The Nashville Predators are going to need some help from all sorts of places to bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 campaign. And they have to look further than just Steven Stamkos after he had arguably the worst season of his career.
Stamkos was a disappointment in his first season with the Predators after signing a four-year deal with an $8 million annual price tag in the 2024 offseason. He scored 27 goals and 53 points in a full 82-game season in his first season in the Music City — not bad, but still his lowest totals since both injuries and COVID-19 shortened his 2020-21 campaign.
The 35-year-old superstar has not put up totals that low in a full season since his rookie year in 2008-09. He scored 23 goals and 46 points in 79 games that year before scoring 51 goals and 95 points in 2009-10 and seemingly never looked back.
Time will only tell if Stamkos can find that gear again at his advanced age, but there are other factors the Predators need to go their way if they want it make it back to the postseason.
Juuse Saros is in need of a bounce-back season after going from Vezina Trophy-caliber numbers in net to around league average. His fall from grace also has to do with a tumble in Nashville’s defensive structure that hurt them severely as they fell out of the playoff picture early on in the 2024-25 season.
If they want to make it back, they are going to need one of their up-and-coming young stars to step up.
Fedor Svechkov could help fill a hole down the middle of the Predators
One of the biggest problems from the Predators’ disappointing 2024-25 season was a lack of depth down the middle of their forward core. Fedor Svechkov could be the X factor that can help fix that problem for Nashville.
The 22-year-old showed flashes of being able to do just that in the first 52 games of his NHL career in 2024-25. He scored eight goals and 17 assists while taking on tough assignments at times. It does not jump off the page of the box score, but it is something to build on in 2025-26.
He also added five goals and 12 points in 13 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals before earning the call-up to the big club.
Svetchkov was drafted 19th overall in the first round of the 2021 Draft by the Predators for a reason. He made his way up the Russian hockey pipeline because of his strong awareness on both sides of the puck and his strong playmaking ability.
As he gets more comfortable in Year 2 of his NHL career, Svechkov can help the Predators break the puck out more effectively and spend more time in the offensive zone — which was a huge problem for them in 2024-25, which they largely spent hemmed in their own end. He has also shown to be effective in creating space for himself away from the puck and getting himself in the right positions to score in the offensive zone.
Svechkov showed he could do just that in a full season on North American ice in 2023-24, scoring 16 goals and 39 points in 57 games for AHL Milwaukee. If he takes yet another big step in his development, he could potentially repeat that kind of production at the NHL level.
A centerman who can command the ice on both ends behind Ryan O’Reilly was something the Predators desperately needed throughout their struggles in 2024-25. That is something that Svechkov could provide if given the opportunity to develop and work with solid linemates.
There is a lot of talent on this Predators roster despite their struggles, and if they can get production out of their young players like Svechkov, they could be a lot more competitive.
