Roman Josi is about to enter his 15th NHL season, all with the Nashville Predators. Going all the way back to his rookie campaign in 2011-12, he has never played in fewer than 50 games in a regular season excluding the lockout year and pandemic year.
Last season Josi was knocked out after 53 games played due to a concussion sustained from a hit on the boards by Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers. We learned later on in the offseason that Josi suffers from POTS, a rare disease that causes dizziness and complications involving the brain while doing activities that require you to get up and down constantly.
There has been optimism shown from Josi that he'll be ready to go at 100 percent for the Nashville Predators season-opener of 2025-26. Assuming all goes according to plan and Josi is locked in ready to go, then the Predators have to figure out who will be the Captain's top pairing partner in crime on the blueline.
Here's my ranking of the five best options for the Predators to consider to open the regular season. (All analytics courtesy of MoneyPuck.com)
5. Justin Barron (228 minutes played with Josi in 2024-25)
Barron is going to see some playing time for the Predators again in 2025-26, as he should. The Predators traded Alexandre Carrier for Barron and they have to see what they can get out of the 23-year-old going into his last year of his current contract before hitting RFA status.
However, I don't think Barron makes much sense at all being on the top pairing with Josi. Barron doesn't play much defense and is more of an offense first defenseman who every now and then shows you a decent shot on net.
I'm not crazy about Barron's physical game or ability to protect Josi as his defensive linemate. Playing on this top line will require a guy who is going to be heavily physical and disciplined in his own defensive zone, and I just don't trust Barron in that role.
The only reason I have Barron even on this list at No.5 is the other possibilities either aren't ready for that big of a role right out of training camp or are fringe NHL starters to begin with. But I'll be incredibly shocked if Barron gets the top pairing role with Josi to open up 2025-26.
4. Nick Blankenburg (40 minutes played with Josi last season)
I really like what Blankenburg showed us last season in a challenging spot to be placed in. A dysfunctional team with a lot of injuries, but Blankenburg seized the opportunity and was actually one of the very few cases of players overperforming on the Predators.
Blankenburg for being so undersized actually plays a moderately physical game, skates really well and can provide some bonus offense from the blueline. He had 53 hits in 60 games last season to go along with 74 blocks.
Although I don't think Blankenburg is your best option to open the season with Josi, I do think there's a chance that you can experiment with this pairing as the season rolls along. Perhaps Josi can find some chemistry with a guy like Blankenburg who plays a really hard-nosed game that can also shoot the puck fairly well.
I'm putting Blankenburg at No.4 as a much better option that Barron, but also I have my questions on if he can average over 20 minutes of ice time playing big shifts on the top pairing with a high caliber linemate like Josi. Blankenburg has never averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time in a NHL season, but he's only 26 and just played the most games he has ever played in an NHL season.
Maybe this is Blankenburg's year to really take it to another level. He's undrafted and such an easy player to root for.
3. Brady Skjei (253 minutes played with Josi last season)
Over 250 minutes as linemates, but some underwhelming analytics including an Expected Goals Against per 60 for 3.01 goals surrendered. Also a below average Expected Goals Percentage while getting plenty of time to build the chemistry.
Maybe the Predators go back and try again with Skjei feeling more comfortable in Nashville after leaving Carolina last offseason. He had a lot of mistakes, particularly early in the season, that he never really recovered from.
A Skjei/Josi pairing does give you two veterans at the top and two guys who you would expect will keep the self-inflicted wounds to a minimum. But do they complement each other really well? I'm not so sure about that, honestly.
Skjei isn't the physical type and is more of a offensive guy who has a decent blueline shot and can be good at times at being in the right place at the right time. I like Skjei better to open the season than I do Barron for sure, and it's kind of a toss up between Skjei and Blankenburg but I'll lean Skjei just because of the veteran experience.
There are two much better options to play with Josi than these first three.
2. Adam Wilsby (33 minutes played with Josi last season)
This is another experimental pairing as Wilsby has just 23 games of NHL experience and a very small sample size of playing with Josi on the same pairing.
With that said, I'll be totally fine with Wilsby getting the first crack at playing on the top line with Josi. He showed a lot of promise before getting knocked out for the season. He plays smart, skates with a lot of confidence and brings a lot of offense to the blueline as well. He had 33 shots on net in his 23 NHL games before being injured.
Wilsby could be an outstanding complement to Josi and at the same time you're getting a good luck at the long-term future of your blueline.
Wilsby is signed through the next two years before becoming an RFA in the offseason of 2027. Two years to discover if Wilsby is a core piece of the future of your defensive corps in Nashville.
With Wilsby playing on the left side, Josi can easily move to the right side. I like this combination a lot the more I think about it. Wilsby will be a good physical protected for Josi while also matching his play style to bring offense and transition.
Trotz keeps saying this will be a year that the younger players get their chances to show what they're made of in bigger roles. Wilsby should be one of those guys.
1. Nicolas Hague ( never played with Josi, 364 NHL games all with Vegas)
I've already seen Trotz hint that Hague has top pairing potential and that's why they traded for him. He seems way higher on Hague than most, but that's why Trotz is in the GM's chair and we're just fans playing the Armchair GM game.
At least to open the season, Hague looks like a wise and safe pick for Josi's defensive pairing partner. Hague is massive at 6'6" and 245 pounds and will be a huge force to protect his Captain. Hague is also a stay-at-home defenseman, while Josi can do what Josi does which is drive offense and find his forwards to generate scoring chances.
The only reason I'm going Hague over Wilsby is NHL experience. I know that's not everything, but I'm old school and this is just to start the season. Wilsby is easily my next-best option if Josi and Hague aren't producing desired results.
However, Hague should vastly improve Nashville's defensive presence on the blueline to protect the house better for Juuse Saros.
I'm on record of saying already that if the Nashville Predators are going to be much improved from last season and at least be a relevant team in the Western Conference playoff race, it will be due to lockdown defense and better protection for Saros.
If Nashville goes with my top choice for Josi and select Hague as his partner, then this is how I see the rest of the defense shaping up to start 2025-26:
1. Hague/Josi
2. Skjei/Perbix
3. Wilsby/Blankenburg
Extras: Barron, Molendyk, Gibson, Stastney
And for now, yes I'm leaving out Tanner Molendyk for the purposes of top pairing with Josi. As exciting as that would be to watch, you can't just throw him to the wolves playing with Josi right out of the gate to start his NHL career.
is it the best top pairing in the NHL? Not at all. Not even close. But is it the best option Nashville has to start 2025-26 with Josi? I believe it is.