The Nashville Predators were eliminated by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round in 2023-24. They responded to that by making three big splashes in free agency. The 2024-25 Predators are a star-studded group and our bold predictions reflect that.
The Predators had a rough first half of the season last year. With new coach Andrew Brunette and general manager Barry Trotz, they won 27 of their first 54 games. After a 9-2 loss to the Stars, management took away their opportunity to go see U2 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The team responded by winning 20 of their final 28 games and made the playoffs comfortably.
After the six-game loss to the Canucks, Trotz got to work on improving the team. The Predators signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in free agency and immediately made their team better. That came after they signed star goalie Juuse Saros to a massive extension. Finally, they dealt goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov to the Sharks for a pick and prospects.
With all of that under consideration, it should be a good season for the Nashvill. Let's look at our bold predictions for the 2024 Predators.
Juuse Saros will finish in the top five in Vezina Trophy voting
Trotz and company gave Saros the ultimate vote of confidence this offseason. By locking him in for eight years, the Predators have guaranteed themselves a fantastic goalie for the remainder of the decade. Saros has finished in the top five in voting for the Vezina Trophy each of the last three seasons and will make it four this year.
The Predators are a playoff team because of Saros. While Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi are two of the better players in the league, Saros is consistently one of the best goalies in the league. He is one of the last goalies who play over 60 games a year, leading the league in saves and shots against each of the last two years.
Brady Skjei is the most important addition for Saros this year. He replaces Ryan McDonagh on the defensive end and will help keep the puck away from Saros. When the puck does get to him, he stops it at one of the highest rates in the entire league. Expect him to continue that trend this season.
Predators will have three 30-goal scorers
The Predators have never had a season where three forwards scored 30 goals. Considering they entered the league in the middle of the dead puck era, that isn't terribly surprising. Of their 11 30-goal campaigns, four of them have come from Filip Forsberg. Expect him to clip that number again and challenge his franchise record of 48, which was set last year.
Stamkos and Marchessault both scored over 40 goals last season and should continue that production in Nashville. The Predators signed them to score goals and they will, each reaching 30 in their first season in Music City. We do not know which lines players will play on but each of these players should complement each other.
Ryan O'Reilly and Tommy Novak will be key to making this prediction come true. These will be the top two centers and each of the players listed above are wingers. For the wingers to each pot 30 goals, their centers will have to be great distributors and strong in the face-off dot. They will all benefit from having Roman Josi quarterback the powerplay, as he is one of the best in the game at that skill.
The franchise record for points in a season will fall
Josi holds the Predators' single-season points record with 96 in 2021-22. While Forsberg came close last year, 94, he did not clip his teammate on the leaderboard. This year, that record will fall by one of the players on the Predators. There has never been a 100-point season in Predators history and with the star power on the power play, that will occur this year.
Josi holds the pole position, as he holds the current record and has a chokehold on the power play quarterback position. Forsberg would be considered the second most likely option because of his goal-scoring knack. O'Reilly, Stamkos, and Marchessault all could reach the 100-point plateau this season as well.
When the Predators made the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, it was largely because of their spectacular defensive core. They have never had a group of forwards as deep as the one they have now. That is the ultimate reason why the franchise points record will fall.
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