Nashville Predators 24-25 Season Preview

Nashville Predators
Central Division

2023-24 Recap
Record (W-L-OTL): 47-30-5
Over/Under: 35-38-9
Home Favorite: 16-9
Home Dog: 6-6
Road Favorite: 10-4
Road Dog: 13-13
Win Score 4 or more: 30 of 47
Lose Give Up 4 or more: 29 of 35
Puck Line Wins: 31 of 47
Puck Line Losses: 26 of 35
Front End Back-to-Back: 5-4
Back End Back-to-Back: 8-1
Goals Scored Per Game/Rank: 3.24 (10th)
Goals Against Per Game/Rank: 3.02 (13th)

Additions: Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchesseault, Brady Skjei, Kevin Stenlund
Subtractions: Yaroslav Askarov, Jason Zucker, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Lankinen, Kiefer Sherwood, Anthony Beauvillier

All it took was GM Barry Trotz and Head Coach Andrew Brunette cancelling a planned team outing to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Predators players responded as the team went on a 16-0-2 run and they never looked back and returned to the post season after being on the outside looking in the season before. The playoff run was short lived as Nashville was eliminated in round one by the Vancouver Canucks.

General Manager Barry Trotz was super aggressive in the off-season. No team made a bigger splash than the Predators with their free agent signings of Steven Stamkos (4 years), Jonathan Marchessault (5 years) and Brady Skjei (7 years) and locking up Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension. Both Stamkos (twice) and Marchesseault (once) have previously won a Stanley Cup. Nashville is in a win now mode with Filip Forsberg and Saros being the youngest of the core group at 29 years of age.

Offense
The Predators scored 40 more goals in 23-24 than they did the previous year skyrocketing from 28th in scoring to 10th . Nashville’s top line of Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Gus Nyquist combined for 97 goals. The Predators could easily climb into the top 10 in goals this coming season with the additions of Stamkos and Marchesseault. Both players are coming off 40 goal seasons. Stamkos has scored at least 20 goals in 14 seasons and Marchesseault has accomplished 20 goals, seven times. Tommy Novak will likely get the opportunity to center the two newcomers when the season starts but head coach Andrew Brunette hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Stamkos shifting back to his natural position of center if necessary.

Defense
Captain Roman Josi once again anchors the Predators blueline. The 14-year veteran is coming off a 20- goal campaign for the second time in three seasons. Look for Josi to be paired with free agent addition, Brady Skjei.

Nashville will look to Alexandre Carrier to continue his development as the anchor of the Predators second pairing on the blueline. Carrier signed a three-year extension in the summer at just under four million dollars a season. Luke Schenn, Jeremy Lauzon and Spencer Stastney round out the top six. If this group can stay healthy the Predators have enough offense to cover up for any of their defensive shortcomings on the blueline.

Goaltending
The Preds signed free agent backup goalie Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal in the summer, and with the Saros contract extension, top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov requested and was granted a trade. The Preds dealt Askarov to the San Jose Sharks for a first-round draft pick and two prospects. Statistically, Saros is coming off his worst season since his rookie year in 2015-16 but his .906 save percentage was still above league average. With the offseason acquisitions and renewed excitement in Nashville, look for Saros to put himself back in the Vezina conversation.

Player to Watch – Steven Stamkos
After 16 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s going to take some time to get used to watching Stamkos in a Predators jersey. The Lightning’s franchise leader in goals, points and games played makes his return to Tampa on October 28. Barring injury, there is no reason why Stamkos won’t score at least 20 goals for a 15th time or hit the 30-goal mark for the 10 time in his career.

Outlook
Nashville has not won a playoff series since 2018. I expect the Predators to put an end to that losing streak. Their off-season additions take them from playoff contender to Stanley Cup contender. Before their big splash in the free agent market, Nashville’s odds of winning the Stanley Cup were as high as 40/1. Currently DraftKings Sportsbook has them at 18/1.

Regular Season Point Total: 98.5 (Over -125/Under -105)
Make the Playoffs: -340
To Miss the Playoffs: +260
To Win the Pacific Division: +380
To Win the Western Conference: +850
To Win the Stanley Cup: +1800