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The Nashville Predators were nothing short of a major disappointment throughout the 2024–25 NHL season.
They entered the campaign with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations following the high-profile additions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. The team also secured goaltender Juuse Saros with an eight-year contract extension. General manager Barry Trotz essentially went “all-in” to bring the Stanley Cup to Nashville for the first time — but the team fell far short of realizing that goal.
The Predators stumbled out of the gate with a shocking 0–5 start — the worst in franchise history — even worse than their early days in the late 1990s as a struggling expansion team with minimal expectations. Both Stamkos and Marchessault underperformed offensively, while Nashville’s porous defense failed to provide Saros with the support he needed.
Finishing with a 30-44-8 record, the Predators missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a wide margin and are now left searching for answers as to how such a promising season unraveled so quickly.
Speculation is already swirling that more major changes could be on the horizon for a franchise that fell well short of expectations in 2024–25 and is now shifting its focus to the future. Those changes could include parting ways with several notable players — potentially even one who was signed just last offseason.
Jonathan Marchessault could be on the move
Simply put, things have not worked out even remotely close to what Marchessault (or the Predators, for that matter) were expecting when he agreed to leave the Vegas Golden Knights and sign a five-year contract with them last offseason.
Marchessault didn't come close to reaching the 42 goals that he scored in his final season with Vegas in 2023-24, scoring just 21 goals as the Predators' offense as a whole struggled.
Combined with the untimely death of his mother from a heart attack at just 70 years old, Marchessault would admit earlier this year in March that his first campaign with the Predators was the most difficult of his career
“It's definitely been a hard season for me, personally,” said Marchessault, via The Hockey News. “I didn't expect the move to be that big, in terms of (draining my) energy. … I think it was just a really tough summer, to be honest. Not a lot of time for me and my wife to just relax and enjoy life a little bit. So it's been definitely overwhelming.
“Mental health (has been) challenging this year. But if you look at my past, and the way I'm built and all that, I will bounce back.”
Marchessault wasn't used to losing, and it showed on the ice.
It would be best for both sides to simply wash their hands of one another and move on. The Predators would likely have to retain some of Marchessault's salary cap hit in order to facilitate a trade, but it's not something that can't be done. Trotz could likely fetch a decent prospect or two, draft capital, or both in return for Marchessault.
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Time to cut ties with Ryan O'Reilly?
O'Reilly was signed by the Predators to a four-year contract shortly after he helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win their first postseason series victory in 19 years. He followed up that performance by helping the Predators back to a postseason spot, but like the rest of his teammates, mostly struggled during the 2024-25 season.
O'Reilly was reportedly approached by Trotz about waiving his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a trade back to the Maple Leafs at the NHL Trade Deadline in March, but he declined.
He's a player who won't be around for the long term, and only has two years left on his current contract. O'Reilly would be better suited providing veteran leadership and timely offense for a team with a real chance to win, and right now, it doesn't look like that's going to be with the Predators.
His $4.5 million cap hit is manageable, and shouldn't be terribly difficult for Trotz to find an adequate return for.
Colton Sissons a more under-the-radar trade candidate
Finally, Predators center Colton Sissons, who like the rest of his teammates saw his offensive numbers dip from his previous output, also saw his ice time start to be noticeably reduced. He barely averaged 14 minutes of ice time per game in 2024-25 as opposed to just under 17 minutes a night in the previous season.
With only a single season left on his current contract with a manageable $2.86 million cap hit, Trotz should consider looking to the future and try to acquire future assets for Sissons, who isn't likely in their long-term plans.
The 31-year-old has appeared in 690 career NHL games, all with the Predators. But like Marchessault and O'Reilly, Nashville needs to consider turning the page on that chapter of their franchise as the rebuild could potentially begin in earnest this summer.
