We keep hearing this phrase floating around the Nashville Predators as it pertains to the outlook of 2025-26, and the classic slogan is "run it back next year".
This may seem like a foolish tagline to hitch your horses to after the horrendous season we just endured, but when looking at the current contracts the Predators have on the books, what other realistic choices do they have?
I have to think that when General Manager Barry Trotz went all in on the offseason spending in free agency of 2024, he had in mind the window being wide open for a few years. Is it possible that he's still trying to get that window open for 2025-26 rather than just giving up entirely on his original plan?
That's at least my read of the situation, but we'll learn more later today when the team holds their end-of-season press conference, but Trotz is expected to make any public comments to the media until sometime next week, per Brooks Bratten of the team's website.
The #Preds will hold end-of-season media availability with players and Head Coach Andrew Brunette tomorrow afternoon. Preds GM Barry Trotz will address the media at some point next week.
— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) April 17, 2025
With only some minor tweaks, can this roster really flip the script in 2025-26?
Looks, it's not an impossible outcome to think about. That this team can make vast improvements, including on their Goals Scored Above Expected which is worst in the NHL, and at least push for a playoff berth again.
The Predators have missed the playoffs two of the last three years after being a mortal lock to make the playoffs for nearly a decade. To go from being 30th in the NHL to a playoff team next season, they'll need guys to avoid all having down years at the same exact time.
The first thing that absolutely has to be addressed is just putting guys in the right places and on the right lines. I would say making a switch at head coach from Andrew Brunette is the first step, but that doesn't appear to be happening. They want to give him a third year after being a Jack Adams finalist in Year 1, only to see his team plummet after being picked by some to be a Stanley Cup contender for Year 2.
According to a piece from Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, Brunette had this to say about the team's lack of offense that finished 31st in goal scoring despite being 10th in Expected Goals.
""The lack of goal scoring is mind-boggling to me," Brunette said. "That's going to keep me up at night, probably until training camp. Especially with the way I like to play and the things we like to do . . . it was hard to watch a little bit.""Alex Daugherty, The Tennessean
What will Brunette discover in his soul-searching of what went wrong with his offense this past season? Your guess is as good as mine, but I would think it will start with some personel issues. The team's philosophy of wanting to play fast and win puck battles to win sustained offensive zone time is hard to accomplish when you, wait for it, don't have a lot of team speed.
Per NHL EDGE Stats, Stamkos is your fastest skater clocking in at a top speed this season of 24.21 miles per hour, which is near the top of the NHL in the 99th percentile. He also had 137 speed bursts of over 20 miles per hour, which is good for the 76.5 percentile.
So this is a place to start. Clearly Stamkos isn't hampering your need to play fast, even at his advanced age. But you need more guys like him that can get those high speed bursts, and you need it from your younger players moving forward.
The other core veterans of the Nashville Predators currently do not play typically fast games. They're more power forwards. Think Filip Forsberg. Now no one is asking Forsberg to change his style of play. He is elite in his power role, and playing with some speed guys on his line is what he needs to complement his game.
Fastest Predators Players by Speed Bursts over 20MPH (Per NHL EDGE)
1. Steven Stamkos, 137 Speed Bursts
2. Cole Smith, 116 Speed Bursts
3. Colton Sissons, 97 Speed Bursts
4. Justin Barron, 87 Speed Bursts
5. Fedor Svechkov, 86 Speed Bursts
As you can see from the top-5 Predators skaters in terms of speed bursts, nowhere to be found is the top playmakers with the exception of Stamkos. Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, Luke Evangelista and Jonathan Marchessault are not to be confused with being speedsters.
The interesting one on this list for 2025-26 is Fedor Svechkov. He only played in 52 games, so if he had gotten a full season under his belt, he seemingly could've been right near the top of the list with Stamkos, Cole Smith and Colton Sissons.
All of this to say that, the Predators have a few guys who use speed as their main strength to their game, but overall this team still lacks a lot of it to compete with today's top tier NHL squads. Svechkov provides a glimmer of hope to be the next key player for the Predators' top-six, and a line combo of Forsberg, Svechkov and Marchessault is my early outlook for 2025-26.
Decisions to make on defense, but the roster is mostly stuck in place
Brunette will also have to address his defensive corps which has a logjam. There will be a lot of healthy competition this offseason, but a right shot defenseman is needed from the outside. Plenty of options on the left side.
When it comes to Trotz running it back, the hope is that this season has been one giant learning experience and the team comes back fired up and ready to atone for what was a horrible start that they could never recover from. The season just spiraled out of control before we even got to December.
I know this isn't what a lot of fans want to hear right now. Naturally they want sweeping changes and to start from the ground up, but with the current contracts on the books, it's just not very feasible and I suspect Trotz is going to echo that when he does address the media.
A couple tweaks here and there could happen, and we also have to await where the Predators land in the draft lottery. If they land the top pick and select Michael Misa, then he has the ridiculous talent to be in instant contributor. Matthew Schaeffer is considered the top prospect of the draft class as a defenseman, and if the Predators take him, he'll also be in the mix pretty fast.
Outside of those two, whoever the Predators draft will likely be at least one year away from appearing on the NHL level.
Some trades could happen to one of the long-term contracts like Stamkos or Marchessault, but I have a hard time conceiving many teams who will be willing to take on those contracts. Never say never, though. Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons are my top-two trade candidates to free up roster space and at least give fans some sense of change.
Just with where we sit here in mid-April with the regular season just ending, the Predators seem stuck with having to bring most of the same band together and pray they can all get in tune with each other. Even if that happens, the road to the franchise's first Stanley Cup might as well feel like an expedition to Mars.