Nashville Predators Who's Not Hot List: 2023 Offseason Edition

2 of 5

This season for the Nashville Predators, there were quite a few players that did not play up to their expectations. A couple of which the Predators moved at the trade deadline, in the likes of Mikael Granlund and Mattias Ekholm.

The following players lack of contribution is one of the things that led to the downfall of this team and prevented them from making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Hopefully these players, and this Nashville Predators team can have a quick bounce back and be right back in contention next season.

Related Story. Nashville Predators Mid-Season Not Hot List. light

While this list is not all inclusive, take a look with me at four players from the Nashville Predators that I feel were not hot this season.

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

#10 Colton Sissons

While Colton Sissons had one very impressive statistic this season. He was the only player on the Nashville Predators roster that played in all 82 games. Other than that, there was not much good in his play.

In a season where he played every game, Sissons tallied 30 points, including 12 goals and 18 assists. While that does match Sissons career high in points for a single season, more is expected of a potential top-center in the NHL with an AAV of $2.8 million per season.

Must Read. Three Things Barry Trotz is Looking to Change for the Nashville Predators. light

Over the last three months of the season, Sissons’ offensive production tapered off even more with only five goals and seven assists over that span.

Sissons also found himself on the ice for goals against more often posting a -14 over those same three months.

Down the stretch, the Nashville Predators needed a veteran to step up and elevate their level of play and Sissons could not answer that call. Add those statistics with the fact that Sissons had his lowest faceoff win percentage over the past three seasons, this is definitely one reason why the Nashville Predators missed the playoffs.

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

#13 Yakov Trenin

Coming off a season that ended with Yakov Trenin showing some serious offensive ability, this season did not live up to the hype that he had built for it. Last season, Trenin posted 17 goals and seven assists for 24 points.

While this season he posted the same point total, he lacked in the goal scoring department with of even split of 12 and 12 in goals and assists. Trenin was also a -7 in the +/- column.

While this is a Not Hot list, I do have to point out that Trenin was by far one of the best penalty killers on the team all season long. However, his 47 penalty minutes were the highest in his NHL career.

Next. Examining a New Contract for the Nashville Predators and Alexandre Carrier. dark

Trenin’s numbers in hits and blocked shots were also both down from just one season ago with Trenin recording 24 less hits than the 2021-22 season. This contributed to the lack of physicality in the Nashville Predators game.

In a season where Trenin saw more time on ice per game than any other season in his career, more was expected of him, and the Predators did not get the production they were looking for from him.

#57 Dante Fabbro

With the Nashville Predators defensive core taking a hit due to injury, Dante Fabbro was called upon to step up and play big minutes on the Predators top defensive pairing a lot of nights. While he did play those minutes, he did not step up.

Fabbro was essentially non-existent on the scoresheet, recording the lowest number of points for him in his past three seasons with 11.

Last season, Fabbro started to find a little bit of rhythm offensively and tallied 3 goals and 21 assists, whereas this season he only had two goals and nine assists.

Comparing his +/- statistics, the 2021-22 season saw Fabbro be a +13 and this season that number fell to a -4.

For a $2.5 million per year player, Fabbro needs to increase his level of play if he wants to stay within the Nashville Predators organization for the long-term.

Over the last 14 games, Fabbro played an average of 21:57 per night, only had one goal and one assist, and was a -3. While the offense was struggling to score on most nights, there needs to be more contribution from the back end than what Fabbro was able to provide.

#64 Mikael Granlund

The final player on the Not Hot List, is a player that is no longer in the Predators organization as he was traded on March 1, 2023 to the Pittsburg Penguins.

Mikael Granlund was supposed to be a solid top-six center for the team, and well, his play was just too inconsistent to be considered a viable top center in the lineup.

Averaging 18:38 per night, and being given plenty of opportunity to prove himself, Granlund was only able to find the back of the net nine times in 58 games. His 27 assists did help his point total as he tallied a total of 36 points, nearly half of what he scored just one season ago.

Nashville Predators Trade Mikael Granlund. light. Related Story

Granlund’s -16 rating was the worst of his 11-year NHL career. Now I do have to give credit where credit is due, his 12 penalty minutes were the lowest since his rookie season in the 2012-13 season.

With only a 43.3% success rate in the faceoff circle, also the lowest number in his career, and his lack of offensive input to the team is what led to him being traded.

Even though Granlud was traded, his 58-game performance, or lack thereof, is enough to land him the final spot on the Nashville Predators Season’s End Not Hot List.

This is why the injection of youth, even after missing the playoffs, was a welcoming sight for Nashville Predators and going into the 2023 offseason.

Home / Editorials