Articles in Nashville Predators

from
Ronnie Rönnkvist of The Daily Faceoff,

This story appeared on hockeysverige.sethis week and has been translated from Swedish to English.

The Nashville Predators have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NHL this season.

The team is currently holding on to a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, a scenario few experts had anticipated at the start of the season. After getting rid of veterans like Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene in the off-season, as well as bringing in Barry Trotz as the team’s second GM ever, many thought this would be a year where the Preds took a step back to get younger and reload.

But the acquisition of two key veterans last summer have given the team a jolt. Ryan O’Reilly’s ability to help the team with his leadership skills and two-way acumen was evident from the get-go.

But it might be more surprising that 34-year-old Gustav Nyquist has been an integral part of the team’s success.

Currently in his 12th NHL season, the Swedish winger is just three points shy of beating his record for points in the NHL. In 2018-19, he amassed 60 points over 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks. Now, he has 58 in 67 games.

Nyquist, who went the college route before signing with the Red Wings in 2011, has been a perfect fit on the Predators’ top line alongside O’Reilly and countryman Filip Forsberg.

Forsberg and Nyquist got to know each other a bit at the World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2018. Sweden won gold after beating Switzerland in the final.

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from Gentry Estes of The Tennessean,

The Nashville Predators weren’t supposed to be any good this season, so now that it’s playing out that way, I wonder why anyone is surprised.

But I know why.

It’s because these rebuilding Predators, for much of the season, didn’t look like a rebuilding team. They became fun to watch under first-year coach Andrew Brunette. They played hard and fast, and while overachieving, kept acting and speaking as if it was no shock to them. Like they knew something about themselves the rest of the NHL did not.

They believed, and that made others believe in them.

Belief is powerful. But fragile. It’ll shatter for teams, and when it does, it’s easy to tell.

This past week with the Predators, it has been easy to tell.

Thursday’s 9-2 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena was one of the most pitiful performances in franchise history. The Stars scored three times before the Predators’ first shot on goal. At the end of the first period, Dallas had 18 shots to Nashville’s one.

“Embarrassed at home,” captain Roman Josi said.

“Weren’t ready to play,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh added.

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With 38 seconds left in regulation, Nashville trailed Colorado by a goal.

The Predators won in regulation.

Below, a Prince drops the puck in Vancouver.

from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

The Nashville Predators were a work in progress when longtime franchise mainstay Barry Trotz returned to the organization this summer as their new GM. Trotz made his mark quickly by cutting veterans Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene, but rather than going all the way with a full-rebuild, Trotz added veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist to show fans he still saw them as playoff contenders.

Well, the Preds have played 14 games this season, and they’re one of the worst teams in the NHL, with a 5-9-0 record that has put them dead-last in the Central Division, behind even Arizona and Chicago. And star goaltender Juuse Saros has not been able to carry them, as he’s posted a .894 save percentage and 3.24 goals-against average.

At age 28, Saros is still in his prime, and he’s under contract for one more season after this one. He also doesn’t have any no-trade or no-move clauses in his current deal, so Trotz could ship him out to a team – like, say, the Edmonton Oilers – and bring back a heft haul in return. Trotz has to know this Predators group is not an elite bunch, and on a better team, Saros would post better individual numbers.

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from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL's website,

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Barry Trotz sat in the stands at USA Hockey Arena on Wednesday, watching the World Junior Summer Showcase in his first scouting mission since officially becoming general manager of the Nashville Predators on July 1....

As a GM, he has to be informed about all players at all levels, so he was there to see every team's prospects at the tournament. Maybe he might want to acquire one of them someday.

"A couple of kids have caught my eye," he said. "They're not with us, but I'm going, 'If that name comes up, I would have some interest.'"

He was there to see the prospects who are eligible for the 2024 and 2025 drafts too. The 2024 NHL Draft will be his first as GM.

"I've talked to a lot of general managers, and you've got two trains of thought," he said. "You trust the people that you hire, or you have to do your own work because it falls on you.

"I've worked with all my [staff members], and I trust them and all that. But at the same time, I think there's a part of me that wants to go, 'You know what? I've got to make sure that these are the types of people that I want.'"

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...rather than start on a full rebuild of the lineup, Trotz spent much of his salary cap space on a trio of veteran UFAs: center Ryan O’Reilly, winger Gustav Nyquist and defenseman Luke Schenn all signed with the Preds on the first day of unrestricted free agency, putting more grit and experience into the organization.

That’s all well and good, and it’s clearly possible Nashville could sneak into the playoffs via a wild-card berth. It’s also possible the Predators finish fifth in the Central Division for a second consecutive season and once again wind up on the outside of the post-season looking in.

Even though there are new faces all around – including new coach Andrew Brunette – our sense is the Preds’ results could end up very similar to this past season’s disappointing showing.

-Adam Proteau of The Hockey News where you can read more on the Nashville Predators.

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

In our conversations since the regular season ended, Predators general manager Barry Trotz routinely would mention that while he wouldn’t be spending gigantic dollars this offseason with his team in transition, he was hoping to address the culture piece of it.

He wasn’t kidding.

