The Nashville Predators have one of the NHL's strongest young cores, and Matthew Wood plays a big part in that.
Following a point-per-game campaign with University of Minnesota in 2024-25, Wood joined the Predators in their final six games of the season, where we saw him tally his first career NHL point.
This first stint raised questions on whether his skating had improved since draft night, one of his criticisms at the time. With an offseason underway and NHL experience under his belt, Wood got to work.
Preseason came along and hopes were high, but an injury in late September during an intrasquad scrimmage took him out of the lineup for the beginning of the 2025-26 season. After a quick stint with the Milwaukee Admirals following the injury, he returned to the Predators in a game against Vancouver. Four games later against Pittsburgh, he scored his first NHL goal.
By the end of the season, he played 71 games, scoring 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points. His 17 goals were the fourth most by a Nashville rookie, solidifying himself as one of the most promising names in franchise history. Heading into this season, Wood is ready to up his numbers, and with the Predators recent additions to the forward group, that could very well happen.
Adding Bourque gives Wood a much younger, talented playmaker
Arguably the biggest addition to the Predators this offseason was Mavrik Bourque from the Dallas Stars. The 24-year-old center broke out last season, scoring 20 goals and 41 points in 82 games. Known for his dangerous playmaking abilities and explosive shot, he is somebody that Wood could greatly benefit from.
Wood is primarily a power forward. Standing at 6-foot-4, 202 pounds, he towers above the opposition which gives him the advantage of seeing open lanes for scoring or passing. His playstyle is similar to Tage Thompson, who he said he modeled his game off of in the past, with his powerful one-timer and tight stickhandling.
Combining Wood with Bourque's passing can be lethal. MoneyPuck, a website that tracks advanced analytics to calculate shooting talent, noted that the majority of Wood's expected goals came from high-danger, net-front areas. Bourque excels at dishing the puck to these exact areas. With a goalie screen from Wood, he can find more ways to tip the puck in thanks to Bourque.
On top of playmaking, Bourque is also a talented shooter. One thing that saw plenty of success last season was when Wood was paired with another elite scorer, whether that be Steven Stamkos or Filip Forsberg. Teams were forced to pay attention to him or the 40-goal scorers, making defense extremely hard to set up. A combination of Wood and Bourque can be similar.
If these two are paired with Forsberg or Stamkos, that would be even better. If we use the projected lines from the Daily Faceoff, Forsberg looks to be their linemate. Just imagine the damage that will come out of that once chemistry is created.
I can see Wood putting on an even better season than his rookie one. He went through some rough patches, including the near-month-long pointless streak in the winter. Since then, he returned to his regular goal scoring ways soon after and still carries tons of potential.
Realistically, with the right linemates and systems set in place, I can see Wood scoring 20+ goals and potentially 30+ assists. 50 points isn't unreasonable, but it's definitely nearing the edge of the ballpark. Assuming no injuries occur, 40 points is a good number to project.
Add us as a preferred source on Google