Nashville Predators: Projecting a Fully Healthy Forward Core for the Future

Line 2: Filip Forsberg — Tommy Novak — Luke Evangelista

One of the biggest what ifs from the end of the Predators season will be how Forsberg would have fit with the youth, as his injury is probably going to keep him out for the rest of the year.

Forsberg has not played a game with Evangelista or even Tomasino, since he did not enter the lineup until right after Forsberg got injured on February 11 when the trade deadline plans weren’t even completely clear yet.

But once 2023-24 rolls around, we will get the chance to see that, and everyone should be excited to see what Forsberg can do alongside Evangelista.

Evangelista has done almost everything right offensively, as his five goals and four assists in twelve games reflect the consistency that he has played with.

Besides Evangelista’s talent, his vision for the game is a major difference maker, as whether he is at the front of the goal, behind it, or in the shooting lane, he is always making things happen by being in the right areas.

The center was a bit of a tough choice, but ultimately Novak ended up making the most sense. He has also played with great consistency since entering the lineup, as his goal scoring and distributing make him an effective presence all around the offensive zone, and he is defensively responsible.

Novak’s stats also back up how reliable he is, as he has 14 goals and 19 assists in 39 games, which is now fifth on the team.

What was a big reason for Novak ultimately belonging on this line was how well he has played with Evangelista. With Novak deserving of top six duties and the two having the chemistry they do, it is hard to break them up and not just put them with Forsberg.

They are already doing well with Kiefer Sherwood on the other wing, so just imagine what they could do with Forsberg. It would be fun to say the least.