Enter Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn, character and leadership oozing out of their pores.

“It was really important,” Trotz told The Athletic over the phone Sunday.

Important because as an organization, the Predators are going to continue to integrate their top picks and prospects between the NHL and AHL levels, and Trotz wanted to ensure those young players were exposed to veteran leadership that had the right impact.

Obviously captain Roman Josi is a big part of that, but adding ROR and Schenn was critical in that game plan, too.

“I needed some character people so that as these young players filter in, they had the backbone, the good leaders, the mentors, and good players that they could lean on and grow with,” Trotz said.

Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene were valuable members of the Predators. They did a lot for the franchise.

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Nashville, Tenn. (June 24, 2023) - Incoming Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has acquired forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Ryan Johansen. The Predators will retain 50 percent of Johansen's contract, which has two years ($8 million annual average value) remaining.

Nashville, Tenn. (May 31, 2023) - Incoming Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has hired Andrew Brunette as the fourth head coach in franchise history.

"When I look at our roster and those in our system, we have a lot of fast, skilled players and we will likely select more of those types of players in this year's draft," Trotz said. "We want to become more of an offensive team and Andrew specializes on that side of the ice - he lived it as a player, and he coaches it as a coach. He is as good of an offensive teacher and power-play coach as there is in the game today. He will be great with our young players, and I know, because of his background as a player, he will connect well with our top, skilled players. At the end of the day, he is a good person who looks forward to working in partnership with our players to make them, and our team, better. I can't wait to get in the foxhole with him."

from Adam Vingan at Sportsnet,

In the week leading up to the NHL trade deadline, the Nashville Predators admitted defeat. They shipped out Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mattias Ekholm and Mikael Granlund for a haul of draft picks and other assets.

On top of that, their four highest-paid players — Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene — have all suffered serious injuries. Frankly, the Predators have no business still being in the Western Conference wild-card race.

And yet here they are, one point behind the Winnipeg Jets ahead of their high-stakes showdown Saturday at Canada Life Centre (Sportsnet West and SN NOW, 6 p.m. CT). The Predators, who are 10-7-2 since the deadline, are coming off wins against the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, two of the top four teams in the league. How are they doing this?

As has been the case for the past few years, the Predators have been propped up by stellar goaltending. Led by Juuse Saros, Nashville goaltenders have saved 21 goals above expected this season, second only to the Boston Bruins (28.4). Since March 4, that number is 4.85 — third-best behind the Bruins (8.24) and New York Rangers (7.28).

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TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired forward Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Cal Foote, the Lightning's first-round pick in 2025 (Top 10 protected), their second-round selection in 2024, as well as third, fourth and fifth-round picks in 2023, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today.

Jeannot, 6-foot-2, 208 pounds, has played in 56 games for the Predators this season, recording five goals and 14 points, including 85 penalty minutes. He leads Nashville for hits with 213 and all forwards for blocked shots with 51.

The Estevan, Saskatchewan native has appeared in 152 career NHL games, all with Nashville, recording 34 goals and 62 points with 217 penalty minutes. Jeannot has also skated in nine career Stanley Cup Playoff games during the 2021 and 2022 postseasons, recording a pair of assists.

Jeannot was originally undrafted and signed with the Predators as a free agent.

added 4:18pm,

from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

Over the years, the Nashville Predators have been arguably the biggest “meh” team in the NHL. To their credit, they’ve made the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons. On the other side of the spectrum, they’ve lost in the first round in five of those eight years – winning two games or fewer in that span – and they’ve made it out of the second round only once, pushing to the Stanley Cup final in 2016-17.

For every step forward the Preds have taken, there’s been a step sideways or a half-step back. They’re in the league’s mushy middle – the place where a team is too good to finish at the bottom of the standings (and thus, set themselves in the best position to select a generational player in the entry draft), and not good enough to be a genuine Cup frontrunner.

This is the case again thus far this season: Nashville began the year 2-4-1 (including a five-game losing skid), then battled back to improve their record to 12-9-2. However, since then, they’ve stumbled into the four-game losing streak they’re currently mired in. And so, after 28 games, they’ve got a .500 points percentage (good enough only for sixth place in the Central Division, tying them with the roller-coaster St. Louis Blues). They’re a pedestrian 7-5-2 at home and a sub-pedestrian 5-7-2 road mark. By virtually every metric, the Predators are average at best.

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from Nicholas J. Cotsonike of NHL.com,

PRAGUE -- When the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks appear at O2 Arena on Friday and Saturday (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSSO, NBCSCA) in the 2022 NHL Global Series, they will not play preseason games. They will open the 2022-23 NHL regular season.

These games will count.

But the Predators and Sharks are keeping in perspective that each of these games will count for more than two points in the standings. They're balancing business with the bigger picture.

Instead of closing their practices to the public Thursday, the Predators and Sharks opened them. Music played while they skated before a few thousand fans at the arena, including many kids in NHL, Czech and youth jerseys.

"We were all those kids at some point," Predators center Ryan Johansen said, "and it's just cool with our platforms to inspire and encourage and just kind of make their days and show them that their dreams, if they want to play in the NHL, they can reach them."

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