Nashville Predators: Five Players With Most to Prove in Upcoming Season
Can Forsberg live up to his new contract from the Nashville Predators?
It’s just a natural reaction in sports; when professional athletes finally get that highly-anticipated new contract, in Forsberg’s case just under $70 million in total earnings, you’re going to get instant criticism when things don’t work out.
Fair or not, Forsberg has to prove to everyone that last season’s incredible production that was his career best was a sign of things to come, and not just a flash in the pan.
Forsberg has always been a productive player since his rookie campaign in 2014-15 when he put up an impressive 64 points while playing in all 82 games.
Now the question is can he finally move into that upper tier of forwards? With all of the drama that ensued while awaiting the Predators and Forsberg to come to an agreement, things will get loud fast if a scoring slump and production dip occurs.
Forsberg has to prove he is undeniably worth what is actually a team-friendly contract, but also that he’s truly that franchise forward that he can help get the Predators back to competing with the best teams for a Stanley Cup.
A repeat of last seasn’s production will be suffecient, and will also likely mean the Predators are having another successful regular season. However, it absolutely has to translate to playoff production as well.
Forsberg has just four points over his last 10 playoff games spanning over the past two seasons. Long-term contracts like this means you perform at a high level in the postseason.
Fabbro has become a trade piece, possibly expendable
For a much different reason from Forsberg, Dante Fabbro makes my list of players with most to prove in 2022-23. He’s been at the center of trade rumors all offseason, and his roster spot doesn’t seem so secure anymore after the addition of McDonagh, the signing of Jeremy Lauzon, and the emergence of Alexandre Carrier.
Fabbro was thrown into the fire very quick into his career in 2019 at the young age of 20. To his credit, his defensive game has emerged into a reliable one and he’s been very effective in that part of his game.
The thing with Fabbro is he has failed to move the needle offensively and be one of those drivers like his colleagues Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi. Now to be fair, those are veterans and Fabbro is still developing his game going into just his fourth full-time season in the NHL.
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Whether his long-term future is with Nashville or somewhere else, Fabbro has a lot to prove this season. He’ll likely be in a smaller role on the third pairing, which means less ice time. It will be more difficult to make the impact he’d like.
With that said, Fabbro can still be a very beneficial player to this Predators team on the third pairing. If he can increase his trade value then you starting thinking about what might happen at the trade deadline and beyond.
Fabbro is a true professional and quality leader, and I’m hoping to see him really take a step forward and prove he’s a top-four defenseman on a majority of NHL teams. That will at the very least lead to more trade suitors, and give the Predators some leverage.
Lankinen the new backup to Saros
The modest one-year, $1.5 million addition of Kevin Lankinen to back-up Juuse Saros in net was one that surprised many. I fully expected Connor Ingram to be next in line to be the backup, especially after how he played in the first round of the playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche.
Be that as it may, Lankinen is a player that’s still very young and looking to prove he’s a franchise goaltender somewhere. Definintely not in Nashville, but eventually somewhere else. Much like last offseason with David Rittich, think of this one year deal with Lankinen as a tryout for his future team.
Lankinen enjoyed some moderate individual success racking up 37 starts for the Chicago Blackhawks and posting a commedable .909 save percentage. He was 13th in the Calder Trophy voting.
However, Lankinen’s numbers dipped considerably last season for a horrendous team playing in front of him. I do think he’s a modest improvement to Rittich, and he should be able to take some of the pressure off of Saros so he’s not having to start 67 games, which led the NHL.
A strong season from Lankinen as Saros’ backup will lead him to getting another chance as a team’s primary starter after this one-year deal. He could even entice the Predators to keep him around past this season, although that seems pretty unlikely.
I’m not crazy about the revolving door of backups to Saros, but I’m willing to take a flyer on Lankinen this season and see if he can provide stability to a team that didn’t have it with Rittich. This is all to bridge us to when Yaroslav Askarov eventually arrives, and if Ingram eventually gets called back up.
Tomasino needs to avoid the sophomore slump
With so many players having career years for the Nashville Predators, Philip Tomasino‘s very solid rookie season was kind of overlooked. He looked very comfortable in important roles for this team, and quietly managed 32 points in very limited ice time of 11:32 per game.
Furthermore, Tomasino’s possession metrics were equally impressive with a Corsi-for of 54.5 in all situations, and he chipped in on the power play with nine points.
Going into 2022-23, Tomasino’s role is expected to expand to a top-six role. That’s a major ask from a player that just turned 21-years-old. If he does get a top-six role, he’ll probably be alongside two veterans in Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter.
Tomasino’s production should grow, or at least maintain, if he’s in the top-six. However, if he struggles in this capacity, then Head Coach John Hynes will have to be quick to switch things up.
My confidence in Tomasino is extremely high, but I’m also realistic that he could hit a hurdle in his second full season in the NHL. He has to prove to the team that he’s ready for this massive jump in responsibilities by being alongside Johansen and Niederreiter on a regular basis.
Is it now or never for Tolvanen?
Patience has been key ever since Eeli Tolvanen was drafted in 2017, and considered at the time a major steal for the Nashville Predators. He still has time to make that thought a reality.
Tolvanen just couldn’t find the back of the net last season. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t shooting as he had 151 shots on goal, good for fourth on the team and only trailing your “Big Three” of Josi, Forsberg and Duchene.
Despite the high shot total, Tolvanen’s shooting percentage was down at 7.3 percent. Extremely low for a player that’s touted as having a lethally accurate shot. We need his luck to turn around, while he also needs to make his own luck at times by skating more effectively without the puck.
Another thing that’s hurt Tolvanen is he’s been moved up and down the lineup. It’s important that Tolvanen gets regular linemates so he can build that chemistry that’s vital for an offensive player like him.
Even though his ice time might suffer a bit, I’m open and intrigued to seeing Cody Glass center a line with Tolvanen. Those two can have success together, and Glass in particular can have a strong impact on finding Tolvanen in scoring areas.
Next. Why Alexandre Carrier is Poised to Take a Big Step Forward. dark
The combination of Glass and Tolvanen could also be a remedy for one of your power play units.
If Tolvanen follows up last season with another lackluster offensive showing, then he’ll become another expendable player that might be offered in a trade.
Tolvanen has just one more year remaining after this year on his current contract that carries a $1.45 million AAV. Should be a very easy contract to move if needed, but obviously the hope is Tolvanen’s offense ignites as the would be hugely beneficial to the Predators’ depth scoring woes.