You know it's a bad season when you're having to trade wins and losses just to stay out of last place in the entire NHL, but that's currently the sad state of affairs for the 2024-25 Nashville Predators.
The Predators have had to navigate some key injuries in the last few weeks while trying to avoid being dead last in the NHL, swapping spots with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators are currently tied for last in the NHL with 24 points, but they did get a gutsy win over the New York Rangers for the home crowd on Tuesday night.
Juuse Saros is the constant of this team, so he's not a surprise but more of an expected. The rest of the expected prolific point producers have either gotten off to really slow starts or just been way too inconsistent. That even includes Filip Forsberg.
However, you can search through all of the negatives that's surrounding this team right now and find some bright spots for the distant future. One player made a huge impact in last night's win over the Rangers.
Here's five surprise players who have taken the opportunity presented to the this season and give Nashville Predators fans some reason for optimism maybe not for this current season, but down the road.