First off, I don't know how some fans do it every year seeing their team have not shot at the playoffs. We're not used to this as Nashville Predators fans, and are instead just accustomed to having our hearts broken once we're in the playoffs.
The Predators season has really been in the dark abyss since December. That's really when I came to grips with reality that this team was in a lot of trouble and a miracle run towards the playoffs wasn't going to save this team. There were chemistry problems from the get go, and it never improved.
This is the first season I can remember where the Predators were never really a serious playoff threat after the first month.
Started off ugly and never recovered
The season started off doomed when Juuse Saros was unable to play against the Dallas Stars in the season-opener, and instead Scott Wedgewood was thrown in. The Predators would rally to only lose by a score of 4-3, but Wedgewood was a disaster in net.
Sure, it's just one game, but who knows how the psyche could've changed if you get a big win against Dallas to open the season instead of opening with five-straight regulation losses.
When the Predators opened the season with five-straight losses, four of those being multi-goal losses, I wasn't really all that worried. Frustrated yes that this team was digging themselves an early hole, but one I still had confidence they had the talent to erase that with a long winning streak of their own.
That winning streak never really came. Sure, they reeled off three in a row after starting 0-5-0 and even mixed in an early season win over the Colorado Avalanche to give the optimistic fans some hope. But most of us saw that there were glaring issues with trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
The Predators got into a trend of trading one win for every three losses, and eventually the deficit got so deep in the standings that even the most glass half full kind of fan realized this season was going to be a rough one. But even the most pessimistic fan didn't see third-worst record in the entire league on their bingo card.
Nashville Predators couldn't overcome their crazy bad puck luck
The underlying analytics kept suggesting that the Predators would begin scoring more on their chances. Similar to the first year under Head Coach Andrew Brunette, the team was plagued in Goals For Above Expected and never recovered.
Now in the present day, the Predators will by far be the worst team in this category of misfortune on offense. They are a eye-opening -53.52 in Goals Scored Above Expected. The next-worst team is the Florida Panthers at -38.94, and they're a playoff team.
Another clear indicator of why the Predators were never able to recover and will finish this season as the 30th ranked team in the standings is their team shooting percentage, which is worst in the NHL at 8.74 percent. This despite being top-10 in the NHL in shots per game at just over 29 per game.
You put all this together and it really suggests that this team did something to tick off the hockey gods.
Now of course you can't just blame it on poor luck. There is accountability to be had here, and it starts with roster mismanagement. The players not fitting the system that's in place. There's not enough speed to match most of top tier opponents. Time and time again the Predators have been exposed in this area. They surrender goals in spurts and have trouble counter attacking on offense.
It was also a poor decision to waive Dante Fabbro and trade Alexandre Carrier for Justin Barron.
Not addressing the center depth before the season even began spelled trouble. Tommy Novak couldn't hold onto the 2nd line role with Stamkos and Marchessault, and very quickly the lines went into a blender. There was no answer at center, and eventually Stamkos moved back to center from playing wing in recent years.
When it comes to goaltending, Saros played well below his personal standards. He didn't make nearly enough clutch saves to offset the Predators being the lowest-scoring team in the NHL at 2.56 goals per game.
However, when you make the long list of reasons why the Predators are going to be where they're at in the standings, Saros is not at the top. He didn't help matters, but with the lowest goal support among regular starting goalies, how can you really blame the guy?
Saros received just 2.39 goals of support per 60 minutes, and only a few backup goalies had less goal support than Saros who has started 57 games this season.
For the Predators to find a way to bounce back in 2025-26, they're obviously first and foremost going to have to address their inconsistencies in goal scoring. You're the lowest scoring team in the NHL despite being 10th in Expected Goals For.
The Predators wrap up 2024-25 against the same opponent they started off against, the Dallas Stars. With the Western Conference playoff seeding already locked in, Dallas will probably rest some key players while Nashville plays some youth for one last game of NHL experience before the offseason.