Nashville Predators: Can Kyle Turris Reclaim Past Success?

The first week of training camp for the Nashville Predators is complete. We are starting to get information on possible line combinations that may be implemented for the playoffs.

As the week continued to roll along, we started to see reports of the offensive lines that are being used for training camp.

On Sunday, the Nashville Predators held a scrimmage to put these lines to the test in game-like situations.

The Predators roster is full of accomplished veterans looking to reclaim success they’ve had in the past, and Kyle Turris is one of them.

Other parts of the roster are already being brought back together to build quick chemistry.

It was exciting when it was revealed that Head Coach John Hynes revived the famous JoFA line during training camp.

This top line, consisting of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson, haven’t played much together this season but will be looking to regain their past glory.

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In a move to bolster consistency and cohesiveness, Hynes kept the third line of Rocco Grimaldi, Nick Bonino, and Craig Smith together. This line has been the most consistent all season and deserves to remain together for the playoffs.

This brings us to the second line grouping that Hynes has been utilizing for training camp and especially one player, in particular, Kyle Turris.

Turris has been grouped with Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene. On paper, this trio has the potential to make a lot of noise in the playoffs. It’s a very intriguing second line that has a great chance to be highly productive.

Hynes is instilling a lot of trust in Turris by adding him to the second line. Turris, like a few other high profile players, has had a rough season.

The season has been so rough for Turris that he even spent some time as a healthy scratch under former head coach Peter Laviolette.

Whether to energize Turris or to keep him fresh for the trade deadline, he wasn’t in the lineup for seven-straight games while Laviolette was at the helm.

Even though several players were struggling, to the outsider, it appeared that Turris was singled out under the old coaching regime.

There were also trade rumors both before and after this year’s trade deadline regarding Turris, and others.

There’s no doubt that Turris struggled in the regular season. His lackluster numbers seemed to carry over from the previous season, where he struggled as well.

In this shortened season, Turris managed nine goals and 31 points overall. This was a small improvement over last year’s numbers, in which he only played in 55 games.

You hate to say it, but these numbers are pretty lackluster, especially for one of the highest-paid players on the team.

Naturally, the higher the salary, the higher the expectations tend to be.

So why has Turris had these off years? I have a theory that may not be that big of a secret. Turris never wholly gelled with Laviolette and his system.

With Hynes now at the helm, Turris has to feel a little relief, but should still feel the pressure to perform up to expectations and to perform as he did before joining the Predators.

Turris’ best season in Ottawa saw him scoring 27 goals and tallying 28 assists. He needs to strive for that kind of performance again as the Predators will need everyone to step up their games if they are to advance in the upcoming qualifying round and beyond.

Judging by Hynes’ decision to move Turris up to the second line, their conversations during the season pause must have gone well. This doesn’t mean Turris will for sure be on the second line against the Coyotes in Game 1.

Hynes must still believe that Turris is a viable weapon that deserves quality ice time with playmakers like Duchene and Granlund.

The second line, like the first, contains players that have all struggled this season in some way or another. Hynes is giving them a chance to redeem themselves. He must like what he sees in training camp because he continues to keep these lines together for the most part.

For Turris, this is an excellent opportunity to resurrect his career and live up to his big contract that regularly comes under scrutiny as a bad contract deal.