Each year, there is a fair share of overrated hockey teams, and fans only hope their team isn’t it. Well, Nashville Predators fans are now carrying the unfortunate distinction that their team is indeed the most overrated in 2024-25.
Still, it’s not all bad in Tennessee, where Juuse Saros is still having a strong season despite the circumstances. Let’s also not forget about a few of the more underrated players who are also enjoying a strong start, or first two months, to the campaign.
Yeah, everything is gloomy right now in Nashville, I get it. But before I dived into who the three most overrated players on the team are at the moment, I couldn’t help but mention some good news first.
Steven Stamkos
Wow. While most knew Steven Stamkos’ days as one of the league’s better players were numbered, few expected a massive drop-off. Or, at least, that’s what conventional wisdom states. But it’s becoming clearer that Stamkos will be known solely as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, while his time with the Predators will have something like an asterisk beside it.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, I was thinking Stamkos wouldn’t just snag a point per game; he’d elevate the Predators single-handedly. Add in talents like Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg, just to name a couple, and Stamkos couldn’t have gone wrong, right?
Turns out, that was a lot of wishful thinking, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s ultimately playing in a different uniform in the near future.
Jonathan Marchessault
Before the season began, I was sure the Predators would be at least serious playoff contenders in the Western Conference when they snagged Jonathan Marchessault. He put up 42 goals last season, and for an opportunity to play alongside Steven Stamkos, among others, meant an encore presentation in Nashville, right?
So far, it looks like Marchessault left most of his talent in Vegas, where he became one of the more well-known figures in the NHL. No, he hasn’t been entirely disappointing, but most fans around the league expected more than 19 points and eight goals.
Brady Skjei
While Brady Skjei was never a point-per-game blueliner or even someone who’d put up a half-point per game in most seasons, let’s not make the mistake and think he should have at least brought more than the nine points and two goals that he’s put up so far this year.
This is a player who put up between 38 and 47 points in each of the previous three years, and with the Predators having looked so good on paper, you’d have expected a repeat. Yet, alongside the two players listed above, that hasn’t been the case. And Skjei’s yet another name that’s been among the bigger disappointments in hockey.
His numbers at even strength, from an on-ice percentage of goals for vs. goals allowed, don’t look that bad. But he’s seen 27 go by already this season and has been on the ice for 24. This indicates a dip in both numbers should his current pace continue.