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Nashville Predators: Players With Growing Expectations, Pressure Next Season

By Chad Minton |
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 13: Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators celebrates with teammates Ryan Ellis #4 and Craig Smith #15 after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Bridgestone Arena on March 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 13: Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators celebrates with teammates Ryan Ellis #4 and Craig Smith #15 after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Bridgestone Arena on March 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
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With the Nashville Predators being largely silent in free agency, it will mean the current core will have to step up their games even more in 2018-19.

A quiet free agency isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Nashville Predators. After all, they came within one game of returning to the Western Conference Finals. Who knows if they would have given the Golden Knights a better fight than the Jets did. This free agency has reaffirmed the notion that GM David Poile is confident that he already has the roster good enough to win it all.

With no major additions, that means that certain players have more pressure on them to raise their level of play. They certainly can’t afford to have any setbacks from the players they count on the most with no big free agency splashes coming in to pick up the slack. Some players have already peaked in their careers, but others should keep getting better.

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For the first time in a while, I’m satisfied with the Predators not being aggressive in free agency. I share the belief that the Predators already have a great roster, and that Poile doesn’t have to get too fancy to keep this team as one of the top contenders. However, let’s take a look at which Predators players will need to elevate their play even more, and do so with more pressure.

WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 1: Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators takes part in the pre-game warm up prior to NHL action against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 1, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 1: Kevin Fiala #22 of the Nashville Predators takes part in the pre-game warm up prior to NHL action against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 1, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Kevin Fiala

Kevin Fiala made a big jump in his first full season with the Predators, nearly doubling his career goal total. His 23 goals is a nice sign that he’s going to be one of the team’s top scorers for the foreseeable future. Now the pressure is on Fiala to continue that trend on the team’s second line with Kyle Turris and Craig Smith.

The second line was a major factor in the Predators’ regular season success. Fiala deserves a lot of credit for that as he also chipped in 25 assists and logged a Corsi-for percentage of over 60. Extremely impressive for such a young player that still has room to improve.

I’m a firm believer that Fiala has all of the tools to eventually rival Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson as the team’s top goal scorer. There are times when I think he looks more effortless with the puck than Forsberg. He’s a great luxury to have on the second line, but he will have more pressure to keep up that trend. You’re not overreaching to expect Fiala to crack 30 goals next season.

NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 30: Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators tends net against the Minnesota Wild during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on December 30, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 30: Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators tends net against the Minnesota Wild during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on December 30, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Juuse Saros

Any fears that Juuse Saros wasn’t ready to take over for Pekka Rinne were put to rest last season. Saros rose to the occasion when his number was called, especially when you take out his first few starts of the season.  With more starts, he may have even been in the Vezina Trophy conversation. Obviously that award went to Rinne, which goes to show you how stacked the Predators are at the position.

Saros logged a career high in starts with 23, and I expect that number to go up to over 30 starts next season. Now that we know he’s more than capable of taking over as the full-time goaltender, the expectations will be much higher. We don’t want to see him regress. The Predators may still have Rinne to get the bulk of the starts, but eventually it’s going to be Saros’ net.

Up until now, the expectations have always been to step in to give Rinne rest on a back-to-back. That’s no longer the case. Saros will have to win tougher starts as the team is going to turn to him more often.

NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 31: Eeli Tolvanen #11 of the Nashville Predators skates against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on March 31, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eeli Tolvanen
NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 31: Eeli Tolvanen #11 of the Nashville Predators skates against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on March 31, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eeli Tolvanen /

Eeli Tolvanen

The highly-anticipated debut of Eeli Tolvanen was without much of a bang. He appeared in just three games late in the season, recording three shots on goal. There’s no reason to look too much into his brief NHL action. However, he’ll have a much bigger role going into 2018-19.  Take a look at what Tolvanen had to say about going into next season, per John Glennon of Glennon Sports:

“I mean, just get stronger and faster, those are the two biggest things because I’m not the biggest guy. So, I can battle in the corners with the bigger guys. Those things are the things I have to improve most.

As a first-round pick from 2017, the pressure on Tolvanen will keep increasing. Patience will be needed as he’s still just 19-years-old and needs more time to adjust to the NHL. With that said, we know that he’s high-caliber thanks to his production in the KHL and other worldwide tournaments like the Winter Olympics. Now we want to see that start transferring to the NHL level.

I don’t expect Tolvanen to light the world on fire, but a bigger impact will be important. He’ll be more of a regular in the everyday lineup. A full offseason for him to focus on just the Predators will be a major benefit that should show up on the stat sheet sooner rather than later.

DENVER, CO – APRIL 22: Ryan Ellis #4 of the Nashville Predators fires a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – APRIL 22: Ryan Ellis #4 of the Nashville Predators fires a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Ryan Ellis

You have to chalk up Ryan Ellis‘ injury-shortened season as a success. His numbers after his return from injury are solid with 32 points in 44 games. That’s an indication that he didn’t lose a step, and if anything he improved over the previous season. In 2016-17, Ellis amassed 38 points in 71 games. His pace in the second half of last season shows he’s trending upward.

There’s pressure on the Predators front office to get a contract negotiation hammered out to ensure that Ellis will be around for years to come. The two sides are expected to meet at the bargaining table within the next week or so when things calm down, per Robby Stanley of NHL.com:

If an Ellis deal does get done before the start of the season, then he’ll have a new form of pressure to back up what figures to be a hefty new contract. I’ve always thought Ellis is captain-like material and deserves a long-term deal. The best is probably still to come from this underrated defenseman.

NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 12: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators reacts after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of a 5-2 Predators victory in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 12, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 12: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators reacts after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of a 5-2 Predators victory in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 12, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

Filip Forsberg

Filip Forsberg keeps raising the bar every year he plays. Even an abbreviated season shortened by inury and a controversial suspension couldn’t hold him back from having another spectacular year. Better yet, he’s doing it when the lights are the brightest in postseason action. With success comes more pressure and higher expectations.

The fact is Forsberg’s best hockey should still be ahead of him. If not for missing 15 regular season games, he would’ve eclipsed 30 goals again for the third-straight year. He still posted 26 goals and tied a career high with 64 points. As great as those numbers are, I think he can produce much more starting in the upcoming season.

Next: Four Burning Questions for 2018-19 Season

Forsberg’s next step is to become one of the game’s most lethal scorers, and get national recognition for it. For him to do that he’s going to have to stay healthy and show consistency. He keeps growing into a more complete player, so there’s no reason to think he won’t keep getting better. We should start seeing him blossom into a top-tier scorer in the NHL in the very near future. That’s his next step.

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