Nashville Predators Need to Embrace a New Era and Identity this Offseason

Sometimes it’s better late than never, and that’s how I feel about the Nashville Predators this offseason as they come off another disappointing first-round postseason departure.

The Predators and GM David Poile pushed forward without making any significant changes when the trade deadline came, and instead wanted to roll the dice in the playoffs.

Although the Nashville Predators put up a valiant effort against the superior Carolina Hurricanes, they still came up short, falling in six games. Not enough to convince me that they made the right decision at the trade deadline.

I can applaud their effort, but now it’s truly time to embrace change. The Predators can’t keep living this identity of being a fringe playoff team that’s never going to be quite good enough to win a Stanley Cup.

This isn’t a decade ago when making the playoffs was good enough and we were just happy to be there.

What changes need to happen for the Nashville Predators

It’s not going to happen instantaneously, but the Nashville Predators have to get away from this notion that the current core can carry them deep in the postseason. As much as we’ve become loyal to these veterans, it’s time to move on from some of them.

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The most positive takeaway from this past season is by far seeing newcomers make their mark. Players who hadn’t gotten their shot to make an impact, and delivered when the Predators called upon them.

With that development we know that this team has a foundation to work around. This isn’t a team that’s going to plummet necessarily into a last place in 2021-22. Of course anything can happen, but as it looks currently the Predators have a solid chance to once again return to the playoffs next season.

Players like Luke Kunin, Tanner Jeannot, Yakov Trenin, Eeli Tolvanen, Mathieu Olivier and Alexandre Carrier all took on larger roles and showed they can produce on the NHL level.

Carrier, Jeannot and Kunin in particular made huge impressions as key parts of this roster for 2021-22. If they fail badly last season, then the Predators are in a much more precarious situation right now.

So what changes am I referring to in terms of this offseason? Well, for one, the Expansion Draft on July 21 gives us no choice but to lose someone. My best case scenario is Matt Duchene goes to Seattle, but his contract will probably keep him in Nashville.

There’s been some talks about finding a trade partner for Viktor Arvidsson. He’s had a great run here in Nashville and is firmly in my top-20 players in franchise history, but it might be time to move on from him and free up roster space for someone else more deserving.

A lot of people are ready to move on from Ryan Johansen, but I’m actually on the other end of that. I’d like to keep Johansen in Nashville as a top-six center. However, if an offer from Seattle is too enticing to ignore, then I’ll live with that.

There will be more opportunities for Poile to add another free agent or two. As long as it fits the style of Hynes and it’s nothing long-term and risky, sign me up.

What a new identity looks like

As for the embracing of a new identity, this already started happening last season. I saw a team that wants to play grind-it-out style of hockey that plays aggressive through forechecking.

We have to face the reality that this team doesn’t have a plethora of offensive skill players, but they do have depth pieces that are well-rounded both defensively and offensively.

The Predators have a Vezina Trophy caliber goaltender in Juuse Saros. Their identity needs to be a team that’s a nuisance to play against to boost up what Saros can accomplish. He can’t be left out to dry constantly night in and night out.

A complete overhaul of their power play is still badly needed. It’s the Predators’ top weakness that kept them from getting past the Carolina Hurricanes. Now they have a full offseason to really focus on new power play units and a new philosophy.

Head Coach John Hynes did enough this past season to guide this team through injuries and a condensed schedule to earn himself another full season behind the Predators bench. This next season will be his measuring stick season to see if he’s truly turning this thing around.

It’s time to embrace a change in identity with new players becoming regulars, an aggressive offseason in terms of finding trade partners, and of course a strong focus on overhauling the power play.

I’m personally pretty exciting about 2021-22 for the Predators. They’re definitely not in the upper tier of NHL teams, but I do think they showed strides last season that should carry over in the fall of 2021 in a normal 82-game schedule.