New Additions: F Erik Haula (from NJD), D Nicolas Hague (from VGK), D Nick Perbix (2yr x $2.75M AAV), F Dylan Gambrell (PTO)

Subtractions: F Colton Sissons (to VGK), D Jeremy Lauzon (to VGK), D Marc Del Gaizo (to MTL), F Kieffer Bellow (FA)

Retentions/Extensions: D Nicolas Hague (4yr x $5.5M AAV)

This time last year, people were calling the Nashville Predators the winners of the offseason. I will be honest, if I was writing a team preview last season, I would have been in the same boat as everyone else. I would have talked up the signings of Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei and Jonathan Marchessault, and said how a team that had just made the playoffs only added to their squad, and how high the expectations for the team were. Their three major additions all had two things in common, they were all 30+, and all of them were given a NMC (No Movement Clause), what could go wrong? The Preds were no doubt the biggest disappointment of the 2024-25 season, finishing 30th in the NHL, only ahead of the 20 win San Jose Sharks, and 25 win Chicago Blackhawks. With the majority of the roster in or past their prime, and very little depth in their prospect pool, there is a major lack of direction in Music City.

Nashville had a very quiet offseason after being the busiest team last year, you can count the team’s transactions from June to September on one hand. The top priority was strengthening the blue line, as the team’s defense was poor last season, allowing the 6th most goals against last season. There are two new faces on D, both big bodied, and both coming from playoff teams. They traded for Nicolas Hague (6’6”), who had spent six years with the Vegas Golden Knights, and was a casualty of the team wanting to clear cap to sign Mitch Marner. Nashville jumped on that and acquired the 26 year old defenceman, and signed him to an extension (4yr x $5.5M AAV). He is currently injured, but when he enters the lineup he will be a big piece on defense. Also joining the D corps is Nick Perbix (6’4”), a former sixth round pick who has grown into a solid defenceman, with 220 games over the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The other notable move this offseason was reuniting with Finnish forward Erik Haula, who played in Nashville during the 2020-21 season. He has played for the Devils the past three seasons, but New Jersey was looking to free up some money, and Nashville took on him and his $3.15M cap hit for a fourth round pick in the 2025 draft. A cheap price to add some depth scoring for a team in need of it. In a fully healthy year, Haula is good for about 10-20 goals, and 30-45 points.

Other than committing copious amounts of money to last year’s free agent class, I believe there are three players that are preventing the Predators from giving up hope in this squad and completely blowing it up. Star forward Filip Forsberg, former Vezina nominated goaltender Juuse Saros, and elite defenceman and captain Roman Josi. The trio are the last three remaining players from the 2017 Western Conference Champion Predators. 

Forsberg, 31, has been the Predators best offensive weapon for about a decade. In the disastrous 2024-25 campaign, he led the team in scoring with 31 goals and 76 points. While those numbers are solid, they are a drop off from his previous season, where he set career highs across the board, scoring 48 goals along with 46 assists for a total of 94 points. 76 points in a season is great, but the Predators need the elite version of the Swede if they hope to have a bounce back year. Forsberg also has a NMC, with five more years on his contract, and I would not be surprised if he remains in Nashville for his entire career, even if the team decides to fully rebuild.

While Saros was not the starter in the Cup Final, he has been the team’s starter since Pekka Rinne called it a career. Now it is not always the case that a team is able to go from one great goalie to another, but Saros stepped into Rinne’s shoes and handled the starting role with no problem. The 30 year old netminder has played in over 400 games, and has great career stats, with a .914 SV%, 2.68 GAA, a Vezina nomination in 2021-22. This season he enters the first year of an eight year contract extension he signed last offseason that carries a cap hit of $7.74M, and includes (you guessed it!) a NMC.

Roman Josi at age 35 is still one of the best defencemen in the NHL. The Swiss native is the all time points leader in Predators history with 724 career points as a Pred (Forsberg is not far behind with 681). Since trading Shea Weber in 2016, he has been the number one defenceman and flourished in that role. Not only does he put up points, he scores goals, having scored a career high 23 goals twice, and averaging 16 goals per season throughout his 14 year career. He won the Norris Trophy in 2019-20, and has been considered for the award multiple times. Limited to 53 games last season, and two separate stints on the IR, Josi had a tough time staying healthy. Both him and the organization are hoping for a healthy year and want to look past last season, the team needs their captain.

Stamkos, Skjei and Marchessault are having to take a lot of the blame for the rough season, as they were all great players on their previous teams, and the expectation was that they could replicate that in Nashville. But to their defence, sometimes change is hard, especially when you are so used to how things were before. Skjei spent the previous five years in Carolina, Marchessault was in Vegas since the expansion draft (seven seasons with the Golden Knights), and Stamkos was in Tampa Bay for sixteen years! I am optimistic they can improve in year two with their new team.

Ryan O’Reilly, who is one of the best two way centers in the league, had a successful first season in Nashville in 2023-24, he had 69 points and the team made the playoffs. Last year, much less successful, as his point production dropped as he recorded only 53 points, marking the lowest total he has produced in a full season since his second year in the league. I am starting to sound like a broken record at this point, but he needs to bounce back.

On paper, this team has a lot of high end talent at the top, albeit old, but talented players nonetheless. Even if their key pieces bounce back, it does not mean this team will be good, they are lacking heavily in the depth department. Michael Bunting is probably the most recognizable name in the supporting cast, coming over from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last season. After him is a slew of young players, the team is hoping for at least a few of these players to break out, keep an eye out for: Luke Evangelista, Matthew Wood, Joakim Kemell, Fedor Svechkov, Zachary L’Heureux and Justin Barron.

I am confident this season will not be as bad as last year was for Nashville. I think they can expect a little more consistent play from their 2024 offseason additions, and some of their young players to become full time fixtures in the lineup. But even if everything goes right, they still have a lot to prove before they can return to being a playoff team. Unfortunately, the amount of NMCs on this roster makes it difficult to throw in the towel and enter a rebuild. They will need the players consent to agree to any trade, which makes things difficult and gives the players a ton of power. I think for the first 50 games of the season they will treat things as if they are in win now mode. But if the results are not there, I think some of the non-NMC players (Like ROR and Bunting) could be moved to give some more opportunities to the young players on the roster. Could be another long year for the Preds.