It has been well documented how the 2024-25 season did not go as planned for the Nashville Predators. While we don’t need to rehash all the reasons, much of the focus has been on how the big dollar free agents did not live up to expectations. But as the past season fades into the rearview mirror and the collective eyes of the Predators turn to the future there will be pressure across the organization to find success in 2025-26. The pressure on the front office and coaching staff are obvious. Barry Trotz made that clear by retaining head coach Andrew Brunette and largely appearing to run back a similar roster. Should the Predators have another slow start they will both see their seats go from warm to burning hot.
On the roster, however, who bears the most pressure is a little more nuanced. The obvious answer is the veteran set at the top of the roster. The incoming free agent class made up of star players and the newly extended goalie Juuse Saros all saw regression in their respective performances. While this was most visible in the standard stats (I’m forced to mention +/- so you know it was bad) it was clear the team was often not on the same page, both analytically and through the eye test. As a result the team got buried in overall goal share at a whopping -60 which was 3rd worst in the NHL. So in effect everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. So do the veterans need to be better? Absolutely. Is it reasonable to assume that in a 2nd year together they will at least smooth out the rough edges and return closer to form? Also yes. For example, in a down year Steven Stamkos still had 27 goals and was tied for 5th in the NHL with 14 power play goals. Jonathan Marchessault struggled mightily but still put up 56 points. How much different would the fanbase feel if Stamkos and Marchessault hit 30 goals and 60 points respectively? Let’s assume from a basic counting stats perspective each of Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei are just 20% better. Their numbers would look like this:
- Stamkos: 27G -> 32G, (64 Pts)
- Marchessault: 21G -> 25G, (67 Pts)
- Skjei: 33 Pts -> 40 Pts
Those aren’t career highs but they look a lot better, right? Assuming Forsberg, Josi and Saros play at their standard that makes up a playoff contender veteran core. If the Predators are aiming higher, however, the pressure to make a big step forward does not lie with that veteran core. We know their ceiling and we just saw their production floor. The Predators were one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL so they will need more than just veterans returning to form.
The 2024-25 season opened up numerous opportunities for young players to experience NHL roles and it is those young players who will need to make a leap forward. The spotlight will undoubtedly be brightest on center Fedor Svechkov who made his NHL debut and quickly showed that he belongs. Barring another significant addition at center, Svechkov will be counted on to ascend into a productive top 6 center role which would mean bumping his 17 points in 57 games (reasonable for a rookie) up into the 50-plus point range. That’s a big ask for a young player but Svechkov’s continued improvement and prominent role with the Milwaukee Admirals playoff run could make him up for the task. After Svechkov, winger Luke Evangelista has the most NHL experience among the young forwards and has to show he can produce consistently and at least make it above the half a point per game threshold. In addition to Svechkov and Evangelista the Predators will need at least one of Zach L’Heureux, Matthew Wood or Joakim Kemell to produce depth scoring and a boost to the 2nd power play unit. Barry Trotz has stated repeatedly he wants the offense to be driven by a top 9 forward group and production from this group will be paramount to taking pressure off the veterans at the top of the lineup. Defensively, Barry Trotz bet big on Justin Barron when he traded Alex Carrier to Montreal. Barron will need to help drive offense from the blue line and should push Brady Skjei for the 2nd power play defense role. These young players are the ones who will need to make a significant step forward if the Predators are to ascend beyond a wild card contender in the coming season.
Statistics courtesy of the NHL and Natural Stat Trick
