Nashville Predators: Players Who Will be Critical to the Rebuild

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You can’t really run and hide from it anymore. The Nashville Predators are heading into a bigger rebuild than they’ve been in since when Barry Trotz was let go in 2013-14 after the team missed the playoffs two-straight years.

Even though the Stanley Cup Qualifiers technically counted as making the playoffs, I can’t see it that way. It’s likely that the Predators are about the miss the 16-team playoff field for the second season in a row.

Furthermore, the Predators have been heading in reverse since going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. They followed that up with massive expectations and a President’s Trophy the following season, but it’s all been a rough ride since then.

To go through with a rebuild, you have to identify current players that are integral for going into the rebuild. You have to look long and hard through this current Predators roster to identify a handful of players that they should want to keep.

These are the top players I have in terms of importance for the rebuild.

Nashville Predators top pieces for the rebuild

I’ve been beating the drum on this one ever since the Predators started making it apparent they were going nowhere fast this season. Forsberg has been the topic of trade rumors all over the NHL, but I’m not sold.

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You need players to actually build around if you’re going to go down this road, and Forsberg is a critical player to that plan for me. If you put the right players alongside Forsberg, they can have their skills maximized.

Just ask Eeli Tolvanen how it’s working out for him playing alongside Forsberg, especially when on the power play.

It’s wild to think that Forsberg’s best years could still be ahead of him. I get the argument that Forsberg will fetch a big return that could help the Predators with draft assets and another starter, but it just doesn’t make much sense when I really think about it.

Forsberg has earned his payday. Now it’s time to start rebuilding this roster around him as his peak years are hopefully coming in the next two to three seasons.

Juuse Saros

Even though my confidence in Saros’ future in Nashville is at an all-time low, the goaltender situation remains a complicated one for the Predators.

We still don’t know what Pekka Rinne plans to do after this season. Will he retire? Will he look elsewhere to be a backup and try to get a Stanley Cup that way? Maybe he will be willing to take a team-friendly deal to remain in Nashville?

Everything is up-in-the-air when it comes to Predators goaltenders right now, and no short-term plan is in place past this season. Even if Saros continues to struggle this season, you might have to move forward with him into next season.

This will all depend on contract negotiations as Saros is becoming a restricted free agent in next offseason. It will be a tricky situation for the Predators to negotiate.

Unless the numbers just don’t make sense contractually, the Predators need to stick with Saros and hope he shows a rebound in his game to be a serviceable starting goaltender during the rebuild until Yaroslav Askarov is ready, or Connor Ingram returns to the ice.

If Rinne does throw us a wildcard and returns for another season with the Predators, then we’ll have more to sort out on that front.

Matt Duchene

I wouldn’t be opposed to the Predators finding a suitor for Duchene and his eyesore of a contract, but I just don’t see that happening.

Duchene’s time in Nashville has been rocky to say the least, much like Mikael Granlund‘s time here. But when it comes to Duchene, his contract will make it hard to find teams willing to trade for him.

Whether you like it or not, the Predators are probably stuck with Duchene and will have to keep trying to make it work. I’m not ready to give up on Duchene being a quality second-line center that can boost younger players around him.

In a rebuild, Duchene’s veteran leadership can hopefully be a good thing for the younger and inexperienced players that will presumably be all over the starting lineup going into next season, and even at the end of this season as the trade deadline gets closer.

Duchene is most likely going to stick around in Nashville for the foreseeable future, so let’s see if he can to start producing and be a veteran to help this team through a tough stretch.

Dante Fabbro

This is probably another unpopular opinion among fans, but it’s way too soon to pull the plug on Fabbro’s future with the Nashville Predators.

It’s totally fair to feel frustrated over Fabbro’s development, especially as an offensive player as a second-line defenseman. But he’s also in the midst of his first full season in the NHL. He actually just crossed the 82-game career mark in games played, so barely is he past a full season in the NHL.

Fabbro is on the last year of his entry level contract, so seeing the contract negotiations with him from the Predators front office will be interesting. There would be teams out there very interested in a young player like Fabbro who still has plenty of upside.

The Predators need to keep Fabbro and try to get him for a relatively team-friendly deal, and one that’s not more than two years if possible. I don’t think the market will be too hot for Fabbro, but there will be mild interest on the market if he does make it to the offseason.

There’s a lot of uncertainty with Mattias Ekholm‘s future, so keeping Fabbro becomes all the more important to keep as a future piece that should keep developing into a solid top-four defenseman.

Eeli Tolvanen

This one seems obvious, but one I didn’t want to gloss over. If you can find one glimmer of hope from this season so far, it’s that Tolvanen is indeed ready to be a regular starter in the NHL. It was along wait for that to happen.

Tolvanen absolutely should be a vital part of the rebuild. I love the idea of Forsberg and Tolvanen being linemates for the long-term future. They have played well together so far, and Forsberg seems to be maximizing Tolvanen’s value.

The Predators might be in for a few rough years of making the playoffs, but you still need a solid line to build around. I love what I’ve seen from Tovlanen so far this season, and intrigued to see him continue to grow throughout the remainder of 2020-21.

Tolvanen is also in the last year of his entry level contract that has a low cap hit, but one that the Predators will have to work out in the offseason with a new contract.

You should continue to see Tolvanen’s role grow on this team, and even more so as players are traded away as the team becomes sellers leading up to the trade deadline.

Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (35) and Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis (4) Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi

These two should be kept together heading into a rebuild stint as they’re arguably the two best players on the team, with Forsberg being the other.

There’s some out there that are fine with seeing Ellis get traded, but there’s no way I can see that happening in my wildest dreams.

The rest of the defensive core is full of uncertainty behind Josi and Ellis. Keeping these two at the top in Nashville will fuel the rebuild and give the team a chance to remain competitive.

Ellis catches a lot of criticism for being out of position too often and being overrated. He’s had his bad moments for sure, but for the most part it’s overblown. Ellis is critical to this team’s future in the next few years.

Josi’s importance to this team goes without saying. Obviously he’s not getting traded and is here to stay for a while, and he’ll continue to be the most important player on the Predators, even if they do become a team buried in a rebuild and out of the playoffs.

Philip Tomasino

I saved the best for last in terms of future standouts on this team that can hopefully get the franchise to rebound quickly back into a playoff team. That’s Philip Tomasino.

Tomasino hasn’t made it to the NHL yet, and the delaying of the OHL season has made things complicated for him. Normally Tomasino wouldn’t be eligible for the AHL, and would still be dominating in the OHL.

Tomasino has dominated on every level of hockey is every played in, including the most recent World Junior Championship with Team Canada.

There’s still no official news on when and if the OHL will get a season started. They’re hoping to play in hub cities, and I’d expect Tomasino to be called back to play if that happens.

Tomasino might not get into the NHL for this current season, and that’s understood considering the complicating factors that are involved. But going into 2021-22, the Predators are going to look to elevate Tomasino into a major role on the team.

Rem Pitlick also can’t be overlooked as a future piece to this team that will be rebuilding. Pitlick has a wicked shot and speed, and he’ll be fun to watch when he eventually gets to the NHL.

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These are my top pieces heading into the rebuild, and it seems like a longer list than it really is. The Predators will look vastly different by the time the offseason gets here, and also after the expansion draft.

The players just mentioned hopefully stick around and help get the Predators back to being a playoff team and Stanley Cup contender.

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