You have to go back to at least 2019 to have this level of hype and expectations for the Nashville Predators after taking the NHL by storm in free agency.
It's Year 2 for the Andrew Brunette era as head coach, and that shouldn't be overlooked in terms of this team getting more comfortable. But with that, there's also new players to get acclimated, including Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault.
The Predators have gone from being a playoff bubble team at this time last year, to now being a mortal lock by many to make the playoffs, and even some being so bold to say they can go deep into the playoffs.
Despite all of the regular season success the Predators have enjoyed over their 25-season history, this franchise has almost always stubbed their toe in the postseason, except for 2017.
It's fair for the fans to say that the Western Conference Finals is the benchmark for the Predators, but don't tell the players that. They want the Stanley Cup.
Here's three areas the Predators will have to excel in to take this franchise past the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only the second time in its history.
An elite power play that finishes in the top-10
The Predators, at least on paper, should have one of the best power plays this franchise has ever had. With Stamkos joining the fold and ready to launch that elite one-timer, and with the returning players like Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi, there will be no excuces for this power play to not at least be top-10.
You can even say this has top-5 caliber to it. The top-5 teams on the power play last season all had Stanley Cup aspirations and made the playoffs. The Lightning led the NHL with an insane 28.6 percent success rate, with Stamkos scoring 19 power play goals
The Predators' team leader in power play goals was O'Reilly with 14, primarily being scored close in on the net and finding loose pucks or deflections. He'll be used in that same role again in 2024-25.
It's kind of funny with all of this power play hype surrounding Stamkos that O'Reilly is kind of getting lost in the shuffle. This guy has 87 career power play goals and really seized that role in his first year with the Predators.
Now you throw Stamkos, and likely Marchessault, onto that same unit with Forsberg and Josi? It's going to be pick your poison for the penalty killers. And I expect a lot of set up assists from Josi to Stamkos.
Then you think about the Predators finally having a trusted second power play unit if they choose to go the route of the younger talent on this line. Luke Evangelista should wind up here, as will Tommy Novak. Throw in veteran Brady Skjei as the power play quarterback for the second unit, and get Gus Nyquist on the mix.
Seriously, this power play has no excuses to not hover around the 25 percent success range on the power play. They put up a 21.6 percent success rate, an improvement, in Year 1 under Brunette. They have to excel in this area or it will be a huge letdown.
Bounce back year from Juuse Saros
Let's not forget amidst all of the star-power the Predators have among their forwards that this is still a team that will only go as far as Juuse Saros will take them. Now with that said, Saros should have much more goal support to overcome his occasional bad start.
Now imagine for a minute if Saros decides to go on a tear in 2024-25 and puts up Vezina Trophy like numbers, similar to what he did in 2020-21 when he put up a ridiculous 2.28 GAA, or the following year when he finished third in the Vezina voting with a .918 save percentage.
Assuming the Predators take a big leap forward in goal support for Saros, then really what you're looking for is a Stanley Cup caliber two-pronged attack. A team that can steal games with their goalie play and win the low scoring affairs when needed, but also one that can win the track meet with five or six goals scored.
This is just my assumption, but Saros is going to be extra critical to open up the regular season. Say the first 10 games or so when this team is probably still going to be figuring things out offensively, they'll lean on Saros to do the heavy lifting and steal a few wins.
Saros just got his eight-year contract extension after over a year of speculation of him being traded. Yaroslav Askarov has been traded, and Scott Wedgewood is the new backup. As much as I think Wedgewood is a serviceable backup, Saros is probably once again in line for 60-plus starts in 2024-25.
Despite the "down year" in 2023-24, Saros kept his perfect streak alive of posting a GAA below three goals per game for the entirety of his nine-year NHL career, with the exception of his one lone start in 2015-16.
Some teams are deeper than others, and I fear that the Predators became a little more top heavy in the offseason, which will pay off just fine if everyone stays healthy.
Avoid digging yourself in an early hole
This team looks built to get better and better the longer they play together. We saw that happen last year with newcomers Ryan O'Reilly and Gus Nyquist, and now it's going to be on a much larger scale with Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei.
How fast can everyone get acclimated with each other, and can they avoid an early slump and slow learning period to open the regular season?
It couldn't get to be any more of a difficult opponent for the Predators to open 2024-25 against than the Dallas Stars, a very popular 2025 Stanley Cup pick. And rightfully so. But hey, at least the Predators will have what should be an absolutely rocking Bridgestone Arena crowd behind them.
Now I'll be the first to say that an 82-game regular season isn't lost in the first 10 games, but I'll even go as far as the first quarter of the regular season is critical for the Predators to avoid being another fringe wildcard team, and actually make a push to win the Central Division. It's all going to be about how fast they get to firing on all cylinders. That way it doesn't take an 18-game point streak to rally the troops to make the playoffs.
The Predators get the Edmonton Oilers, another popular Stanley Cup pick, twice in the first 10 games. And again, at least they get these juggernaut opponents in the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena.
If the Predators can come out with a winning record over their first 10 games, like 6-4-0, then that will say wonders about how quickly this team is building chemistry with each other.
Let's see if the Predators can treat the fans to a fast start, surge in the standings early on, and then only get better like they did last season as the year rolls on. The hope is when you're entering March and into April, we'll be fighting for a division title and not just barely skimming our ways into the playoffs.
And I don't need to remind you how catastrophic it will be if this team misses the playoffs after being the media darlings of the offseason. They need to avoid digging themselves in a deep hole early on, even if they are talented enough to climb their way out of it over the course of a long season.