Nashville Predators celebrates with teammates after a goal. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
There are Lots of Possibilities for Predators on Your Fantasy Team
The Nashville Predators season is just over one month away from beginning. With the beginning of the NHL season also comes the beginning of fantasy hockey leagues. The Predators have five players listed in the Yahoo Sports 2015-16 Fantasy Hockey Top 100 Player Rankings , These are players that you should certainly consider for your team but there will be plenty of other teams after them too. We are also looking at early ESPN Rankings, and NHL.com Rankings.
The thing about Fantasy Hockey is that it’s so much more than just goals and points. You get extra points for power play and short-handed goals and assists. Some leagues count for hits and penalty minutes. Game winning goals is another stat that can count but that one is pretty hard to forecast although there was a young Swede on the Preds last year that had a pretty good resume on that.
The other thing to consider is how important winning is to you. That may sound like a foolish question but some folks would rather watch their home team players on the telecasts and see how they are doing for their fantasy team. It is often said in Fantasy circles that you can play with your brain or play with your heart.
With that, let’s take a look at Predators players you want to have on your team.
Next: Will the Rinne Wall be Back in Form?
Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35). Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Rinne is usually listed as one of the top five goaltenders in the NHL but is even more important in Fantasy Hockey. He helps you in so many goaltender categories. Shutouts can get you big points from a goaltender and the big Finn has averaged just under six shutouts a year in his time with the Predators.
Save Percentage and Goals Against Percentage are always important categories and Rinne is near the top every year. Folks were worried last year that his stats might suffer with Coach Laviolette’s up-tempo style but he had one of his very best years stat-wise. The Predators figure to fight for a Central Division title this year and they will be piling up lots of wins. That counts on your goalie stats too.
Probably the biggest way that Pekka will impact your team though is that he plays a TON of games. You have to have a minimum of Goaltender starts in most leagues and the more you have the better each week. He has had four seasons with 58 starts or more and three of those were at least 64 starts.
Put Pekka Rinne down early on your draft list, as long as he is healthy he is a beast among goaltenders to have on your team.
Shea Weber is far from a Sleeper Pick but you may be able to get him lower this year than in years past. There has been so much talk in the media about why the Predators should trade him (https://predlines.com/2015/08/01/nashville-predators-trading-shea-weber/) because of his declining stats that some folks may actually believe it. He had one year that was a bit down and it was JUST below his average people!
This is a guy that you love to have on your Fantasy team. Last year he was ranked in the mid-twenties and this year he has dropped in most rankings. He is another player that helps you several categories. He had 15 goals and 45 points last year. Five of those goals and 15 points were on the power play. He even chipped in a short-handed goal last year. (I remember it well, it helped us defeat the Blues!)
He also had his second most penalty minutes last year with 72. Without a true enforcer on the team, the Captain took it upon himself to dole out some punishment to players that took liberties with our Preds. Whether or not you like it as a stat, Plus/Minus is another category in a lot of leagues and Weber was a nice Plus 15.
I think this will be a big bounce back year for Shea Weber and you need to grab him before he slides down too far. Somebody else in your league is going to feel the same way I do and you don’t want to miss out on him.
Next: Is This Defenseman the Next Big Thing?
Nashville Predators defensemen Roman Josi (59). Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Roman Josi, Another in the Line of Great Preds Blueliners
Roman Josi is another player from the Predators that you can get some value on. Because Nashville is not the center of the Hockey world, many Northern (read Canada) media members forget about some of our players. That is especially true at the end of the season when it comes time for awards and lists of top players.
Roman Josi is flat-out becoming one of the best defensemen in the league. He is sometimes overshadowed by Shea Weber but he is becoming a stats machine. In the past three years his point total grew from 18 in 2012-13 to 40 and then last year he had 55 points which was fifth over-all among defensemen in the league. He also had 15 goals, the same as Weber which tied for sixth. And he’s only 25 years old!
