NHL Preview - Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators

2015-16 season: 41-27-14, 96 points Lost in 2nd Round of Western Conference Playoffs	Head Coach: Peter Laviolette (2014)
4th Place Central Division	General Manager: David Poile (1997)
7th Place Western Conference	AHL Affiliate: Milwaukee Admirals ECHL Affiliate: Cincinnati Cyclones
Cap Space: $5,414,169

News

• Traded Jimmy Vesey's rights to Buffalo for a 2016 3rd Round pick
• Traded D Shea Weber to Montreal for D P.K. Subban

Players Lost in the Offseason

POS.	Player	New Team	Contract
C	Paul Gaustad	Retired
LW	Eric Nystrom	St. Louis Blues	PTO
LW	Gabriel Bourque	Colorado Avalanche	PTO
D	Barrett Jackman	Free Agent
G	Craig Hutton	St. Louis Blues	2 years, $2,250,000

Incoming Free Agents

POS.	Player	Old Team	Contract
D	Yannick Weber	Vancouver Canucks	1 year, $575,000
LW	Harry Zolnierczyk	Arizona Coyotes	1 year, $575,000
D	Matt Carle	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 year, $700,000
D	Matt Irwin	Boston Bruins	1 year, $575,000

2016 Draft Picks

RD	Pick No.	POS.	Name	Junior/College/Club Team
1	17	D	Dante Fabbro	Penticton Vees (BCHL)
2	47	D	Samuel Girard	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
3	76	C	Rem Pitlick	Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
3	78	D	Frederic Allard	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
4	108	D	Hardy Haman-Aktell	Skelleftea Jrs (SHL)
5	138	C	Patrick Harper	Avon Old Farms (H.S.)
6	168	G	Konstantin Volkov	SKA-1946 (MHL – Russia)
7	198	D	Adam Smith	Bowling Green State University (WCHA)

Top Three Prospects

POS	Name	Draft Info	Current Team
G	Juuse Sarus	2013 4th RD (99)	NHL
RW	Max Gartz	2012 6th RD (172)	AHL/ECHL
RW	Kevin Fiala	2014 1st RD (14)	AHL/ECHL

Projected Lineup

Forwards

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
LW	Filip Forsberg	22	Sweden	2022
C	(C) Mike Fisher	36	Canada	2017
RW	(A) James Neal	29	Canada	2018
LW	Colin Wilson	26	USA	2019
C	Ryan Johansen	24	Canada	2017 (RFA)
RW	Calle Jarnkrok	25	Sweden	2022
LW	Craig Smith	27	USA	2020
C	Mike Ribeiro	36	Canada	2017
RW	Colton Sissons	22	Canada	2019 (RFA)
LW	Mikka Salomaki	23	Finland	2018 (RFA)
C	Austin Watson	24	USA	2017 (RFA)
RW	Viktor Arvidsson	23	Sweden	2017 (RFA)

Defensemen

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
D	(A) Roman Josi	26	Switzerland	2020
D	P.K. Subban	27	Canada	2022
D	Mattias Ekholm	26	Sweden	2022
D	Ryan Ellis	25	Canada	2019
D	Anthony Bitetto	26	USA	2018
D	Yannick Weber	28	Switzerland	2017

Goalies

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
G	Pekka Rinne	29	Finland	2018
G	Juuse Saros	21	Finland	2018 (RFA)

Extra Skaters

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
RW	Cody Bass	29	Canada	2018
D	Petter Granberg	24	Sweden	2018 (RFA)

Season Outlook

• The Predators were a very good team last year, staying in the divisional hunt all season long and winning a round in the playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks.  They even took the eventual Western Conference champion, San Jose Sharks, to seven games.  They were an overall solid team, ranking in the top half of the league in Goals For, Goals Against, and Powerplay Percentage.  They struggled, however, in Penalty Kill Percentage, and PDO (5 vs 5 shooting percentage + 5 vs 5 save percentage).  This could be because goalie Pekka Rinne, who is normally elite, took a significant step back last season.  With his overall averages being a 2.37 GAA and a .917 save percentage, he had a 2.48 GAA and a .908 save percentage last year.  It is pretty easy to place some of Nashville's struggles on Rinne, as their defense is arguably the best in the league, and they suppressed a lot of shots last season.  The team's advanced metrics convey that the Predators were an excellent team, even if a defensive-minded one.  They were tenth in Corsi For, sixth in Corsi Against, and sixth in Corsi For Percentage, so they controlled play over half of the time.

CAT.	Goals For	Goals Against	PP %	PK %	PDO	Corsi For	Corsi Against	Corsi For %	oZS%	dZS%
Stat	228	215	19.69	81.22	99.7	4618	4269	52.0	52.3	47.7
Predators’  Rank	12th	12th	10th	17th	22nd	10th	6th	6th	6th	6th

PDO= Even Strength Shooting Percentage + Even Strength Save Percentage

Corsi For= Shots + Blocks + Misses while in possession of puck

Crosi Against= Shots + Blocks + Misses while not in possession of puck

Corsi For %= Corsi For/(Corsi For+Corsi Against) -> Above 50% means that team controls play

oZS% = Offensive Zone Start Percentage

dZS% = Defensive Zone Start Percentage

• During the offseason, the Predators were involved in the biggest traded, acquiring P.K. Subban from Montreal for Shea Weber.  Although I've read ways in which this trade could be a win for Montreal, I think Nashville won this in every way possible.  In my opinion, Subban is the better defenseman already, is younger, has more offensive upside, and has the better contract situation. The only way this trade isn't a win for Nashville is if Subban were to suffer a catastrophic injury that would plague him throughout the remainder of his career, something I really hope doesn't happen.  Adding Subban to their already elite group of defensemen will help the Predators greatly, and allow the top pairing of Subban and Roman Josi to blossom together.  I think that Nashville is in a really good place as a franchise right now.  If Rinne can bounce back to his career averages, Nashville could make a run at the Cup.  They are an excellent example of how franchises can succeed through homegrown talent and making savvy moves when they are needed.  GM David Poille, who has been Nashville's only GM since they became a franchise in 1997, is about as good as they come.  This season, they will need to work on an extension with center Ryan Johansen, and Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson both need new contracts.  Even right now, the Predators probably have enough cap room to sign Johansen, and they'll have Mike Ribeiro and Mike Fisher's contracts coming off the books following this season if Nashville chooses not to re-sign either of them.  For this year, I think Nashville will compete for the division title and have the chance to make a deep run in the playoffs towards a Stanley Cup.

Breakout Candidate

• F Calle Jarnkrok - Jarnkrok is a 25-year old forward who has played most of the past two seasons with the Predators.  Last season he put up 16 goals and 30 points in a full season, and this could be about where he plateaus off at in terms of production.  However, he is slated to be skating on a line with Ryan Johansen and Colin Wilson, so there will be plenty of opportunity to have more production.

Regression Candidate

Bounceback Candidate

• G Pekka Rinne - Like I said in my season outlook for the Predators, Rinne had a less-than-stellar season last year.  His statistics were below his career averages and he is definitely more talented than his play exhibited last season.  I think he will bounce back this season, which will be needed by the Predators for them to succeed this year.

*All statistics and information come from: rosterresource.com, thehockeywriters.com,

hockeydb.com, hockey-reference.com, and generalfanager.com