How Far Away Are The Nashville Predators From Stanley Cup Contention?

The Nashville Predators disappointing season rolls on, and things are looking bleak for the franchise right now. With the season slipping away after high expectations before the season began, many fans are understandably frustrated with the performance of the team.

The season rolls on, and while we start discussing if the team should tank for Connor Bedard, I thought it would be interesting to see where this team falls in regards to serious Stanley Cup Contention. Let’s dive in and see where the Preds stack up.

Nashville Predators Have Glaring Issues Disrupting Cup Hopes

As stated previously, the Nashville Predators are currently in a free fall. This team has many glaring issues that will singlehandedly keep them out of Stanley Cup contention.

The defense is a glaring issue. The Preds have been fortunate to have a one-two punch duo of Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen in net. Even with the stellar performances from both net-minders, they are both human, and can’t carry the load all by themselves. Lost coverage, not able to have a clean breakout, and numerous turnovers have plagued this team. It’s hard to get going offensively when you can’t exit your zone and must defend more a considerable amount of time.

This leads directly into offense. The Nashville Predators offense has been a disaster lately, to say the least. The Preds are 0-6-2 in their last 8 matches, with most losses coming from a complete inability to really establish any kind of offensive threat. You can have a stellar goaltending duo, but it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t score goals.

The team’s offensive weapons like Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Mikael Granlund have been invisible to name a few. The Preds cannot really be a threat to any team in the NHL the way they are currently playing. Hard to argue that the Preds have a real shot at the cup when they can’t score, the very thing that keeps their score moving up.

Nashville Predators in Regards to Stanley Cup Contention

The Nashville Predators are very, very far off from serious Stanley Cup Contention. Simply put, with the issues above, they really cannot even compete in this league, let alone in the playoffs.

If the Predators want to re-enter contention, they are going to have to make some tough decisions. A coaching change would be a good start, selling at the trade deadline and acquiring draft capital would be another great move. While the Preds will not be able to “win now” if they become sellers at the deadline, it will help them get high draft picks for generational talent for the future.

In my mind, the only way to get this team to be a serious Stanley Cup Contender again is to rebuild. The team as its currently structured is going nowhere. I loved the 2017 Cup run, but those days are over. The NHL is changing, and the current personnel are not able to keep up and, as a result, the Preds have given us a lackluster product to start the season.

Closing Thoughts

The Nashville Predators are in no way Stanley Cup Contenders right now. The way the team is currently structured is making it difficult for them to even compete in the league, let alone in the playoffs.

If the Preds want to seriously contend again, they are going to need to start looking long-term. I just don’t think this core has what it takes to carry the team to another Cup final. The only way I see them getting back into that discussion is if the leaders of this team start to show up and start producing, as well as the depth of this lineup.

The Preds have many issues, and competing for a Stanley Cup is out of the question in this season in my opinion. If the Preds want to win a cup, they need to start acquiring draft capital and build for the future.