Last season brought change to the Nashville Predators as new coach Peter Laviolette took a sub-par possession team and turned that aspect of the game around, returning the Predators to the postseason.

Effectively, Nashville put together a new No. 1 line last season. Rookie Filip Forsberg joined bargain free agent Mike Ribeiro and trade acquisition James Neal to give the normally buttoned-down Predators more offensive punch. Complemented by up-and-coming forwards Colin Wilson and Craig Smith along with veteran Mike Fisher, Nashville no longer has to eke out 2-1 games in order to win. The objective this season will be to get more production out of a third line, that could consist of some combination of Calle Jarnkrok, Cody Hodgson, Steve Moses and, possibly, Kevin Fiala.

Defence has been the calling card of the Predators and it remains strong. While there are analytical debates over the effectiveness of Shea Weber, he’s a cornerstone piece and the rest of the defence slots in nicely as Roman Josi, Seth Jones, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis are all good and relatively young. Veteran Barret Jackman comes over from St. Louis and, as a third-pair guy, should be a steady hand.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne was finally healthy last season, at least to start, and was outstanding early in the year, slumping in the second half after returning from a knee injury.

A more potent offence, a strong defence and a healthy Rinne should be enough to send the Predators to the postseason again, but the Central Division is really competitive, so it could be a battle.

 

OFF-SEASON HEADLINES

July 1: Ribeiro and Predators agree to two-year contract

July 1: Free agent centre Cody Hodgson signs one-year deal with Predators

July 1: Predators sign veteran blueliner Barret Jackman

 

2015-16 NASHVILLE PREDATORS

*Off-season Addition

 

Projected Lines

LW C RW
Filip Forsberg Mike Ribeiro James Neal
Colin Wilson Mike Fisher Craig Smith
Steve Moses* Cody Hodgson* Calle Jarnkrok
Eric Nystrom Paul Gaustad Gabriel Bourque
  Austin Watson Viktor Arvidsson

Fighting For Jobs: LW Kevin Fiala, RW Miikka Salomaki, RW Colton Sissons

 

Projected Pairs

LD RD
Roman Josi Shea Weber
Barret Jackman* Seth Jones
Mattias Ekholm Ryan Ellis
Victor Bartley  

Fighting For Jobs: RD Taylor Aronson, LD Anthony Bitetto

 

Projected Goalies

No. 1 No. 2 No. 3
Pekka Rinne Carter Hutton Marek Mazanec

Off-season Departures: D Cody Franson, LW Rich Clune, LW Taylor Beck, D Joe Piskula

Projected Lineup: Adam Vingan/The Tennessean

 

SERAVALLI'S THREE QUESTIONS

1. Can Kevin Fiala justify enough minutes in NHL to continue his development?

2. How will Shea Weber’s knee respond after surgery?

3. Will Cody Hodgson be one of the summer’s best bargain signings?

 

 

BUTTON'S TOP PROSPECTS

Top 2015-16 Prospect

C Kevin Fiala (Milwaukee, AHL): Skilled and determined player who doesn’t allow himself to be denied. Offensively dangerous with fire.

Long-Term Prospect

LW Jimmy Vesey (Harvard, ECAC): Could play in NHL right now. Similar to former Crimson player Alex Killorn. Could be a UFA like Kevin Hayes.

* Listed with 2014-15 teams

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Three-Year Breakdown (League Rank)

  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Points 70 (27th)* 88 (19th) 104 (6th)
Goals For 2.3 (T-22nd) 2.6 (T-18th) 2.8 (14th)
Goals Against 2.8 (20th) 2.8 (23rd) 2.5 (9th)
Power Play 17% (16th) 19% (12th) 16% (11th)
Penalty Killing 76% (18th) 80% (25th) 81% (18th)
SAT% Possession 46.7% (27th) 48.5% (23rd) 52.7% (7th)

* 2012-13 points: Pro-rated lockout-shortened total

 

ESTIMATED PAYROLL vs. CAP - $60.5M/$71.4M

It comes as no surprise that the Predators aren’t pushing against the salary cap. They have a few big contracts – Shea Weber ($7.857M), Pekka Rinne ($7.0M) and James Neal ($5.0M) – but Nashville has been about constructing a roster on good market value, so they keep a relatively young roster and take chances on inexpensive players with upside like Cody Hodgson and Steve Moses.

 

PARTING SHOT