The Nashville Predators are more than a quarter of a way through their season, and here at Predlines, we thought it would be as good a time as any to give them a “report card” based on the season so far.
Unfortunately, the team is below .500 and falling behind the rest of the “class” in the Central Division, so to speak – at this point, they might not even graduate.
The good news is, this is just the first quarter, and there is still time for them to improve their grades and get back in our good graces. In the meantime, it feels like we’re those parents: we’re not angry, we’re just very disappointed. Maybe we’re a little (very) angry.
Without further ado, each Predlines writer gave their own report card, and I have compiled them to average their grades below. Let’s see why the Predators are losing all xbox and cell phone privileges for at least a month.
Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
Offense: D+
The Nashville Predators have been absolutely atrocious on offense outside of Herculean efforts by Filip Forsberg, and strong, but not always results-producing, efforts by Matt Duchene. The offense is the opposite of aggressive. A convent full of nuns would be more aggressive on the ice than most of these guys.
On my patented (pending) dog-intimidation-scale, if the Lightning are a German Shepherd trained in home protection, the Predators are a Pomeranian blind in one eye and missing most of its teeth (sorry Pomeranian owners).
The habits to break, and to bring this grade up, include more high danger shots and better utilization of offensive zone time, not shooting from 25′ feet out and making it so obvious that the goalie has time to take a selfie while making the save, and not mishandling the puck resulting in a reset of the offensive momentum. Aggression is the name of the game, but not at the expense of smart hockey.
Defense: C-
The Nashville Predators bright spot on the report card, if you can call a C- a bright spot, is our defense, primarily when at even strength.
When the defense is on, it is really on, however if the team starts slow (which more often than not, it does), this unit is primed for some sloppy play that can result in turnovers or leaving either Pekka Rinne or Juuse Saros out to dry.
Outside of Roman Josi, every defenseman has had a rough game and not showed the consistency we really need.
If the defense wants to improve their grade, they need to stop committing mental errors and getting caught out of position. They also need to stop committing sloppy penalties that aren’t necessary – the defenseman lead the Predators skaters in penalty minutes.
Finally, they need to CLEAR THE ZONE – even if they have to ice the puck, it at least means the opposing team has to reset the offense a bit. Not doing so allows way too many chances and high danger opportunities for the opposition.
Special Teams: F
This one is bad…like, really bad. Special teams feel like a foreign language to this team.
On the penalty kill, the team is ranked 30th out of 31 teams (gulp), only better than the New Jersey Devils – the last team John Hynes coached.
On the power play, the team is actually slightly improved from the past two years, ranking at 23rd in the NHL for power play goals, however, still being in the bottom third isn’t going to help much.
Divisionally, only the Red Wings are worse on the power play.
There’s a lot of coach speak that’s been circulated about how to improve the penalty kill and power play, and the penalty kill has vastly improved in the last few weeks since the Dallas series, but it’s still not a unit that can be depended on.
The power play on the other hand has shown a bit of a spark, and the second unit isn’t as bad as it was at the start of the season, much in part due to the addition of Eeli Tolvanen – the guy is putting in work and deserves more time, not just on the power play, but in the offense in general (just watch his shot release and you will see why).
Coaching: D
Honestly, this is one of those grades where you thought you did even worse in the class than what actually came out, but when averaging the grades, a D feels generous for the Nashville Predators leader.
Maybe the grade is the result of hiring a coach with a losing record. Maybe we should have gone with an “interim” tag or role instead of a snap decision.
Regardless, John Hynes says all of the right things, but for whatever reason, the team cannot execute, and what’s worse: they have an awful habit of not showing up for a game until the third period.
At the same time, the team hasn’t been very consistent, possibly due to Hynes constantly changing the forward combinations, and limiting ice time of contributors like Tolvanen and Rocco Grimaldi.
It would be one thing if Hynes was aloof, but he knows the issues, and he calls them out pretty publicly (though not the players by name themselves).
Hynes has never had a team finish above .500, and even his record with the Nashville Predators is barely two games over .500. He may not be the answer this team needs if it wants to contend…I fear he may even be the fall-guy as an excuse for a rebuild.
Nashville Predators GM David Poile (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
Management: F
This is probably the grade that stings the most for the Nashville Predators. David Poile has been with the team since the beginning, and he’s built up a lot of good will with the franchise and Smashville as a whole.
However, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight once said, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Intense? Sure. Accurate in this case? Unfortunately, probably.
As much as Poile may want to ride off into the sunset on his terms, it may be time to walk away while there’s any good will left. I’m not sure if that means his son would take over, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, as many aspects of the front office appear to be flawed – from scouting at the free agent level to trades and acquisitions (though we have hit on some prospects), the front office has a lot issues to address and improve.
Related Story. Four Players Who Could be Traded by Predators. light
Speaking to the current situation, the lack of transparency or patronizing of a fanbase that has grown to understand the game very well does you no favors.
The “youth movement” we were supposed to see, well, it barely materialized into intermittent ice time for Tolvanen, Olivier, and Trenin, with some McCarron sprinkled in.
The hasty coaching hire last season, the offseason veteran acquisitions, and much more speak to the flaws of management, and a change may be coming sooner rather than later if things don’t take a drastic turn.
This is one grade that may not be improved, especially with it looking more likely we find ourselves in the midst of a rebuild.
