Puck Daddy's 2016-17 NHL Preview: Nashville Predators

Last Season: 41-27-14 (96 points), 4th in the Central, 7th in the West

The Predators were one of the more consistent teams in the NHL last season. They shot out of the gate at 7-1-2, and didn’t falter much except for losing seven of eight in late December and early January.

The issues that led to that streak proved a blessing in disguise, since it helped land them Ryan Johansen in a trade for Seth Jones on Jan. 6. This gave the Predators the No. 1 center they’ve long needed.

Johansen notched 34 points in 42 games to help the Predators get to the playoffs.

Overall, Predators players produced as expected. Forward Filip Forsberg tied the franchise’s single-season goal scoring mark with 33. Roman Josi set a career-high with 61 points while averaging a team-high 25:29 of action. Shea Weber blasted 20 goals and was his usual physically imposing self on the blueline.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne experienced somewhat of a drop-off with a .908 save percentage and 2.48 goal-against average, down from his Vezina Trophy finalist season the year before where he held a 2.18 goal-against average and .923 save percentage.

Throughout the year, Nashville had some of the better puck possession numbers in the NHL and were considered a threat to make a playoff run.

They beat the Pacific Division winning Anaheim Ducks in the first-round of the postseason before falling to the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the next round.

The Predators still saw room to grow, so they traded Weber for Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban in a summer superstar swap.

2015-16 Season, In One Picture

Did They Get Better, Worse, Or Are They About The Same?

They got better. A lot of the focus will be on Subban’s puck possession numbers and how his skating ability will fit better in Nashville’s up-tempo style. But Nashville’s potential improvements go further than Subban. They added depth up and down their lineup, especially on defense by bringing in Matt Carle and Yannick Weber on value contracts to solidify their lower pairs.

On the offensive side, Forsberg is just 22 years old and should show greater improvement as he will continue to lead Nashville’s attack.

Five Most Fascinating Players

1. P.K. Subban. Subban is one of the most electric talents in the NHL. He provides offense from the back-end unlike most players and his 51 points in 68 games last season were a greater point per-game rate than Weber’s. But more than his on ice play, Subban’s off ice personality should help put the Predators further on the map in the Music City. The organization is constantly fighting with football for local sports supremacy and Subban should at least give the team an larger-than-life personality they’ve never had.

2. Ryan Johansen. The big center should benefit from a full year of playing in Nashville with Peter Laviolette and his attacking style. Johansen is slated to be a restricted free agent next offseason and the 24-year-old center seems ripe to cash in. Expect a total similar to the career-high 71 points he put up with Columbus in the 2014-15 season.

3. Roman Josi. For almost his entire NHL career, Josi had a 6-foot-4, 236-pound safety blanket as a defense partner in Weber. This enabled Josi the freedom to roam up and down the ice and put up big offensive numbers. With Weber gone, he won’t have this anymore in Nashville. This upcoming year we will see how much the slick Swiss blueliner needed Weber – or if he didn’t need him at all.

4. Colin Wilson. Before the 2016 playoffs, Wilson looked like a player destined to be on the trading block in the summer. After the postseason he looked like a core component with the team. Wilson was Nashville’s top forward with 13 points in 14 games played as he led the team to within one win of a Western Conference Final. The Predators took Wilson with the seventh overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. It feels like they’ve been waiting forever for him to arrive as a legitimate contributor. Has he finally found his stride or was the postseason a fluke?

5. Mike Fisher. The 36-year-old forward was named captain this offseason, replacing Weber. He’s an important guy in the locker room and valuable to the culture Nashville wants to create, but his numbers dropped significantly last season. His 0.33 points per-game was the third-worst of his NHL career. He’s in a contract year and you have to wonder if another down season mean the end for him? Best case scenario, Fisher leads the way for the youngsters in that locker room and shows them how to be pros. Worst case he ends up seeing his leadership marginalized by lack of playing time and production.

Mascot Hijinks Video Break

Can We Trust Them At Even Strength?

The Predators held a 52.26 5-on-5 zone, score and venue adjusted CF% last season. This ranked sixth in the NHL. Overall, Nashville’s even strength puck protection game should improve with Subban who is considered a more possession friendly player than Weber. Last season Subban held a 51.5 5-on-5 zone, score and venue adjusted CF%. He was a minus-0.36 relative to the rest of his team in what was considered a down year for the Habs. Weber was a minus-3.35 relative to his team.

Can We Trust Them On Special Teams?

Maybe. Subban had 24 power play points last season to Weber’s, 26 – though Subban played in 10 fewer games than Weber. Can Subban’s presence improve Nashville’s 19.7 power play success rate? They have plenty of talented players who know how to convert on the man-advantage. Forsberg scored 23 power play points last season to rank first amongst forwards on the team. James Neal has one of the best one-timers in the NHL. Having Johansen for a full season should help in this area of the game. Still for a lot of years Nashville’s power play went through Weber and not having him will be an adjustment, though they’ll probably be fine.

The penalty kill may struggle without Weber. He was an imposing presence in front of the net with his physicality. Weber also led the Preds with 2:50 average shorthanded icetime per-game. Subban is an also all-around defender who averaged 2:20 of shorthanded ice-time per-game last season. Not having Paul Gaustad – who retired during the summer – may also hurt Nashville’s PK to a degree. He won 55.3 percent of his faceoffs with the team and helped them start with the puck to get it out.

Can We Trust Their Goaltending?

That’s the big question. Rinne is making elite money at $7 million per-year for the next three seasons, but he wasn’t a top-notch netminder last season. He ranked 28th in 2015-16 in 5-on-5 save percentage amongst 36 goaltenders who had played at least 1,500 minutes. Backup Marek Mazanec has only played 28 games in his NHL career and spent last season in Milwaukee of the AHL.

Player Mostly Likely To Be In Vegas Next Season

Anthony Bitetto has two years left on his contract. He’s just 26 years old and cheap with a salary cap hit of $612,500.

Coach Hot Seat Rating (1-10, 10 being scorching hot)

1. Nashville general manager David Poile doesn’t like to change coaches and sees firing them as a last resort. Plus the Predators franchise loves the up-tempo style Laviolette has brought to the team.

Prediction

The Predators make the playoffs as one of the top two seeds in the Central Division. Johansen will be a point per-game player and Subban will be an electric personality that will help the organization fill the building. They will win one round but fall in the second-round in seven games.

2016-17 Season Preview
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