Nashville Predators: Five Questions Surrounding Team Entering March

Question #1: Are the Nashville Predators deep enough for the playoffs?

This is a question we’re not going to get the answer to until the Nashville Predators actually perform in the playoffs for an eighth-straight season, and there’s still a lot of work to do to even secure a spot.

But if the Predators do end up making the playoffs, then are they actually deep enough to win a first round series for the first time since 2017-18? I remain skeptical, and it’s really goin to come down to drawing the right opponent.

This is why staying out of the wildcard is paramount for their chances of getting out of the first round. A first round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames or Vegas Golden Knights leaves me very little hope that they would be able to push it past six games again.

The biggest concern I have about this team’s depth is their goal scoring. They’ve got five players who are reliable contributors in this department in my book; Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Yakov Trenin and Tanner Jeannot. You need more than that to be a legitimate that can go deep in the playoffs.

The Predators are 15th in the NHL in goals per game, which isn’t terrible, but also not good enough against elite Western Conference teams like Colorado (2nd), Minnesota (3rd), St. Louis (5th) and Calgary (8th).

If the Predators decide to be buyers at the trade deadline which is just three weeks away, then I look for them to bolster up this area of their roster. But at what cost? That’s the next question.

Nashville Predators might decide to go all in at trade deadline

Last week I wrote that the Nashville Predators should be cautious buyers at the trade deadline, and I still feel that way now as we enter March.

The Predators just came out of a brutal stretch of hockey since the All-Star break that included opponents that are supereme candidates to hoist the Stanley Cup later this summer. They went through a losing streak, but bounced back nicely in wins over the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars.

As for “going all in” at the trade deadline, the Predators just aren’t in that tier. They’re a quality team that might be able to pull off a first round upset, but I don’t see their ceiling being any higher than that even if they do make a big addition or two at the deadline.

But the question will remain until right up to the March 21 deadline on what David Poile will do. And of course all attention is still on re-signing Forsberg, which Poile reitirated to Brooks Bratten on Monday:

Good luck guessing which way Poile decides to go in his approach to the trade deadline, but I’m leaning towards he stays largely uninvolved and puts all of his attention into re-signing Forsberg, which takes us to our next major question swirling around this team.

Question #3: The multi-million dollar question

Unfortunately it’s very possible that we’re not going to get an answer to this question until well into the offseason when free agency hits. After seeing Forsberg’s comments to Brooks Bratten regarding the ongoing contract negotiations, it doesn’t make me feel anymore confident that he’s coming back:

Oh, boy. That just doesn’t give me a lot of hope that they’re anywhere close to a deal. Of course Forsberg is going to say flattering things about the current franchise he plays for and has always played for in the NHL.

It really looks like Forsberg is seeking a long-term and very lucrative contract close to Roman Josi territory, which is over $9M with a No Move Clause.

The Predators are going to have to overpay to keep Forsberg, and if they don’t then someone else will. That’s how this market works, and Forsberg has struck at the perfect time to get paid massively. Question is, do the Predators really want to be that team that didn’t reward their long-time superstar that’s just 27-years-old and could be ready to ascend into eite status?

Ultimately the Predators should end up re-signing Forsberg before the trade deadline, and I see the contract around $9M per for at least six years. Anything more than that and it gets dicey and you might have to trade him. You definitely under no circumstances lose him for nothing in the offseason.

Question #4: Will any Preds players or coach snag an NHL award?

At one time the Nashville Predators had three players and head coach John Hynes all making reasonable cases to be considered for an NHL award, with Juuse Saros and Roman Josi being the expected candidates for the Vezina Trophy and the Norris Trophy.

All four, including Tanner Jeannot for the Calder Trophy, still have outside chances of claiming an award. Josi has already won the Norris Trophy back in 2020, and he’s in the midst of a difficult race to win it for a second time thanks to players like Cale Makar and Victor Hedman also making strong cases.

Saros has fallen off lately and might be considered a fringe nominee, but certainly not the frontrunner ahead of Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers or Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa bay Lightning.

Saros is fourth in MoneyPuck’s ranking of top goaltenders when looking at goals saved above expected:

It’s going to be tough for any of these four to actually win an awards this season, but if the Predators push into the playoffs then John Hynes should absolutely be considered for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the Head Coach that contributes the most to their team.

As of the end of January NHL.com had Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins as the leading vote getter, with Hynes coming in 5th in the voting.

I just see too much competition in the other award races for a Predators player to win, although I’d be shocked if Josi doesn’t end up at least with a top-three nomination.

Question #5: Will they figure out how to cut back on the penalties?

I’ve been asking this question for most of the season as the Nashville Predators have led the NHL in penalties minutes and penalties taken for the majority of the year.

Heading into March the Predators lead the NHL in total penalty minutes by almost 100 over the lowly Arizona Coyotes, and average 12:47 of PIM per game, which is also way ahead of the next team in the Coyotes.

As much as playing with an edge benefits this team and gives them that identity that Hynes always preaches, it’s also going to be their undoing against the top tier teams in the playoffs, or the hunt for the playoffs down the stretch. We saw that in the Stadium Series game against the Lightning, who struck for two power play goals after the Predators took the intial 1-0 lead.

My answer to this question is a resounding “no”. As in they won’t figure out how to cut back because this is just who they are, for better or worse. Sometimes this style benefits them, and sometimes it hurts them drastically.

Count your blessing that the penalty kill has at least shown some mild improvement this season over previous seasons, otherwise this team would be hanging out near the bottom of the standings. If they can develop a reliable penalty kill over these last two months, then maybe they can overcome the large amount of penalties.

But, no. They’re going to continue to get penalized reguarly and put Saros in difficult situations. Just have to come to grips with it at this point.