Risers and Fallers in Nashville Predators Stock Report Heading into 2023

The postseason streak for the Nashville Predators is in serious jeopardy as we approach 2023. They’ve made the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year since 2013-14, but with only one Western Conference Finals appearance to show for it.

The incredible individual seasons we saw from some key players last season hasn’t come close to the same level through 33 games in 2022-23.

With some players underperforming, there are also some younger players who are showing tons of promise for the future as the term “rebuild” continues to be a dark cloud hanging over the franchise.

Time to assess where some key players’ stocks are trending as the midway point approaches and thoughts of being sellers at the trade deadline becomes very possible.

Rising Steadily ⇑

Juuso Parssinen almost instantly looked comfortable in an elevated role for the Nashville Predators. There have been some rookie mistakes here and there, but there is way more good than bad.

Parssinen’s power forward skating ability has been the most impressive. He uses his big bodied frame like a true NHL veteran, and he’s only going to get better. He has cemented himself into the Predators starting lineup for the remainder of this season more than likely.

It will take a while for the points to come at a high rate from Parssinen. The whole team is struggling to muster up a lot of offense, but the solid amount of ice time will allow him to continue to develop and show improvement.

Parssinen is averaging more ice time, nearly 16 minutes per game, than such veteran forwards as Ryan Johansen, Nino Niederreiter and Colton Sissons.

Expect Parssinen to keep trending up with each NHL game he gets under his belt. He’s only 19 games into his NHL career and already looks extremely comfortable.

Plummeting ⇓

A dramatic shift for Mikael Granlund from the start of the season after being re-signed last minute during the 2021 offseason to a four-year, $5M deal. After his 53 assists last season, he looked like the bargain of the decade for the Nashville Predators front office.

To be clear, Granlund is still proving to be an affective puck distributor with 17 assists, but his lack of goal production and shooting capabilities is concerning. It’s probably the main reason why he was recently relegated to the bottom-six in favor of Tommy Novak and Cody Glass.

Granlund’s once successive role of centering Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene has fallen on hard times. According to MoneyPuck, the Forsberg/Granlund/Duchene line is one of the worst forward lines in producing goals.

Forsberg has 11 goals and Duchene has ten goals, while Granlund has just four. Furthermore, Granlund’s shooting percentage is below average at 9.3 while only producing a shade over one shot on goal per game with 43 in 33 games.

A top-six center has to give you more than the pedestrian offensive numbers Granlund has produced. For the Predators to wake up from their goal scoring drought that has lasted all season, Granlund has to kick it up a notch and be more aggressive when attacking offensively.

Granlund is a possible trade option to shop if the Predators continue to fall out of the postseason race. Keep that on your radar.

Flat ⇔

It’s difficult to put a peg on Filip Forsberg’s season so far. He hasn’t been invisible by any means, but he has also not been safe from the team’s offensive struggles.

Only 11 goals and a shooting percentage at just over ten percent is worrisome. Forsberg had a career high 18.6 shooting percentage, just astronomical, during his march towards the franchise record for career goals. He went goal for goal with his linemate Matt Duchene for the single season record as well, with Duchene claiming it.

Forsberg has also been held to just two power play goals. Another area that leaves you a little worried compared to last season when he had ten goals on the power play.

We know that Forsberg is capable of flipping a switch and going on an offensive tear at any moment. The Predators need him to find that hot streak quickly if they’re going to increase their playoff hopes and string together some wins.

Forsberg put up a three-point game for the third time in 2022-23 against the Ducks on Friday.

I don’t think it would be fair to say Forsberg’s stock is falling because he’s still a very important player to this team and does a wide range of good things aside from scoring. But obviously, that’s where he earns his money. Putting the puck past the goaltender and he’s capable of raising his level of play in that area.

Slightly Rising ⇑

We hold Roman Josi to such a high standard that whenever he looks somewhat ordinary, we wonder why. He’s short of a point-per-game pace through 33 games, but defensively he has been as sharp as he has ever been.

