Roman Josi
Alright, let's end this with the Captain. His health is obviously under a microscope heading into the season and it's unclear if he'll ever return to Norris Trophy caliber. But assuming he can stay healthy then absolutely he still has the skills to be one of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL.
Forsberg and Josi stand alone at the top of the franchise record books in many categories, with no one actively on the roster even in the same universe. They have been Batman and Robin for a long time, although I would call it a disservice to refer to either one of them as a sidekick to the other. Like I said, they've historically been 1A and 1B to each other, equally the superheroes for Nashville.
With Josi possibly regressing a bit due to age and his health concerns, maybe he takes the back seat to Forsberg as the true sidekick who still puts up excellent numbers and leads this team as the Captain. Let's no forget that Josi is just one season removed from putting up 85 points, with 33 of those points coming on the power play in 2023-24.
The guard is changing for the Predators franchise. We might have one more solid year left of the duo of Forsberg and Josi leading this franchise in most statistical categories. And while Forsberg will be here for several more years, Josi's time is limited now.
it would be a fun storybook kind of season if Forsberg and Josi give us another year of just lighting up the box score as the franchise's two all-time leading scorers. One more time around before the guard is officially handed over to the next generation of talented prospects like Brady Martin, Tanner Molendryk, Joakim Kemell, Adam Wilsby, Matthew Wood and Fedor Svechkov.
So who will be Forsberg's true "Robin" in 2025-26? My heart wants to say Josi, and but my brain says it's going to be Marchessault. Those two should have some strong success for most of the season on Nashville's top line. They were the top-two point getters last season in an ugly year for the franchise, and I see Marchessault improving his numbers with better chemistry alongside Forsberg.