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Nashville Predators: Five players could surprise us this year

By Corey Francis

NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 13: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators waves to the crowd after his overtime game winning penalty shot against the St. Louis Blues during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on February 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 13: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators waves to the crowd after his overtime game winning penalty shot against the St. Louis Blues during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on February 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 29: Viktor Arvidsson #33 celebrates his goal with Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Two of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 29, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 29: Viktor Arvidsson #33 celebrates his goal with Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Two of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 29, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Getting our Fil

To me, there is no more exciting player to watch in the NHL than Filip Forsberg. Sure, there may be better or more consistent shooters, but none of the flare of Forsberg. He is the Javier Baez of the NHL.

When you look at his stat sheet, Forsberg is good for 60 points per season. In each of his four full seasons, he has gained at least 26 goals. He reached 30 twice. He finished the season ranked 14th in the NHL in P/60 of players with greater than 800 minutes on the ice.

It may be a surprise to see Forsberg on this list, but it shouldn’t. We know he is going to score is points. However, we have to remember one fact about last season: Forsberg played in a career-low 67 games. In each of the previous three years, he played in every game, reaching no less than 1420 minutes on the ice. Last year, Forsberg only played 1171 minutes.

In 2017-18, Forsberg was a .95 points per game player. If he played all 82 games, he could have reached 78 points on the season, placing 23rd in the league. Furthermore, of his 26 goals last season, 13 came during the power play. He scored less than 20 goals at even-strength for the first time in his career. Again, this is partly due to missing games to injury or suspension.

Forsberg is on the break of stardom in the NHL. Give him a full season and we could see some spectacular performances.

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