Nashville Predators: Players Who Will be Critical to the Rebuild

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.