The Nashville Predators Should Sign Jeff Skinner In Free Agency

The Nashville Predators have had a lot of problems finding goal scorers, and Jeff Skinner would most certainly be the perfect fit to plug that hole.

Sure the Nashville Predators don’t have much cap space, as they only have around $6MM pending any re-signings, but if they make a move like trading away P.K. Subban, they could possibly make enough room to gain the services of Jeff Skinner, and he would be a perfect fit.

Jeff Skinner scored 40 goals last season, the same season in which the Predators saw Viktor Arvidsson set their single-season goal scoring record with 34.

Skinner also broke 34 goals in 2016-17 with 37, which means he already has two seasons in his career where he scored more goals in a season than any player in Nashville Predators history.

Jeff Skinner is a type of player the Nashville Predators haven’t really had before- a pure sniper. His play type would also be a perfect fit to saving the Preds abysmal power play.

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The Predators finished dead last in power-play percentage during the regular season, as well as going their entire six-game series against the Dallas Stars without a single goal with the man advantage during the postseason.

The problem with the Predators powerplay is that nobody shoots, they keep cycling the puck until one of them inevitably turns the puck over, which is why adding Jeff Skinner to the mix would help out tremendously.

If they could just get the puck to Skinner, he could definitely help the Predators put the puck into the net during the man advantage.

He would also be a perfect fit on a potential second line with Kyle Turris, who could be traded to make room for Skinner, and Mikael Granlund. This puts him with two playmakers who can pass him the puck and give him good scoring chances.

Even if Kyle Turris gets traded, a line with Granlund centering the line and a guy like Rocco Grimaldi or Eeli Tolvanen on the other wing would still work perfectly, as those guys would also compliment Jeff Skinner’s playing style very well.

The Predators offense was very mediocre last season, so changes have to be made to fix it, and Jeff Skinner could potentially be the guy to bring in, as he fixes a massive amount of needs that the Preds definitely need to be fixed.

He can score goals and help open up the Preds powerplay that absolutely needs it, as literally any improvement would help them tremendously.

Although Skinner is going to want a massive pay raise, maybe something in the ballpark of $9MM, I think it will be worth it for the Predators, even if they will have to sacrifice other parts of the roster to do so.