Nashville Predators are disconnected and disappointing through 10 games

The 82-game NHL season can be long and arduous. With a season that spans over seven calendar months, it’s easy to use phrases like “it’s early days” or “there’s plenty of time,” especially when the campaign is still relatively young. However, the Predators have had a disastrous start to the 2024-25 season, recording a 3-6-1 record through their first 10 games.

While it may be tempting to avoid hitting the panic button – thanks to the 72 games remaining – there's a saying: it gets late early. The Predators are fresh off an embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, which underscores how the season has gone thus far.

Head coach Andrew Brunette explained that Nashville needed to match the Oilers' desperation, something they simply did not do from the opening puck drop. Brunette usually does a good job of hiding his raw emotions from the media, but he was clearly frustrated after the loss. He mentioned that trying to convey the need for that same desperation felt like “trying to pound a square peg into a round hole.”

The season started with so much promise. This was the year the Predators were supposed to return to the promised land of Stanley Cup contention. They opened the checkbook and signed players who could help accomplish that mission. Obviously, the season is far from over, and Nashville has time to turn things around. However, there have been few signs that they can.

Captain Roman Josi described the team’s start to the campaign as “concerning,” as did Brunette. This should set alarm bells ringing and inch those calling the shots closer to the panic button.

“I think we’re playing very disconnected,” the captain said. “I think we having a hard time breaking out. We’re having a hard time on the backcheck. We’re not playing as a five-man unit and we’re not playing as a team right now. It’s almost like every guy is on their own page.”  

The Predators want to play relentlessly. They want their identity to be a team that is tough to play against – a team that emphasizes offense over defense. They are far removed from the Barry Trotz-coached teams that were defensive-minded and comfortable winning low-scoring, one-goal games. But the league has changed, and the Predators have too.

They signed two 40-goal scorers in the offseason: Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. No team in NHL history has ever signed two free agents who both recorded 40 goals or more in the previous season. But so far, the investment hasn’t paid off. The Predators rank 30th in goals per game, lighting the lamp just 2.40 times per contest on average.

Having so much firepower may be backfiring. Watching the team, they seem to force the puck in an attempt to get everyone involved. While this isn’t necessarily a bad approach, when you’re not scoring on those pretty tic-tac-toe plays, it’s time to rethink the strategy and start scoring “dirty” goals. Brunette expressed that the team needs to get to the middle of the ice more, which makes sense. Yet, 10 games in, we rarely see the Predators crashing the net, making life difficult for opposing goaltenders, or chipping in on those loose pucks that bounce around in the blue paint.

Stamkos has made a career out of his deadly one-timer from the left offensive face-off circle. Fans in Nashville have seen attempt after attempt, but with little success. Stamkos has just one goal this season, despite logging over 19 minutes of ice time per game. Given his success in Tampa Bay, the Predators seem obligated to pass up other available shots in favor of letting Stamkos one-time the puck from “his office.”

When the bounces are going your way and the puck is finding the net, letting one of the best shooters the game has ever seen take the shot is a solid decision. But right now, the Predators are up against the wall and do not seem to be nearly the offensive threat they should be.

Problems on both ends of the ice

The Predators have more problems than just their offense. Their defense has looked confused, slow to react, mistake-riddled, and outworked on more than one occasion. It’s not uncommon to see breakdowns resulting in odd-man rushes. During their 5-1 loss to the Oilers, the Predators were punished by Leon Draisaitl, who doesn’t need any help scoring. A turnover by Michael McCarron at the blue line allowed the German forward to walk in and beat Juuse Saros blocker side.

Like the offensive stats, the defensive numbers do not paint a pretty picture. The Predators have allowed 3.60 goals per game, ranking seventh-most in the league. There has been talk that Saros hasn’t had the best start to the season. However, when he is facing breakaways and 2-on-1s seemingly every game, sometimes multiple times per game, it’s tough for him to post the impressive stats that have become synonymous with his name.

Nashville’s game is simply not there right now. They have been disappointing, to say the least. They have no clear answers for what’s going wrong. But they know they cannot afford to wait, hoping that they will magically align on the same page.

“We’ve got to start playing our game and start dominating games,” Josi said following the loss to the Oilers. “You can’t keep saying, ‘oh, we’ve got to find chemistry.’ It’s 10 games in; it’s time to do it now.”

The only positives from this young season are the Predators’ penalty kill, which ranks as the best in the league, and their recognition of the urgency needed to turn this year around.