The combination of Josi and Ryan McDonagh has been well-noted as being a shutdown defensive pairing. They’ve given up just one goal against in over 170 minutes of ice together and went over 100 minutes before surrendering the first goal against.

Among defensemen Josi also is sixth in the NHL in shots blocked and is ninth among all players in shots on goal with 142.

Josi also leads the NHL among defensemen, just ahead of reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, in Expected Goals and has been the victim of some stellar goaltending and a low shooting percentage at 5.4. That number ticked up with a power play goal against the Ducks on Friday, his eighth goal of the season.

Considering Josi’ stock was already soaring coming into the season, I can’t say it’s rising from that. He remains steady for now, but don’t be surprised if he goes on hot streak to get back to a point-per-game pace.

Soaring ⇑

When Juuse Saros gets a little goal support and his team isn’t constantly giving the puck away in the zone, he’s a pretty difficult goaltender to score on. Imagine that?

Saros is blazing up the charts right now giving up three goals or less in his last nine games, and posting a save percentage above 93 in six of those nine.

Frankly speaking, Saros is keeping one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL around in games they have no business being in. Final scores that should be three or four goal margins are instead keeping the low-scoring Predators within striking distance.

Saros is rounding into Vezina Trophy form. He’s up to sixth in the NHL in Goals Save Above Expected despite having the third-most Expected Goals Against, per MoneyPuck.

Even though he’s usually under constant attack, Saros isn’t folding. Whether that is sustainable against some of the top tier teams is a debate for another day.

When you have an elite caliber, world class goaltender like Saros between the pipes, you always have a chance. That’s why it’s hard to think the Predators will ever be bad enough to “tank” or fall into a top-10 lottery pick discussion.

Saros has been thrown around as a massive trade chip to start a full scale rebuild. That would certainly send shockwaves throughout the league.

When it comes to Saros’ stock, it’s soaring. Don’t be surprised if he gets another Vezina Trophy nomination. Hinges on how far he takes the Predators in the standings.

Climbing Fast ⇑

You better jump on this stock now while it’s still affordable. Tommy Novak’s stock is on a rocket. He’s been called up for only five games since missing nearly a full calendar year from the NHL.

Novak has two goals and two assists in those five games and has made a noticeable difference in the Predators’ offensive structure. He led the Predators in shots on goal in the 6-1 win over the Ducks on Friday.

This is making the Eeli Tolvanen loss much easier to handle. If Novak can fill that void that Tolvanen left behind, maybe we can all move on from the mishandling of that entire situation by the front office.

Novak should be in the NHL to stay for the duration of the season and should also be a key piece for the long term future if a rebuild does occur in the coming year or two. He will be a RFA and arbitration eligible in 2023-24.

I’m loving everything I’m seeing from Novak. Yes, he’s going to make some youthful mistakes, including some offensive zone turnovers. He’ll learn from those mistakes, and the good is far outweighing the bad with him currently.

Falling ⇓

When you hear the term “snake bitten” in hockey, Tanner Jeannot is the perfect example. He just hasn’t been able to score goals in the dirty areas like we’re used to from his rookie season.

Jeannot hasn’t been invisible. You see him in the trenches battling for pucks and fighting for position. You see him looking for tip-ins and hitting hard on the forecheck.

The goal drought has reach over two months for Jeannot. His last goal was October 27 against the St. Louis Blues. He also hasn’t been able to register many assists, with just four.

Jeannot is still laying the lumber out, leading the Predators in hits by a wide margin with 130. That’s also good for fourth in the NHL.

If I was going to buy some low stocks in hopes that they would kick back up, Jeannot is your guy. I think he’ll work through this offensive drought eventually, and until then he still provides tons of value for a team that plays with the physical style that the Predators do.

Don’t worry too much about Jeannot. Those pucks will start going in if he continues to grind away like we know he does on a nightly basis. Until then, enjoy the many more scraps he’ll get into.