With a new regime at the helm of the Nashville Predators, everyone wants to know how they see the outlook of the team, and what they believe the future might hold.
We believe that the flurry of moves over the offseason that the team has made gives us some insightful clues into what exactly that is.
Size Matters Not
Ross Colton is 6'0". Mavrik Bourque is 5'11". Jack Drury is 5'11". Alexander Kerfoot is 5'11". Nils Hoglander is 5'9".
With the exception of Vitali Pinchuk (who was brought in before MacFarland took over) and Adam Estrom (the 6'7" outlier of all outliers) the forward group has been totally remade into smaller, speedy players. This is part of MacFarland's construction.
If you want evidence, look at the Colorado Avalanche last season, who had 11 forwards 6'0" or under suit up for them throughout the year. He also traded for the 5'9" Nick Blankenburg last season. Size is out, speed is in.
Don't Expect Martin Anytime Soon
Right now, the Predators have 9 players who are listed as Centers or Centers and another position. That number jumps to 10 if you include Brady Martin,
Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Mavrik Bourque, Alex Kerfoot, and Vitali Pinchuk are all part of that grouping, and all are new to the team. With the top six forwards still intact from last season, with the potential for Bourque to join in there, Martin seems not to have a place among this current forward group at the moment.
He wants to be a center, but he seems like he may be better suited for the wing at the pro level. Either way, with the top six set and at least 3 or 4 versions of him sitting in the bottom six currently, expect Martin to star in Milwaukee for the majority, if not the entirety of the season.
Balancing the Defense
You might consider Ilya Lyubushkin a throw-in for the Mavrik Bourque deal, and to some extent, you'd be right, but for the Nashville Predators he can serve an important role in balancing the defense.
Roman Josi and Brady Skeji are both offensive defenders. Josi does everything, but both certainly could use a hand in wrangling the defensive end. You're also going to have at least one of, if not both Ryan Ufko and Tanner Molendyk on the roster at some point, and both clearly need to play. Plus Adam Wilsby showed he's got some real potential. That leaves Nicolas Hague and Nicklaus Perbix as the defensive anchors.
With Lyubushkin, you can make sure every offensive defender has at least one more defensive-minded partner. You can also double up on defense for penalty kill scenarios or defensive zone draws.
Everyone is on Notice
Only Filip Forsberg, Jack Drury and Mavrik Bourque are signed beyond 2029 among the forward group. Among the defense, only Skjei. Saros is the only goalie signed on for 2029.
Within the next two years, almost all of the roster is going to turn over, unless younger players prove themselves right now. The Prdators have a lot of prospects from all of the draft picks they've made and they are going to be getting here in that timeline.
MacFarland is setting things up to embrace this change.
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