Predators' Summer of Hope Leads to Season of Despair

The Nashville Predators swung for the fences this offseason, but ended up striking out.

Nov 26, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette talks to players from the bench before a face off during the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

The team that makes the biggest moves in the offseason often ends up falling short of expectations, and the Nashville Predators are the latest, and perhaps greatest, example of this phenomenon.

Fresh off a surprise playoff appearance last season, the Predators made huge splashes in the offseason by signing free agent forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as defenseman Brady Skjei. They also extended star goaltender Juuse Saros for eight more years, and looked like a team gearing up for a championship push.

Once they actually hit the ice, though, they looked nothing like a championship team. The Predators lost their first five games of the season and never really recovered. They've been near the bottom of the standings for almost the entire season, and on Thursday night, became just the third team eliminated from playoff contention, following the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

There are no shortage of problems with the Predators, but the biggest one is also the most simple, they can't put the puck in the net. Nashville ranks dead last in scoring at just 2.54 goals per game despite ranking sixth in shots per game at 29.3. Unsurprisingly, the Predators have an abysmal shooting percentage of 8.7, also the worst in the league.

Nashville's new acquisitions also haven't scored as they had hoped. In 72 games, Stamkos has 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists), Marchessault has 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) and Skjei has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists). All three players are scoring at a much lower rate than they did last season, when they had 80, 69 and 47 points, respectively.

The Predators' struggles are most apparent at 5-on-5, where they have a league-low 110 goals this season. On the other hand, they've allowed the seventh-most 5-on-5 goals with 158.

In fact, the defense and goaltending's struggles haven't received much attention due to the offense, but they are very much present. Saros has a .897 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average, both the worst of his career.

Despite the miserable season, there are still some reasons for optimism in Nashville. The Predators have a ton of draft picks to work with, including three first-rounders and two second-rounders this year, and they still have some very good prospects in the wings. Their key players could also bounce back next season after having some time to get used to the system.

They are one of the older teams in the league with an average age of 29.6, though, so they'll have to bounce back soon if they want to win with this core.

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