In the offseason leading up to puck drop in 2024-25, General Manager Barry Trotz added two extremely high-profile goal scorers to the Nashville Predators roster.
Adding Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, both holding franchise records in goals on the teams they departed, the offense looked to have gotten a serious boost. So, how did these additions lead to one of the most dismal seasons in franchise history?
Low shooting percentage is the main culprit. According to team data on Statmuse Nashville had the lowest shooting percentage in the NHL.
Despite being eighth in the league in shots per game, their pitiful 8.8% shooting percentage led to only 212 goals total, good for 31st in the league and another near last-place finish.
The Preds' franchise goal-scoring leader, Filip Forsberg, saw a slight dip in his career average shooting percentage, the lowest it had been since the 2020-21 season.
Newcomer Marchessault regressed to the lowest percentage since 2020-21 as well. With two players penciled in to do a bulk of the team's scoring after having both recorded 40-plus goals the year before, the goals dried up quickly as the losses continued to pile up.
The third player on the team to have recorded 40 goals the season prior Stamkos, shot about the same percentage as he did last year, but still slightly below his career average.
His lower goal total, however, is due to a drop in shooting in general on his part. With 89 fewer shots this season, with his a15.6 shooting percentage, he missed out on nearly 14 goals potentially.
The team's shooting percentage was the lowest total since the 2018-19 season. With the talent still under contract on this roster, it would stand to reason that the percentage can increase. If it does, can the aging core return to the scoring paces of a couple of years ago? It will be the teams and the head coach Andrew Brunette's job to help answer that question. If they want to return to the playoffs, the answer will need to be yes.