Welp it's the halfway mark, and the Nashville Predators are...bad.
They're standings bad for sure, but realistically they aren't a bad team. San Jose, Chicago, Anaheim, those are bad teams, and the Predators just by sheer roster construction and talent are better. They're better than a few of the teams above them too, but it hasn't shaken out that way in the standings.
Where Everyone Is Right Now?
The Playoff Teams - Winnipeg Jets (28-12-2 58 points) Minnesota Wild (26-11-4 56 points) Dallas Stars (25-13-1 51 points) Colorado Avalanche (25-15-1 51 points)
The Jets, Wild and Stars all won on Tuesday night to widen their leads over the bottom of the division, including the Jets dismantling the Predators 5-2.
These are the usual suspects among the Central Division teams. Top down the rosters are strong, and the play has been up to snuff as well. The outlier team here might be the Avalanche that just have had so much going on and have been pulling the trigger on trades to tread water through some early struggles.
The Jets and the Wild are the two wagons as of right now. They likely won't fall off. The battle for third and to be a wild card team will be a dogfight.
The Rest of Them - St. Louis Blues (19-19-4 42 points) Utah Hockey Club (17-15-7 41 points) Nashville Predators (13-21-7 33 points) and Chicago Blackhawks (13-25-2 28 points)
This is where we currently find the Predators. The St. Lous Blues fired their coach and are trying to decide if they're a true playoff team. Utah is just enjoying playing somewhere that isn't Arizona at this point. It is a fun young team with energy but not with a super high ceiling.
The Blackhawks are in the running to be the league's worst team, but their potential future adding another #1 pick to play alongside Conor Bedard (#1 in the 2023 draft) and Artyom Levshunov, Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker (#2, #18, #27 in 2024). They could have a terrifyingly deep roster in a few years if they develop properly.
The Nashville Predators are sitting amongst these teams, and are immensely frustrated about it. The fans are as well. Just the seven overtime losses alone could have the Predators knocking on the door of a playoff spot.
What Can They Do?
The Predators have 14 games against division opponents remaining. They are facing off against the Jets one more time, Wild once, Blackhawks twice, Avalanche once, Dallas three times, Utah twice, and St. Louis three times.
There is the potential to do some damage, and perhaps even to take advantage of teams that aren't very good in Utah and Chicago, whom they play twice each.
Now, they're 12 points from a wild card spot, dealing with injuries, complicated line combinations, and a roster that is in flux with General Manager Barry Trotz holding a phone and a quick trigger finger.
They could make a run if the teams ahead of them stumble but the playoffs would be a miracle that would require an epic winning streak as the rest of the league not stringing together wins for a while. They can and should play better, and hopefully will soon.