No major splashes this offseason like in 2024 for the Nashville Predators, but they have shown a lot of attention to their defensive corps and to finally giving their young forward core a chance to succeed.
The Predators have added Nicolas Hague and Nick Perbix to their defense, giving them much more size and protection for Juuse Saros in net. General Manager Barry Trotz recently said that Saros was dealt an unfair hand last season and that basically the team's struggles weren't on the franchise netminder.
Trotz also said today Saros took too much heat last year because of defensive play around him. Says defense group will be improved and make his life easier. "Last year there were times where it was very unfair for him. He took a lot of heat for it unnecessarily."
— Robby Stanley (@RStanleyNHL) July 1, 2025
Perbix fills a huge need for the Predators on the right side. Knowing full well that defenseman can change sides, going into the offseason the Predators only had two defenseman listed on the right side; Nick Blankenburg and Justin Barron.
Now that the Predators have added size and dept to their defense, the task at hand will be for Head Coach Andrew Brunette and his staff sorting out who plays with who. I'm sure there will be some trail and error like we saw last season, but hopefully they have a better plan to stick with something and let it build chemistry.
Trotz also said in his press conference following the opening of free agency that he projects Hague to play in a top-four role and be an impact player. So not the third pairing defender that was originally thought or that he was with the Vegas Golden Knights.
If that's the case, then where does Brady Skjei end up? Also, who gets the first crack at playing with Roman Josi at the top pairing?
With a lot of possibilities at play here, my first thought is moving Josi to the right side on the top pairing and moving Skjei up to top pairing on the left side. That gives you two seasoned veterans who should be able to have quick chemistry.
We're really banking on Skjei to have a much better season than his debut season with the Predators where he had a lot of untimely defensive lapses and giveaways.
If Skjei and Josi run the top pairing, that leaves the opening for Hague to be on the second pairing on the left side. He'll see career high time on ice compared to what he saw in Vegas if this ends up being his spot in the lineup. On the right side, it's really an open competition in training camp. This might end up being a revolving door early in the season to find what clicks the best.
My early candidate is sticking with Blankenburg. I love his ability to move the puck and give some extra offense, and I just love his overall compete level. He has a great motor to his game and was one of the few players last season that outperformed the expectations I had for him. It should be his spot to lose, but keep an eye on Perbix to take that spot.
If Perbix takes the second pairing role with Hague, then you have a top-four defense of players 26 and older. This leaves the third pairing completely up for grabs in training camp. I can't imagine Blankenburg not being in the opening night starting lineup. and on the left side you have Adam Wilsby as my top candidate.
You also have Justin Barron looking to win a spot, but his stock is pretty low. He has a lot to prove in training camp to take a spot from Wilsby or Blankenburg. Then there's veterans Jordan Osterle and Andreas Englund who will be in the mix to get third pairing minutes.
Finally, you have the top prospect in the Predators' system in Tanner Molendyk. How ready is he actually to be called up to the Predators lineup? Molendyk has yet to even make his debut in the AHL, but all signs point to him being supremely talented enough to skip that step altogether and join the Predators in the near future. Maybe even at some point in 2025-26. But right out of training camp, I'm not so sure considering how crowded the position is now suddenly.
Molendyk has also been said to like playing on the right side even though he is listed as a left shot.
It does look like the main strength of the Predators is going to be defensive depth and protecting the goalie. If you combine that with Saros hopefully benefitting greatly from that protection by putting up stats in line with his career averages, and it's conceivable that the Predators are going to be a difficult team to score on.
So to put a bow on this and with a lot of x-factors involved, here is my pre training camp preference of the Predators' defensive corps starting lineup for opening night of 2025-26.
Skjei-Josi
Hague-Perbix
Wilsby-Blankenburg
Extras: Barron, Osterle, Englund
Midseason Call-Up Candidates: Molendyk, Gibson, Stastney, Ufko
This isn't my prediction necessarily, just more of my personal preference. Also, I see Andreas Englund eventually getting waived and the odd man out to clear roster space for some call-ups like Molendyk, Gibson, Stastney and Ufko.
Barron is also going to have a tough time hanging onto NHL roster time if Wilsby and Blankenburg perform really well. With his lack of defensive qualities in his game and more of an offensive defenseman, he'll need to really stack up some point production to warrant taking a spot from the up-and-comers.
Also worth reminding everyone that Marc Del Gaizo was lost in free agency just recently as another odd man out because this position is overloaded now and you just can't keep everyone.
So as you can see, there are a lot of options for Brunette and I can realistically see most of these players getting at least one start for the Predators in 2025-26. A lot of friendly competition for NHL minutes in store for this group, with some guys in danger of being waived if they don't live up to the challenge.