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Ranking who is most important for Nashville Predators to bounce back fast next season

You can't dwell on the past for too long if you're the Nashville Predators. Refresh, regroup and come back improved.
ByChad Minton|
Jan 4, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Nashville Predators center Fedor Svechkov (40) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Jan 4, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Nashville Predators center Fedor Svechkov (40) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images | Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
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Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Feb 8, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) awaits a face off against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

#3: Roman Josi

I just cannot leave the Predators captain Roman Josi off my list of most important players to bounce back in 2025-26. He is coming off what has been reported as a season-ending concussion that forced him to miss the last month and a half of the season.

How will Josi respond to his lowest impact season of his NHL career going back to his first two years in the NHL? His 53 games played is the fewest, excluding the pandemic shortened season, since his second year in the NHL.

Here was the boarding hit from Sam Bennett on Josi that caused the head injury back on February 25:

The season was already pretty much lost for the Predators at that point anyway, but now you have to wonder how this will affect Josi going into 2025-26. He's going to have a lot of rust to shake off, and his Norris Trophy days are probably behind him now.

With that said, Josi can still be a high impact offensive defenseman for a team that's going to need it badly from their defensive corps. They don't have any good transition guys at that position, so Josi will need to return to the top pairing and reclaim that vital role. Not to mention his presence while running the point on the power play.

If, dare I say, this is the beginning of the downward spiral for Josi into being a mid-defenseman at best, then the Predators are in serious trouble. They have some promising prospects coming up, including Tanner Molendyk, but for the immediate future it spells trouble and likely another lottery pick season for the Predators.

On the glass half full outlook, if Josi can maintain his presence as an offensive driver and power play quarterback while piling up the assists, then the Predators can have a much improved season in 2025-26. It's just totally unclear how he'll bounce back from a head injury. Scary stuff that can prematurely end a player's career.

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