Nashville Predators: Predators Centers vs The Best of the West
By Steve Cook
Nashville Predators
Ryan Johansen: 14 goals, 47 assists, 55.9 FF%, 7.0 CF% rel
Nick Bonino: 18 goals, 19 assists, 47.9 FF%, -4.9 CF% rel
Calle Jarnkrok: 15 goals, 16 assists, 50.4 FF%, -0.5 CF% rel
Colton Sissons: 8 goals, 2 assists, 44.4 FF%, -8.1 CF% rel
There’s been some difference of opinion over who the fourth Predator center will be. I chose Sissons because he’s gotten the most playing time & was entrusted with first-line duty in the Stanley Cup Final. I figure that has to mean something. Also, he played 49 more games in 2016-17 than Frederick Gaudreau, so there are more stats to use for comparisons.
The stats don’t look pretty after Johansen. Johansen’s advanced statistics are among the best in the league, which they’ll have to repeat this season. Jarnkrok’s stats were fairly mediocre, Sissons’ weren’t great & Bonino’s not favored by any statistics. He passed the eye test when I watched him play, and I was happy when the Predators signed him. Statisticians don’t like him though. His stats are apparently more troubling considering he was on Pittsburgh’s third line and often went against inferior competition.