Nashville Predators: Ranking Each Central Team’s Projected Top Forward Line

One of the Nashville Predators‘ problems over the years has been that their top forward talent has not come close to comparing to those on contending teams. As far from contending as they were last year, a really good top line was not an issue.

Last year’s line of Filip Forsberg, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Duchene were one of the best that the Predators have had in their existence, as they were consistent from game to game.

Ryan Johansen would be the center from time to time, but even when he was, they were still a very effective group. The Predators finally had a for

The Predators brought back all of those guys plus adding Nino Niederreiter, and Philip Tomasino is very likely to enter the top six and further take some pressure off of the big guns. They do not expect their top line production to be an issue this year either.

Central Division has some really good top lines

The Central division has five teams that really have a shot to at least make the playoffs this year, and three teams that really do not. But when you look at the division, the vast majority of them have top lines that you can look at and say they are at least serviceable.

Top lines are not a weakness of this division, and it will be very tough for the Predators to have the absolute best one in the division. That being said, it is just as tough to say that there is a huge gap between the teams’ top lines, so the Predators will be far from out of their league.

And to their delight, there is at least one team with a top line that just about all of us can agree is the worst.

All line combinations are courtesy of Daily Faceoff.

8. Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane — Max Domi — Taylor Raddysh

This one is just about as clear as day. Their team is expected to be one of the worst in the league this year, and it does not look like their top line is going to give them much of a chance to overcome that.

The only true headliner in that trio is Kane, and we all know how great he is, but he is aging almost into his mid-thirties, and it will be a lot easier for opposing teams to stop him since he is the only true threat they have to worry about.

Domi is talented and has had breakout potential for a while, but he has bounced around from team to team for several years and is likely to be dealt from Chicago at the trade deadline or earlier. And Raddysh is nowhere near top line caliber, and was one of the pieces that was dealt to the Hawks in the Brandon Hagel trade.

This is not a group any contending, or even good team can consistently roll as their top unit.

7. Arizona Coyotes: Nick Schmaltz — Barrett Hayton — Clayton Keller

This is actually a better group than people might give them credit for on paper. Schmaltz and Keller were nearly point-per-game producers last year, and Hayton is a former fifth overall pick and still does have some potential.

But Hayton is a big part of why they are ranked where they are, as he has not lived up to expectations throughout his career and is unproven at best. And even then, Schmaltz and Keller have not been top line caliber players their entire careers, as they turned in borderline career seasons last year.

That is unlikely to happen again this year on a team like the Coyotes, when that top line is going to be the toughest unit to shut down. They are not Blackhawks bad, but still one of the worst in this division.

6. Minnesota Wild: Kirill Kaprizov — Ryan Hartman — Mats Zuccarello

This will be met with a lot of opposition from Wild fans and others, and keep in mind this is not saying that they have the sixth-worst team in the Central. But looking at their top line on its own, it makes sense why they have a bottom-four top line.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with Kaprizov, who is one of the best superstars in the NHL and undoubtedly makes his linemates better. And this is no knock on him, but just how much better can he continue to make his linemates than they currently are?

Hartman’s 2021-22 season was a flash in the pan compared to his previous seasons and he has not proven to be a consistent top line caliber center. This is a problem that has plagued the Wild for a while now and likely will this year again.

Even Zuccarello’s past season was somewhat out of nowhere, and he is 34 and very unlikely to have that good of a year again.

This projection could very well come back to bite me, but when you look at the rest of the top lines in the division, it is hard to put this group higher than they are.

5. St. Louis Blues: Pavel Buchnevich — Robert Thomas — Vladimir Tarasenko

Here is where we get into the lines that are clearly the best in the division, and there are truly a number of ways that the top five can be ranked. The Blues ranked at five, and there are still some questions about whether they will be as good as they were last year.

Tarasenko is coming off of a career year, and even though he is getting older, he is still one of the best talents in the game and will hardly drop off if at all.

Buchnevich is coming off of a career year as well, and he is likely to be as good if not better this year given his young age and career progression thus far.

The big question is Thomas, who had a very sudden career year, most of which was due to 57 assists. He is young and still figures to be an important player to their top six for many more years, but he has to back up his performance from last year, and those who have been primarily assist machines have a tendency to be a bit more inconsistent than more complete forwards.

Do not expect this line to see a stark drop off, and they could still be better, but they might drop off just a bit.

3. Winnipeg Jets: Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Nikolaj Ehlers

Do not let this team as a whole fool your ranking of their top line. The rest of their lineup might not be very good, but their top line is one any contending team would be proud of.

Connor is young and one of the most skilled and explosive forwards in the league, and Scheifele has been the definition of consistent throughout his career and figures to still be very good for several more years. Even Ehlers is sneaky skilled, had one of his better years last year, and at only age 26, is just about to enter his prime.

Just about the only thing holding this trio back is that they are the only true threat on this team, and other teams will be able to sell out to stop them.

Either way, that is a killer top line and is a very clear strength of a team with not a lot of bright spots. The Jets will have to rely heavily on their top line talent to take them into the playoffs with not much depth to trust behind them.

2. Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Joe Pavelski

The Stars are a team that looks like it will likely be on the fence of playoffs or not, but their top line will give them a chance night in and night out.  And it is mainly due to their two young and rising stars, led by Jason Robertson.

Robertson has only played two full seasons in the league, but he has been a threat from the start and with how much skill he has, he is going to be one of the best superstars in the league very soon.

Roope Hintz is another young and blossoming player and is on the trajectory of being one of the best NHL centers in the future.

Joe Pavelski is 38, but he is another player who has been the definition of consistent, and there is a reason the Stars re-signed him for another season.

Even though this Stars team has many holes and losing John Klingberg will hurt, there is absolutely nothing to not love about this line.

1. Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen

This should not be much of a surprise to anyone. The defending Stanley Cup Champions lost a good bit this offseason, but they lost none of their top line.

Landeskog is not currently listed on the projection, but that is because of an injury that probably will not keep him out much longer than the first few games of the year. And when he is healthy, we know how good and important he is to this team, not only as someone who is skilled and gets into the dirty areas, but as their captain and leader.

MacKinnon is night and day the best player in the Central Division and not much more needs to be said about him. Rantanen too is one of the best young wingers in the league and makes this line as dangerous as it is.

When it comes to being both skilled and prove, the Avalanche are undoubtedly at the top of the ranking of top lines in the Central Division.