The Nashville Predators are preparing to play in the NHL Global Series. They are going to take on a Pittsburgh Penguins team flying high to start the 2025-26 campaign. Unfortunately, Nashville is going to be down a crucial piece of its core. Filip Forsberg and company won't have captain Roman Josi with them in Sweden.
The Predators are currently in Stockholm ahead of their games on Friday and Sunday. Josi hasn't taken the ice since suffering an injury on October 23rd. The show must go on, of course. But for someone as closely linked to a franchise as Josi is with the Predators, his teammates certainly wish their captain could be with them for this event.
“First of all, Roman should be here,” Forsberg said Wednesday, via NHL.com. “I think he and (forward Cole Smith) and Jeff Biddle our trainer, obviously, would've loved to have all three of them here, but you miss him tremendously.”
“He's, obviously, an all-star player. He's one of those guys who can just change a game in any moment given his talent. But just as a leader, too, he's obviously, a leader that you want to play with, you want to play for,” Forsberg continued.
Josi has played his entire 15-year career with Nashville. And he is likely to go down as one of the greatest Predators players of all time. He is one of two Nashville skaters to record more than 90 points in a single season, along with Forsberg. The captain also leads the franchise in assists and points all-time. Of course, he also led the team to its only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final back in 2017.
The 35-year-old Josi is getting toward the end of his career. However, the impact he has on this team cannot be understated. For now, though, the Predators must continue enduring without Josi on the ice.
