Nashville Predators: Assembling Franchise’s All-Time Best Offensive Weapons
By Chad Minton
Right Wing- Martin Erat
Another player that will forever be synonymous with the Nashville Predators’ history is Martin Erat. During the years when the franchise was trying to stay afloat, Erat was the steady contributor. He’s the class act and outstanding leader you want on your team.
On top of the intangibles, Erat was the ultimate set-up man. He had a string of six seasons where he tallied up 30-plus assists in all but one. His goal outputs aren’t overly impressive, but he played a direct role in so many scoring opportunities during his time. Without Erat, those Predators teams aren’t reaching the playoffs.
Right Wing- Patric Hornqvist
It was tough to see Patric Hornqvist traded at the time, even though it was for James Neal. The trade worked out great for both teams, but Hornqvist’s ability to set up shop in front of the net was brilliant. He made an offensively challenged Predators team much better at manufacturing scoring chances.
His short stint doesn’t do him justice for the type of rare scorer the Predators had at their disposal. As primarily a right winger, he easily makes this list. There isn’t a plethora of great right wingers in Predators history, but Hornqvist is an exception. Imagine if he would’ve stayed. We would be talking maybe top-five Predator all-time.