The next team on our team overviews is the Nashville Predators. The Predators last season finished in the last wildcard spot and drew the short straw of playing the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. They were a solid team with excellent goaltending with Juuse Saros, but Saros got hurt right as the season ended and the Predators got walloped by the Avs in a 4 game sweep. This offseason, the Predators made some excellent moves that are going to pay dividends for them through the year. The biggest moves they made were trading for defenseman Ryan McDonagh from the Tampa Bay Lightning and signing winger Nino Niederreiter. Niederreiter is going to fit in extremely well with this forward group. Nashville is a gritty, disciplined team and those are two adjectives that also describe Niederreiter. He plays a fantastic 2-way game and is a swiss-army knife kind of player. McDonagh on the other-hand is a proven shutdown defender that is going to play a huge role for this predators defense in a stacked central division. Outside of these moves, the Predators did not do much at all in the free agency market as they kept basically their entire team together from last season. The Predators forwards last season had some of their best scoring seasons of their careers. Leading the way was Filip Forsberg. Forsberg was able to outscore his previous best season by 20 points in 13 less games. He put up 42 goals and 42 assists in 69 games for the Predators last season. Another player that elevated his game last year was Matt Duchene. Duchene also had the best season of his career tallying 43 goals and 43 assists in 79 games. Duchene destroyed his highest point total with the Predators and showed that he can be such a difference on the ice. If Duchene and Forsberg can continue to play at the same level as last season, the Predators are bound to produce offensively. Another forward that has been playing at a consistent level since he arrived in Nashville is Ryan Johansen. He is their second line center who plays a solid offensive game and scored more goals last season than any other season since his 2015 season. Johansen has success on the power play and helps the Predators power play succeed through his faceoff win ability and his in-tight finishing. Nashville's defense has always notoriously been strong. They had the highest scoring defenseman in the league last season, Roman Josi, who was able to put up 96 points in 80 games. Josi flies all over the ice, and really excels in the offensive aspect of his game. Josi came in second in the Norris trophy voting last season, coming off the best season of his career. The Predators also have a solid defenseman in Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm plays a good 2-way defensive game who is a serviceable top 4 defenseman for the preds. The rest of the Predators defensemen are each strong in their own rites, primarily excelling in their defensive skill. With great defense in front of him, it helps Juuse Saros be as good as he is. Saros is a top 3 goalie in the league and proves it night in and night out for the Predators. He is able to completely take over a game and when he get hot, he is a brick wall. Saros is the clear number 1 in Nashville and plays the bulk of the games for the Predators. Look for Saros to make a run at the Vezina this year, as he is my pick for the award. With the moves the Predators made this offseason, they are going to have a great year. Nashville played the inaugural games of the 2022 season against the San Jose Sharks on the 7th and 8th of October and looked great.
Record Prediction- 48-29-5
Playoff Prediction- Yes
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