The Nashville Predators' 2024-25 season is less than a week from its completion, and it has not given us much to be excited about at all. Spending north of $162M last offseason amounted in a huge disappointment, as none of the headlining newcomers, or just about anyone else, lived up to the bill.
As much of a mess as the season was, we could at least feel better if the Predators had a transcendent talent or two for the future, whether currently on the team or on the way. That is not the case with this franchise, and many of the young guys who were supposed to be the future stalled out in development and were either traded away for minor assets, or let go altogether.
Things currently look bleak for the Predators, as it is going to take much work and potentially many years to emerge from the mismanaged mess that they are at this time. Even then, they still do have some younger guys for whom it is worth having legitimate excitement around.
They may not be bonafide game changing talents, and they might just suffer the same fate as the ones before them. But if the guys listed below take steps forward in 2025-26, the team has a chance to actually be better then and going forward.