Nashville Predators: What a Fully Healthy Lineup Should Look Like
The top six
First line: Filip Forsberg — Ryan Johansen — Eeli Tolvanen
Second line: Calle Jarnkrok — Matt Duchene — Viktor Arvidsson
The first line was a no-brainer. Forsberg and Tolvanen have easily been the Predators’ most dangerous duo this season, and Johansen’s ability to distribute the puck and be a defensive presence at times makes him a good fit down the middle.
More from Predlines
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
- Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
- The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
- Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa
There was some disagreement on what the second line should look like, but the slight majority was in favor of trading Mikael Granlund and rolling with the combination above.
A recent article from Chad Minton broke down why the Predators should try to trade Granlund, and I am in favor of this as well.
Ultimately, he just doesn’t have a future on this team beyond this season, and it would be much more worthwhile to get something in return for him and make room for the youth on the roster.
As far as the line combinations go, Jarnkrok has been playing lights out the past few weeks and definitely deserves a spot in the top six. Arvidsson has also looked good since being temporarily put on the top line with Johansen and Tolvanen, and a player of his skill is best utilized in a top six role as it is.
Duchene was a point of slight controversy among the Predlines.com crew, and it makes sense given his past and that the team has played its best hockey in two seasons without him. Even then, the Predators would be putting themselves in a dire situation if they were to keep him out of the top six, let alone bench him.
By doing this, they would be telling all of us that they view him as a huge cancer, and it would destroy any and all trade value and clout that he had left in hockey circles.
Not that this would be breaking news to many across the NHL, but from a business perspective, the Predators would be much smarter to try and get the best out of him as opposed to flat out giving up on him.