The Nashville Predators have run a pretty good race, but it seems like they are losing some steam just as a few other horses are hitting their stride.
It is far from over if you're the Predators, but management made it clear that relying on the veterans and keeping the team as is was not an option this season, sending Cole Smith, Michael McCarron, Michael Bunting, and Nick Blankenburg out of town, recouping draft picks for each in the coming seasons.
The Predators are three points out of the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference. They'd be facing a very tough matchup if they managed to sneak it, and even making it a series would probably feel like an accomplishment.
Obviously, losing outright and tanking is not an option, nor should it be, but the organization might have to sacrifice a few wins for the benefit of knowledge as the season winds down into its final phase.
Can Svech or Wood be C3?
The center depth for the Nashville Predators is a bit of a problem, especially as your top options like Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos age. Erik Haula is still around, but is a pending free agent and a veteran. You have Brady Martin finishing up a junior campaign, which has seen him do well, but deal with injuries and play minimally. He's probably ready for the pro jump, but could possibly be a candidate to see time in Milwaukee first.
Fedor Svechkov however, should be much closer to a finished product. He'll be 23 by the season's end will have played nearly 200 pro games between the NHL and the AHL. He has to develop into a productive full-time NHLer, or management is going to have to reallocate assets to find one.
Barring offseason trades and lineup reshuffling, Svech will be tasked with trying to create as much offense as he can while maintaining a defensive standard. Through 103 NHL games so far, he's created 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) but is also a -26 for his career. He's got to start creating more positive outcomes than negative to make it, especially since he was a much hyped 1st round pick.
Now, Matthew Wood is a different story. He's impressed in his rookie season and is currently 4th on the team in goals with 13. He can play center and has been doing so recently this season. If he's able to fill another spot that stretches the center depth of the team and gives them a few more options.
If he can become a center full-time, he'll get more ice time and become that much more valuable to the team in the longer term.
Will Schaefer, Wiesblatt, and L'Heureux be bottom sixers of the future?
All three are former first-round picks (Wiesblatt and Schaefer by the Sharks and Oilers, respectively) who are multifaceted players who produced at juniors and at the AHL level, while bringing a physical presence. For the Predators to find success in the future, these three need to be playing out the rest of the year and getting some of their untapped potential, tapped.
Schaefer might have the highest ceiling of the trio, but also might be asked to fill the very large hole that Michael McCarron left, literally. Team toughness has taken a nosedive without him and Smith, leaving Schaefer to become that figure in their absence by virtue of being 6'5", 220 pounds. Happy and Wiesblatt can certainly hold their own, but they are middleweights best equipped to take on players more average or below average-sized.
We're ready to see them contribute, and in order for the Predators to make next year's lineup decisions, we need to see if any of these three are ready to go now.