Even in a season that has gone completely off the rails after a blockbuster offseason buying spree in free agency, yes there are still things for us to be thankful for about the Nashville Predators in 2024-25.
The playoffs are probably a fantasy at this point with the Predators sitting in last place in the Western Conference, and Head Coach Andrew Brunette is probably on borrowed time in only his second year of his tenure.
But Thanksgiving is all about counting your blessings and being thankful for what you have. So let's focus on the positives about the Nashville Predators. Yes, I know. You're probably wondering how that's even possible, but here we go.
Juuse Saros is still a top-tier goalie, and we have him for years to come
I will die on this hill that Saros is the vast majority of the time not the primary blame for when the Predators lose. The guy is human so he does occasionally give up some soft goals that contribute to the losing effort. But he far outweighs those slip ups with the countless number of ridiculous saves he makes after his teammates hang him out to dry.
With the Saros going into his eight-year contract extension starting in 2025-26, we need to be thankful that we have a proven franchise goalie. It will be General Manager Barry Trotz's job to try to solve the riddle of building a winning team around him.
We all were fooled by the offseason free agency acquisitions that were supposed to provide more goal support to their Vezina Trophy caliber goalie. But this team can't finish on their offensive scoring chances to save their lives, and they miss the net entirely in some of the worst moments of the game.
But I'm not going to wear blinders here. We should still be thankful for Saros. His otherwise really strong season he's building so far is getting overshadowed by a dark cloud of the rest of his team's performance. Saros can't score the goals for them.
Bridgestone Arena remains the best NHL fan experience
You can call me a biased fan all you want, but even many away fans will agree that Bridgestone Arena was one of the best fan experiences in all of hockey. From the location right on Broadway surrounded by hundreds of bars and restaurants, to the live entertainment, to the arena itself and all of the extras it offers.
If you're a pure hockey fan who is going to show up to support your Predators regardless of how bad it gets, at least you have one of the best arenas to go to while you suffer through the pain of a losing team.
Even during the Flyers last-second loss, I thought the fans brought an electric atmosphere despite where the team is at. The fans should be commended for that. I hope they stick it out and keep supporting if they're able.
Watching a future Hall of Famer in Steven Stamkos
This might ruffle so feathers from some fans because I understand they're infuriated by the underperformance of the new free agents, but we still should sit back and enjoy seeing an all-time great were the Predators sweater in Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos chose Nashville over staying with his Tampa Bay Lightning. You can tell he wants to fix this just as bad as anyone associated with this team. Perhaps he's lost a few steps since his Lightning days, but when the dust settles I think we'll all appreciate that we're getting to see this legend probably finish his illustrious NHL career with the Nashville Predators.
It hasn't been a total bust for Stamkos in his first 23 games with the Predators. He does have seven goals, six of those being on the power play. Like the entire team, his 5-on-5 play is lacking, but that shouldn't be a major surprise to anyone at this point in his career.
A lot of hockey left this season and even if the likely outcome of the Predators missing the playoffs comes to pass, I'm still going to relish getting to watch Stamkos play for Nashville and hopefully he'll start finding the back of the net more regularly.
Filip Forsberg highlight reels
Look, this entire team is under a dark cloud right now. Even Forsberg. It's rock bottom for everyone involved, but Forsberg is one of the incumbent leaders of this team along with Roman Josi.
Forsberg has nine goals on the season and as we roll along you can bank on it that he'll treat us to many more highlight reel plays before 2024-25 is up. He's in the prime of his career right now, and it's certainly a shame that it's being wasted with a last place performance for the team.
I'm still going to be thankful for having one of the most talented forwards in the NHL when it comes to creativity and one-on-one play. He clearly can't do it all on his own to pull this team out of the shadows of last place.
Getting to see some rookies get NHL playing time
I think we can all mostly agree that we're thankful that Zachary L'Heureux has made the NHL jump in 2024-25, and it appears he's here to stay assuming this organization doesn't just blindly give up on him like they've done many other young forwards in recent memory.
L'Heureux has that dog in him. He doesn't back down despite being a rookie. He plays his physical style, and his offense is starting to come along as well. He had a crafty goal one-on-one with the goalie in the Devils loss.
Now 18 games into his NHL career at only age 21, L'Heureux has two goals, three assists and 53 hits. He's averaging 10:18 of ice time, so as his ice time hopefully increases gradually, we should start seeing even more offensive production as the season progresses.
Maybe sooner than expected, we're also seeing Fedor Svechkov. He's now just three games into his NHL career and is showing steady improvement and growing confidence in each game. I like some of the offense he was pressing in the loss to the Flyers.
With the injury to Jeremey Lauzon and the departure of Dante Fabbro on waivers, it has opened up more room for Marc Del Gaizo, Adam Wilsby and Nick Blankenburg.
So as awful and excruciating as this season has been so far, for the fans who love seeing youngsters get playing time, you should be thankful for that. We'll keep seeing more call-ups if the Predators continue to plummet.
In fact, if this horrendous trend continues for another month, I can see a big sell off happening and the last couple of months of the season being full of young players with only the long-term veterans remaining.