Nashville Predators: Most Overrated and Underrated Player for 2023

The Nashville Predators have made some pretty big moves this offseason. Moving on from Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene and then bringing in Ryan O’Reilly are probably the three biggest changes up to this point.

With the organization moving on from the likes of Johansen and Duchene, my outlook on the most overrated player in the current Nashville Predators organization has changed slightly.

If you would have asked me a month ago, the player of most overrated would have been a fight between these either Johansen or Duchene.

The new leadership of Barry Trotz and Andrew Brunette as head coach have already seemed to make a very clear statement, either play to the expectations of your contract or find somewhere else to play.

Now as for underrated, a lot of Nashville Predators players are underrated due to the market they play in. If you put Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, or Colton Sissons in a hotter hockey market, they would not be near as underrated as they are by playing here in Smashville.

Let’s jump right into who are the most overrated and underrated players in a Nashville Predators today, with the regular season opener of 2023-24 still a couple months away.

Nashville Predators Most Underrated – #82 Thomas Novak

After what Thomas Novak did last season, especially late down the stretch as the Predators made an improbable push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it is safe to say if he continues that caliber of on-ice ability, he will not be labeled as underrated for long.

Playing in just 51 games for the Predators during 2022-23, Novak had 17 goals and 26 assists after not making his season debut until December 19 in an impressive win over the Edmonton Oilers where he notched an assist.

To put it in perspective, Novak was third on the team in scoring while only playing in just over half of the games. Pretty incredible accomplishment.

Now to nitpick a little, Novak did have the second-lowest faceoff win percentage among all Predators taking at least 100 faceoffs. However, if he can find out a way to win more draws while continuing to play at the level he did last season, he will have the ability to be a top-six center on a lot of NHL rosters.

To make it even more impressive, Novak did all of this while only averaging 14:39 time on ice per game and only took four minor penalties. His eight penalty minutes were the lowest on the team among all players who played at least 40 games.

Only taking 93 shots on goals, Novak also led the team in shooting percentage among players who took at least 50 shots with a highly impressive 18.3 percent.

Novak may not be considered underrated for too much longer and isn’t among Nashville circles, but around the broad NHL landscape, he is still vastly overlooked.

Looking Ahead for the Nashville Predators

If the Nashville Predators are going to rebound from their missing the playoffs last season, they are going to need every member of this team to play to the best of the abilities every night.

The Predators are circled as one of the teams that had playoff streaks end in 2023 and looking to make a swift return in 2024. The Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues are two other regular playoff participants who missed in 2023.

Moving forward, players are going to have to start playing to level of their contracts or Trotz may look to swiftly move them in trades, or release them altogether as free agents. Lauzon may fit into that scenario if he doesn’t pick up his level of play soon in 2023.

If Novak picks up where he left off at the end of last season, and everyone else does their part, this Nashville Predators team has the potential to solidly be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at season’s end.