Back on the Ice: Taking a Look at This Year’s Nashville Predators

On the morning of July 1, several of the Nashville Predators’ veteran players texted excitedly with one another, wondering what the day might hold.

The date is a special one in National Hockey League circles. It traditionally begins the league’s annual free-agency period, when teams are allowed to sign new players whose former contracts have expired.

It didn’t take long for the first bomb to drop, as word leaked out that the Predators would sign future Hall of Famer Steven Stamkos — a two-time Stanley Cup winner who’d served as Tampa Bay’s captain for the past 10 years — to a four-year, $32 million deal.

“The group chat was exciting,” says Predators forward Filip Forsberg. “We found out he was coming and thought that was probably going to be it for us. It was a pretty big splash.”

But Predators general manager Barry Trotz had just started making waves.

In a matter of hours, Nashville also signed high-scoring forward Jonathan Marchessault to a five-year, $27.5 million deal; top-quality defenseman Brady Skjei to a seven-year, $49 million contract; and goalie Scott Wedgewood to a two-year, $3 million deal. In so doing, the Predators became the first team to commit more than $100 million to new players in free agency since the Florida Panthers did so half a decade ago, per The Canadian Press.

“It was awesome,” says Preds captain Roman Josi, another member of the veteran text chain. “We were all just really happy, the commitment [that was] made, the vote of confidence in us.”

Adds Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly: “July 1 was like Christmas [for us], adding pieces and some of the top free agents out there.”

Just to cap an already huge day, Trotz announced that Nashville had reached new deals with two of the team’s key players, giving goalie Juuse Saros a new eight-year, $61.9 million contract and defenseman Alex Carrier a new three-year, $11.25 million deal.

“It’s huge because it’s a statement, I think, for the rest of the league,” a smiling Trotz said at the close of business. “These players see what we’re doing with our franchise. We have lots to offer, and we’re very determined to win. We’re committed to that.”

But along with the high-profile signatures and triumphant announcements that day came a couple of realizations.

First, the Predators were no longer the under-the-radar underdogs they were during the 2023-24 season, when Nashville surprised many observers by returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence. It’s fair to say that team overachieved, aided by several players who produced career-best years and the impact of new coach Andrew Brunette, who finished second in the NHL’s Coach of the Year voting.

There are now expectations for the Predators, thanks to the influx of high-priced marquee talent. This team will be expected to not just return to the playoffs, but to give a noise-making run during the postseason. Nashville hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018, which was the year after the Preds made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final.

“You bring in guys like [Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei], guys who’ve been in the league for a long time and had amazing success, it’s huge additions,” Josi says. “So yeah, the expectations are definitely higher. But … it’s just on paper now. Now we’ve got to put in the work and build a team.”

The second realization was that an invisible window to capture Nashville’s first Stanley Cup had been cracked open, as soon as the Predators had completed their big cash-spending spree.

Already a team with a veteran core, Nashville added even more experience in Stamkos (34 years old), Marchessault (33) and Skjei (30). Even though all three still appear to be in the prime of their careers, their talents have expiration dates, as is the case with all players. Nashville’s opening-night lineup this season might feature a roster with 11 of 19 players 30 or older — a group that includes forward Gustav Nyquist (35 years old), Josi (34), O’Reilly (33) and Forsberg (30) among others.

In simple terms, if this group doesn’t win it all in the next two or three seasons, the Predators will start transitioning to their next generation.

“I’m not the youngest anymore,” says Josi, who finished second in the voting for the NHL’s best defenseman last season. “I’m getting up there. You don’t know how many chances you have and how many cracks at it you have, so for Barry to [sign those players] and give us the best chance possible to have a great shot at [a championship] is pretty cool.”

Sticking to the Plan 

The Predators’ headline-grabbing July 1 moves were actually just an extension of the work Trotz started during the previous summer — the start of his first year succeeding former general manager David Poile.

Many in the hockey world had expected Trotz to institute a full-scale youth movement for a Predators team that had become stagnant, missing the playoffs in 2023 after eight straight years of qualifying for the postseason. Instead Trotz went in the opposite direction, collecting a trio of veteran players he deemed “serial winners” in O’Reilly, Nyquist and defenseman Luke Schenn. O’Reilly had been voted the most valuable player of the playoffs when he led St. Louis to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Schenn had won two Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay. Nyquist had reached the postseason eight times, piling up 71 games of playoff experience.

In fact, it was that commitment to a win-now strategy — as opposed to a lengthy rebuild — that helped attract the likes of Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei in July. 

Why would Stamkos, for instance, have been interested in a team that was starting over after playing 16 years in the NHL and reaching the Stanley Cup Final three times in the past five years? 

The same could be said for Marchessault, who was voted the most valuable player of the Cup Final in 2023 when he guided Vegas to the championship. Ditto for Skjei, who’s in search of his first Cup after playing 76 playoff games during his nine-year career.

“Anytime you get in a [free-agency] position like I was in, at this stage of my career as well, that’s one of the things that’s on the top of the list — to give yourself another chance to win,” Stamkos says. “For me personally and a lot of guys in the league, that’s what you strive for every single season, so that was very important.”

