Nashville Predators Christmas Wish List: Keep Proving Us Wrong

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Very few can honestly say they saw what the Nashville Predators are doing as they currently sit with a 7-game winning streak while the NHL temporarily pauses the season due to the ongoing Covid-19 surge.

The Predators are just one point behind first-place Minnesota, so what more could we ask for as fans this holiday season? Probably not much, but I still have a wish list of items I’d like to see come to fruition once the NHL returns to action for finish out the 2021-22 season.

FIrst off, wishing for the Stanley Cup is off limits. We all want that and it’s obvious. The Predators have had plenty of playoff caliber teams over their two-plus decades of existence, but never been able to taste that final victory to hoist the Stanley Cup.

As impressive as the Predators are playing, they’re not a Stanley Cup caliber team this year. However, I’ll gladly eat these words and let everyone throw me under the bus if I end up being wrong.

Here’s my realistic Christmas wish list for the Nashville Predators for the rest of the season. Things I think they can accomplish that would be really cool to see.

Rookies Continue to Feast

It’s been really fun watching the Nashville Predators rookies all contribute noticeably to the early success of the 2021-22 campaign. The Predators have four techinical NHL rookies playing regular minutes this season:

Tanner Jeannot: 8 goals, 9 assists, 2 game-winning goals, 5th on teamin points
Alexandre Carrier: 2 goals, 10 assists, 4th on team among skater in ice time (20:04)
Philip Tomasino: 5 goals 4 assists, 15.6 shooting percentage (5th on team)
Tommy Novak: 1 goal, 6 assists, 4 power play points

Those are your main four Predators rookies in the regular lineup. Connor Ingram and Cole Smith have also made appearances as rookies, and Ingram really stood out by getting a gutsy win in his first NHL start against the first-place Minnesota Wild.

The first wish list item I have for Christmas regarding the Predators is that these rookies continue to collectively show out and make big impacts on the team’s success.

Furthermore, I wouldn’t count out Jeannot to stick around in the Calder Trophy discussion for best rookie. He almost certainly won’t win it, but even being in the discussion will be awesome.

Can I get some Vezina Trophy love for Juice?

Many thought that Juuse Saros got robbed last season by not getting a Vezina Trophy nomination last season after putting the Nashville Predators on his back and carrying them improbably into the postseason.

I’m not even saying Saros should’ve won it last season, but to not even get a top-three nomination to get invited to the NHL Awards was baffling. I’m hoping he gets that respect this season assuming he continues on the trend he’s on this season.

Saros’ individual success dramatically impacts if the Predators are going to finish back in the postseason for a 8th-straight season. They’re not the type of team, although they have been showing some imporovement, that’s going to hang in the high-scoring games against elite opponents.

If Saros once again puts up top numbers among the NHL’s best goaltenders and pushes this team, who everyone thought was rebuilding back into the playoffs then he should finally get a Vezina Trophy nomination. I’ll be happy with that, even if he doesn’t win it.

Re-Sign Prince Fil before the Season Ends

This has been a dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Nashville Predators all season, and it’s not because of how Filip Forsberg is playing on the ice. Obviously he’s playing great, and has a chance to put up career-high numbers if he continues on this upward trend.

However, the problem is for the front office and how much they’re willing to pay to keep Forsberg, and if Forsberg even wants to stay in Nashville. For all we know deep down he wants to pursuit a Stanley Cup elsewhere, and we shouldn’t take it personal if that ends up being revealed.

The Predators need to be doing everything they can behind closed doors to work out a deal with Forsberg. Try not to let this linger, negotiate a fair deal for both sides and let’s get past this. I’m just not sure if it’s possible, but hey it’s worth wishing for, right?

In the end I think Forsberg hits free agency in the offseason, and a bidding war will happen. Perhaps the Predators end up offering enough money to retain Forsberg, but at that point they could easily end up overpaying. I’d much rather see it taken care of during this season so that we can move past the uncertainty and think about the future growth with Forsberg in the picture.

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Give me Hockey Weather on February 26th at Nissan Stadium

It’s a roll of the ice, much like most of the year in Nashville, when it comes to what the weather will be like in just two months from now when the Nashville Predators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium.

This will be the first ever outdoor home game for the Predators, and only the second in franchise history. As memorable and cool as the Cotton Bowl was, that game ended in nightmare fashion as the Dallas Stars won the Winter Classic.

At that point in February it could still be plenty cold enough to feel like hockey weather, and maybe even get treated to some snowfall. How cool would that be to see snow falling on a brisk day in front of over 60,000 fans at Nissan Stadium?

It just won’t feel the same if it’s one of those random winter days in Tennessee when the temperature feels more like Spring. Heck we’re seeing it right now on Christmas Eve.

I’ll be happy regardless to finally see outdoor hockey in Nashville, but cold hockey weather with some snow falling between two “Southern” teams will really be icing on the cake for what’s going to be an awesome scene for Predators fans. Help me out, Mother Nature.

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