(All opinions expressed in this article are my own. Stats are recorded as of 2/3/2025.)
Man, it’s been an interesting season to be a Predators fan.
Coming out of the offseason, the Nashville Predators appeared to be one of the top contenders for the 2025 Stanley Cup. They have all the makings of a superstar team, so why is the team currently 30th in the league with only 43 points? In this edition of NHL Recap, we’re going to look at how the Predators arrived at this point and what the near future could look like for the franchise.
SO, HOW DID WE GET HERE?
The Predators made the 2023-24 playoffs in the most movie-like way possible: after the team went on a several game losing streak, head coach Andrew Brunette canceled the team’s planned trip to see U2 in Las Vegas. The next day the Preds beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3, and thus began an 18-game winning streak that helped secure their playoff berth. Even though the Predators would end up falling to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, the future looked optimistic for Nashville.
OFFSEASON STORIES
This offseason was arguably the franchise’s biggest since the team’s inception in 1998. Nashville signed the three biggest free agents, all to multi-year contracts, as soon as the signing period opened on July 1.
- Steven Stamkos: Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos signed a four-year, $32 million contract with Nashville after 16 seasons with the Lightning. Stamkos was selected first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 entry draft and served as captain for 11 years.
- Jonathan Marchessault: Forward Jonathan Marchessault signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Predators after seven seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. Marchessault was an original member of the Golden Knights, being taken in the team’s expansion draft in 2017.
- Brady Skjei: Defenseman Brady Skjei signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with Nashville after five years with the Carolina Hurricanes. Skjei was one of several key players that left Carolina during the offseason, but it hasn’t seemed to phase them as they are currently fifth in the league with 68 points.
The Predators, now with three of the league’s biggest weapons at their disposal, appeared to be Stanley Cup frontrunners heading into the preseason. However, this season has been nowhere close to what people thought it would be.
ONGOING STRUGGLES
The Predators have had a plethora of issues this season, but one of the more unexpected ones has been the team’s struggles in overtime. Nashville currently has seven overtime losses, already surpassing the five overtime losses the team had the entirety of last season. Another issue for the Preds has been the lack of consistent lines. Lineup shuffles are nothing unusual for any team, but the Preds have relied heavily on players being called up from the Milwaukee Admirals (the Predators’ American Hockey League affiliate team) for multiple reasons (injuries, illness, trades, etc.). These players have done well in their NHL appearances, but it doesn’t solve the problem that Nashville’s lines usually don’t play together long enough to solidify their game. Overall, the Predators appear to have a general lack of chemistry, which is somewhat surprising considering the number of superstar-caliber players on their roster.
BRIGHT SPOTS
Though this season has come with a lot of adversity for Nashville, there have been a few bright spots as well. The Predators traded backup goalies with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 30, swapping goaltender Scott Wedgewood for Colorado’s Justus Annunen. Annunen has played extremely well in his 21 starts for the Preds and has been one of the strongest backup goalies the Preds have had in recent years. Both Annunen and starting goaltender Juuse Saros have been lights-out for Nashville and have carried the team in games that they otherwise would have lost.
On the same note, Predators captain Roman Josi has remained consistent on the blueline by generating both chances and offensive production. He’s passed multiple milestones this season, including reaching 700 career points on Nov. 17 and playing the most games in franchise history (957 games reached Feb. 4).
WHAT’S NEXT FOR NASHVILLE?
At this point, the Predators don’t need to worry about making the playoffs: the focus needs to be on how to simply win games. The league will break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on Feb. 10.; this is the perfect opportunity for Nashville to regroup and come up with a plan to salvage the rest of the season. The trade deadline is fast approaching, and if the Predators don’t make significant improvements, they could be one of the most active teams come Mar. 7.
