Yahoo Sports Nashville Predators: From Historic Off-Season to Franchise Low
The Nashville Predators have had a wild five months since free agency. Barry Trotz made the Predators the first team in NHL history to acquire two 40-goal scorers in a single off-season, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault.
The Predators now sit 31st in the NHL in points and have just seven wins through 27 games. The seven wins were the second worst mark through 25 games of the season in franchise history to only the 2002-03 Predators.
Despite having that kind of off-season and adding the talent they did, Nashville has scored two or fewer goals in 2/3 of their games (18 of 27). Fortunately, goaltender Juuse Saros, who is known for starting the season a bit slower, has been incredible for the Predators and a big reason why the team has any wins at all.
Stamkos is tied for second on the Predators with seven goals through 27 games and has 13 points on the season. Six goals and four assists have come on the power play, so he has been nearly entirely ineffective at 5-on-5.
Stamkos scored 40 goals in 79 games last season and is a seven-time 40-goal scorer along with a two-time Rocket Richard trophy winner for the most goals in a season by any player. He is on pace for just 21 goals, which would be the lowest of any season in his career where he played at least 40 games. Stamkos' shooting percentage (SH%) this season is a career low 10.6%, down from his career average of 16.5%.
Related: Predators' Jonathan Marchessault Reaches 500 Points
Marchessault has five goals and also has 13 points this season through 27 games. His five goals is tied for fifth on the team after putting up a career-high 42 goals in 82 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. He is a three-time 30-goal scorer and has scored at least 20 goals in seven of the past eight seasons. The only time he missed was the 2020-21 shortened season and he scored 18 goals in 55 games.
Marchessault is on pace for just 15 goals this season, but he has been a little more effective at even strength than Stamkos, scoring three goals and six points. He has an 11.3 career SH% and his SH% this season is only 5.8%. That suggests he is going to start scoring a little more soon.
Goals have to start coming for the Predators to somewhat make up for the disappointing start after a massive off-season and to set the team on the right path for the next few seasons as well.
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