Even if Trotz’s plan to add even more experienced talent to the roster made sense, it was still impressive to see him carry it out so successfully.

Stamkos, Skjei and Marchessault were ranked three of the top seven free agents available on the market, per The Athletic, while Canadian-based website Sportsnet rated Stamkos first, Marchessault second and Skjei 10th among available free agents. 

In signing Stamkos and Marchessault, the Predators became the first team in NHL history to add two 40-goal scorers in a single offseason. Stamkos has totaled 40 goals in a season — a plateau few players ever reach — seven times, while Marchessault hit the mark for the first time last season.

“When you start getting texts from your players going, ‘I am excited,’ that says a lot,” Trotz said in July. “Players know players, and they know [we’re] trying to win. … You start looking at the number of guys on our team that have done it now. They pull you along.”

Analyzing the Roster 

The Predators’ fortunes this season won’t be completely dependent on the three new additions, of course, as Nashville returns almost its entire team after finishing with a 47-30-5 record last season. That was good enough for 99 points, tied for the sixth-best total in the 15-team Western Conference. The Preds lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Vancouver Canucks. 

The best forward line on that team — and a combination that is almost certain to begin this season intact — consisted of Forsberg on the left wing, O’Reilly at center and Nyquist on the right wing. Forsberg produced career highs of 48 goals, 46 assists and 94 points; O’Reilly had his most productive season (69 points) since 2018-19; and Nyquist notched a career-best 75 points.

There’s no guarantee that threesome will be able to repeat last season’s totals, but the team’s addition of Stamkos and Marchessault — who will likely be linemates themselves — should relieve the Forsberg-O’Reilly-Nyquist trio of the heavy scoring burden it carried last season.

“It certainly gives us options [as a team],” Forsberg says. “Obviously we had a good year as a line last year. We want to keep the momentum, take another step, keep playing the way we played — really good two-way hockey with that edge offensively. Now we’ve got [another] line that can do the exact same thing, if not more.”

Tommy Novak, a creative centerman who recorded career highs of 18 goals and 27 assists last season, may get the first opportunity to center Stamkos and Marchessault. Other up-and-coming Predators forwards to keep an eye on include Luke Evangelista (16 goals last season), Philip Tomasino, Juuso Parssinen and Zach L’Heureux, among others. Players like Colton Sissons, Cole Smith, Michael McCarron and Mark Jankowski will be among the team’s tough-minded, physical forwards.

On defense, Skjei will take the place of the Predators’ most significant departure from last season, Ryan McDonagh, who was traded back to his former team, Tampa Bay. Skjei will likely be paired with Josi, giving Nashville a steady presence on the blue line that will allow the highly skilled Josi to roam the offensive zone.

“I always thought [Skjei] was a great player, playing against him,” Josi says of Skjei, who totaled a career-high 47 points last season. “He had an amazing year last year. He’s a [good ] skater, one of those D-men that’s really hard to play against. ... I think he fits perfectly into our system. It would be awesome for me. “

The team’s second defensive pairing will likely consist of two feisty French-Canadians: Jeremy Lauzon and Carrier, who complement each other’s game well.

Schenn and Dante Fabbro are candidates for the final defensive pairing. Spencer Stastney was expected to be in that mix as well, but he was absent at the start of training camp for what the team said were personal reasons.

In goal, Saros is recognized as one of the game’s best netminders after recording his third straight season with more than 30 wins. Some of Saros’ important numbers were off last season, as his 2.86 goals-against average was higher than his career mark and his .906 save percentage was lower than his career mark. But by committing to Saros for the long term with his new contract, the Preds made it clear they believe last season was an outlier — not the beginning of a trend for the Finnish goalie. 

“Any team that’s ever won, goaltending is such a huge piece of that,” O’Reilly says. “I think all of us were a little scared he wasn’t going to be here, weren’t sure what was going to happen [with his contract]. He’s just such a huge piece for us, and we can’t do it without him. To get that done is a huge relief for us.”

No Guarantees 

On paper, the Predators may well put the most talented roster in franchise history on the ice starting Oct. 10, when the regular season begins with a home game against Dallas.

The additions of Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei should add a significant offensive boost to a team that has struggled at times to score goals. Nashville, for instance, managed only 12 goals in the team’s six-game playoff series against Vancouver last season. Those same three players should also help turn the Predators’ power play into a force next season, as Stamkos is recognized as one of the best in the league in the man-advantage department.

In short, there’s little doubt the Preds are decidedly more equipped to take a run at the Cup this season than they have been for years.

“I definitely think those moves we made will help us be a better team and take us closer to our goal, for sure,” Josi says.

But if the Predators need a reminder that big offseason signings don’t always equate to immediate winning, they need only look across the banks of the Cumberland River. The Tennessee Titans spent more than $300 million in free agency last spring, but began the 2024 season with a string of painful losses.

“With what we did in the summer and then last year leading into the playoffs, we look like a better hockey team,” Trotz says. “I believe we are a better hockey team. ... But it’s fantasy hockey until we drop the puck and play for real.”

 What will turn fantasy into reality this season?

“When it comes down to it, it’s still a workman’s league,” Trotz says. “You play the game on the ice. There’s got to be a lot of sweat, a lot of work, a lot of determination.”