Nashville Predators 2022-23 Season Preview: Colton Sissons

Colton Sissons has been a model of consistency since joining the Nashville Predators. He is far from the flashiest or best player on the team, but he has done everything he has been asked to do and more throughout his career.

Even when he signed a seven-year contract in the 2019 offseason that was regarded as unconventional at best, he has been worth every last bit of it. A successful team needs reliable bottom six players just as much as they need talented top line forwards, and Sissons has been and will continue to be a bottom six anchor for the Predators.

Sissons is arguably the glue of the Herd Line that the team should continue to keep together, as his two-way style of play has been a huge element of what makes them so frustrating to play against.

At age 28 and in the same situation he is used to being, everyone should have confidence in Sissons to continue to do great things.

Sissons’ importance to the Nashville Predators is more than you think

For as good as Sissons has been for the Predators during his career, he is a big reason for the team’s identity being what it is today. His two-way style of play and ability to be physical make him the exact type of player the team wants, and there is no doubting what a difference he makes.

Sissons fits so well with Yakov Trenin and Tanner Jeannot since he is the veteran player who can hold down the fort and better provide opportunities to his young line-mates. As those players are still young and developing, it is important that they have someone to feed off of, and they benefit tremendously from Sissons’ presence.

As far as this coming season goes, Sissons’ season can very well be impacted by his linemates, especially Jeannot. We know that he in particular is progressing very nicely and was one of the best rookies last year, and if he can take another step, Sissons himself could get more opportunities to set up and finish.

Either way, we know that even if Sisson’ offensive game does not get much better, he will still be very impactful for the team in other ways. Besides being an overall defensive presence, he will once again serve very important minutes on a penalty kill that the Predators are looking to improve in a big way from last year.

With more options to choose from and a team that should hopefully stay out of the box more than in 2021-22, Sissons might be playing with less pressure and more opportunity to thrive in his role.

When you put it all together, Sissons is in the same, but likely even better situation, than he was a year ago. He did his job pretty well even in those circumstances.

Predictions and overall consensus on Sissons

No matter how limited he is in terms of flashy offensive numbers, a guy like Sissons is always a positive on any team. His floor is great because we know that he will be at the very least a steady presence in the bottom six who will be effective at both ends of the ice, but he could be even better with what he has around him.

His age of 28 should not scare people either, as many guys play their best hockey at around that age. When you look at Sissons’ role on the Predators, there is nothing not to like about what he brings to the table this year.

It’s not unreasonable to think Sissons could have his best year, coming in around 10 goals and 24 assists. Knowing what he does in other areas of the game, the Predators should be ecstatic if that happens.