As much as last year was a break out year for Josi, this year could even be better. With a better third line it looks as if the Predators could score more this year than last. It sure wouldn’t take much to raise scoring on their 25th ranked power play from last year and Josi could be a big part of that. With that in mind his power play points should improve from last year. Like Weber, he was a Plus 15 in Plus/Minus and chipped in 26 penalty minutes.
He hasn’t missed many games for injury and could be the type of player that really helps your team this year. If the Predators can just get that Power Play going it should really help Josi who is on the first pairing on that team. Don’t let him go too far in your draft before you grab him.
Next: A Swede Way to Fill Out Your Fantasy Lineup
Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg (9). Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Slick Swede Filip Forsberg Readies his Wrist Shot
Last year I saw Filip Forsberg in the Rookie Camp and preseason game and grabbed him in two of my three Fantasy leagues last year. I won one league and finished third in the other (after a heart-breaking playoff loss!) and he was a big part of it.
As a rookie last year, Forsberg threw in some really nice Fantasy stats. He played on the Predators number one line and had plenty of power play time too. He scored 26 goals and 63 points which was 35th in the league overall. He also had six power play goals and 19 points.
He was one of the best in the league with six game winning goals. He also had 24 penalty minutes and was a plus 15. A nice all around season for someone that was rated last year closer to 150 on most draft boards. He is also listed as LW/RW/C in Yahoo which helps you in that you can fit him in when you need a player at any position.
The big question is what will he do this year. There is always fear of the sophomore slump which is very real and we mentioned in this article about Forsberg. (https://predlines.com/2015/08/13/nashville-predators-filip-forsberg-what-next/) . As we also mentioned, we expect him to hit the 30 goal and 70 point marks this year. If you watched the young Swede and his “Twisted Wrister” shot last year you saw a young man who has some magic. I think he will more closely follow the lead of Vladimir Tarasenko’s stats that exploded in his second full year.
With that in mind, you have to decide for yourself. Will he be closer to superstar status this year or suffer the dreaded sophomore doldrums? He had one long stretch in February with only three points in a 15 game stretch. Add another 8-10 points in there and he would have been near the Top 10 in scoring in the entire league. Something to think about.
Next: This Guy Could Really Step Up the PP Points
Nashville Predators James Neal (18). Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
I hate to keep saying that I think that these guys are going to have a better year but James Neal is another Predator that I think will do just that. Even though he had 23 goals last year which is certainly nothing to complain about for anyone in the Predators Blue and Gold, more was expected.
That was his lowest total ever in a full season and he only had 37 points, another low point. He battled some injury problems in the latter part of the season and he moved back and forth a little between the top two lines when the first line went into a February swoon.
As I mentioned before, I can’t believe that the Predators power play won’t be better this year after last year’s struggles and I think Neal can be a big part of that. We certainly saw plenty of flashes of brilliance last season and it was refreshing to have a player that seemed to know where to be and how to snap off shots at the net. It seemed like Neal was snake-bit for part of the season where nothing would go in even on good opportunities. He had only 3 power play goals and 4 points and that has to be an aberration.
In fantasy mode, he can help you with Goal Scoring and Power Play points but is also an asset in leagues that count Penalty Minutes. He has always been known for spending a little time in the Sin Bin and last year was no exception with 57 minutes of penalty time.
If you believe, as I do that the Predators will score more this year, especially on the Power Play, then James Neal will be a nice forward to pick up later in your draft. He is eligible at both wing positions in Yahoo which always helps when plugging in your lineups.
Next: Even More in the Top 200
Nashville Predators center Colin Wilson (33) celebrates with teammates after a goal. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
There are several more Predators players to take a look at. We haven’t even touched on Mike Ribeiro, Seth Jones, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson. Could Kevin Fiala or Steve Moses be the Filip Forsberg of this year for the Predators? That’s what makes Fantasy Hockey so much fun. You can watch the Predators players in action and maybe get the jump on others in your league before they pull the trigger.
Fantasy Hockey can make a great game even better. There is no feeling like when Filip Forsberg scores a power play goal late in the game to beat the Blackhawks and at the same time he helped your Fantasy team win their game too! Best of luck this year in your Fantasy League, I sure hope it is jam-packed with a lot of successful Predators players!
