The Nashville Predators are making the most with what they have to work with.
The Nashville Predators aren’t exactly known for making a big splash in the NHL Entry Draft or even in signing Free Agents from overseas countries.
Last season there were two young players signed from the KHL that had opposite effects on their NHL teams. The two teams were the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks. The two players were Steve Moses and Artemi Panarin.
Both players arrived for their teams with quite a bit of fanfare. Moses had set a record for most goals scored during a season in the KHL. Panarin was known for his skills and his low price helped the Cap strapped Blackhawks.
They had fairly similar stats in that last season in the KHL:
| Player | Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Artemi Panarin | 2014–15 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 54 | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| Steve Moses | 2014–15 | Jokerit | KHL | 60 | 36 | 21 | 57 |
That didn’t translate equally when they made it to North America. Artemi Panarin became “The Breadman” and won the Calder Cup Trophy as rookie of the year. Steve Moses was released after not being able to cut it in Milwaukee and went back to the KHL. Their season stats:
| Player | Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Artemi Panarin | 2015–16 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 80 | 30 | 47 | 77 |
| Steve Moses | 2015–16 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
If you look at both teams draft picks, the Blackhawks have been very successful with picks like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Corey Crawford. The Nashville Predators have had some success although their First Round picks have mostly been flops.
Related Story: Preds All-Time First Round Picks
There was an intersting Tweet last week by Mike Commito:
How many scouts are currently listed as employees on teams in the NHL? 👀🏒 @NHLnumbers pic.twitter.com/qoK2Woe2c3
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) July 22, 2016
If you blow up the chart a little and take a look it shows that the ‘Hawks have a bunch more scouts than the Preds do. They actually have 25 scouts to the Preds 14. Not quite twice as many. As a matter of fact, the Blackhawks have the most in the league and the Predators come in at number 23 on that list.
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The Predators have some nice home-grown players like Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm and Pekka Rinne. You have to wonder though about the ability to cover a worldwide group of players with only 14 scouts.
The Blackhawks could be an exception as it doesn’t look as if there is a distinct correlation between the number of scouts and success in the NHL. The Florida Panthers have had some success and they have the least with only nine scouts.
Columbus has the second most with 23 but they haven’t had near the success the Nashville Predators have had in about the same timeframe. Still, you have to wonder if the Predators wouldn’t find a few more diamonds in the rough with a little larger group of eyes.
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The Nashville Predators were once operating on a shoestring budget but that has loosened quite a bit the past couple of years. Perhaps this will open up as well.