Nashville Predators: Five Players With Most Value to Long-Term Future

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 14: Viktor Arvidsson
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 14: Viktor Arvidsson
2 of 6
DETROIT, MI – FEBRUARY 20: Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg, of Sweden, (9) celebrates a goal scored by teammate Viktor Arvidsson, of Sweden, (not pictured) during the third period of a regular season NHL hockey game between the Nashville Predators and the Detroit Red Wings on February 20, 2018, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Nashville defeated Detroit 3-2. (Photo by Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – FEBRUARY 20: Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg, of Sweden, (9) celebrates a goal scored by teammate Viktor Arvidsson, of Sweden, (not pictured) during the third period of a regular season NHL hockey game between the Nashville Predators and the Detroit Red Wings on February 20, 2018, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Nashville defeated Detroit 3-2. (Photo by Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Filip Forsberg

Filip Forsberg has the best chance right now to making highlight reels and attracting national attention. That’s never been easy to do playing in the Nashville market. He’s going to keep ascending, and cracking 40 goals in a season is highly likely to happen very soon. He comes in at No.15 on NHL Network’s top 20 wingers:

The Predators have never had a highly-skilled offensive player quite like Forsberg. He can take over games on his own and single-handily get two points for the standing when the team maybe didn’t play their best. There’s a huge asset to having a player like Forsberg on your top line, and you can’t discount his assist numbers rising as well. All of the great teams have a player like this leading the way on the top line.

The league is starting to take notice of Forsberg’s greatness and his high ceiling. It feels like he’s been in the league for a while, but he’s just 24 years of age. He’s signed through the 2021-22 season, which is a major relief. He’s extremely valuable to the Predators remaining a top dog in the conference. Scratching the surface of a league MVP discussion isn’t too far fetched.