so he can live up to the 8-year deal he agreed to.
If Saros plays around 60 games per season for the next 8 years he’d have about 862 regular season games played. Should he do that he would rank––as of now––in the top 15 for the most games played by a goalie all-time.
Should Saros have the season of his life then the Predators may be able to go deep in the postseason & further establish his legacy as a member of this organization being right behind Pekka Rinne.
Nashville’s Powerplay Finishes Above 20%
While the Predators special teams unit has been tough to watch for the last six seasons the new additions at forward could help shift the narrative. Head coach Andrew Brunette saw progress in taking over that department but more is on the horizon.
Nashville has seen two seasons (2011-12) & (2021-22) when the powerplay has converted at the 20% mark. They’ve come close three other times, with last season being one. Marchessault & Stamkos were electric on special teams for their previous employer & the expectation should be no different with Nashville.
It’s a high bar to set considering a lot is weighing on veterans that will need to develop newfound chemistry.
Picture captain Roman Josi running point while Stamkos assumes his position from the left circle, it’s most coaches’ dream in the NHL to have that dynamic. Brunette will be chomping at the bit to see what works at training camp.
Skjei’s 12 points on special teams last season may not be jaw-dropping but at least someone else is proven to be trustworthy & a potential fit on the powerplay.
Free agent Tyson Barrie was Nashville’s next best PP D-man on special teams last season in terms of production & he was 27 points behind Josi only appearing in 41 games.
If it wasn’t Josi then the disparity on the PP, aside from Barrie, came down to Ryan McDonagh. Then going further down to the next best on the blueline after him it was Alex Carrier’s lone powerplay point. Now there’s depth with Skjei in the mix for the next seven seasons.
To reach 20% forwards Tommy Novak & Luke Evangelista will need to reach a new degree on the second unit. Evangelista could easily match Novak’s total of six PPGs, & should shoot for more this season. The same goes for Tommy who only had two PPGs after New Year’s while all three of Luke’s came after Jan. 12.
Predators Clinch 3rd Central Divisional Title
After six years Nashville takes home their third divisional title as a team. They’ve finished as a runner-up six times in 25 seasons & put a stamp on the 24-25 season claiming the Central Division.
Aside from 2019-2020, every Central Division winner has needed at least 51 wins in the last three seasons. Nashville has only done that twice all-time & this season a record of 52-22-8 seems respectable enough to get the job done.
Last season Dallas won the division by 3 points over the Winnipeg Jets. Nashville was 8 points back of Colorado last season at the end of the regular season.
As long as Nashville wins three of four against teams like Dallas, Colorado, & Winnipeg things should bode in their favor.
Utah & Chicago will make things harder for the Predators this season after shaking up their rosters this offseason.
Utah added talent from the draft & traded for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Chicago has the reigning rookie of the year in Connor Bedbard & picked up Tyler Bertuzzi, Tevo Teravainen, Alec Martinez & Ilya Mikheyev.
The road to glory for Nashville will be difficult but their relentless mentality takes on a new face, one that is older & is now home to serial winners in the eyes of Barry Trotz.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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