Season Gambling Preview: Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are without a doubt the Rodney Dangerfield of the NHL. They get no respect. They’re written off as an expansion team in a non-hockey market with a boring gameplan and weak fan support.
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I’m as guilty as anyone. But the truth is that the Preds have made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons and hit the 100-point mark three times since the lockout. They play gritty, defensive hockey with the best of ’em and have one of the sport’s most underappreciated coaches in Barry Trotz. After finally winning a playoff series in 2010-11, can they build on that success?
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Stanley Cup odds: +2500
The key to Nashville’s season is how well its young forwards develop, as its goaltending and blueline seem secure.
After several seasons of constant turnover between the pipes, it appears the Preds finally have their guy in Pekka Rinne. The Finn is truly among the game’s best, capable of playing almost every night and posting a high save percentage. He’s a rock.
It helps that he has one of the NHL’s best defense tandems in front of him. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter have joined Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook as a true 30-minutes-a-night, every-situation pair. Weber in particular has emerged as a top-five defenseman in the game, blessed with big hitting ability and a devastating shot.
The Preds’ defense is similar to Chicago’s in that it relies heavily on its top two but lacks depth otherwise. Nashville will miss Cody Franson, whom they traded to Toronto. Including Dan Hamhuis the year before, the Preds have lost top-four defenders two straight offseasons. It would certainly help, at least offensively, if blue-chipper Ryan Ellis can make the jump to the pros. [ad-4437448]
The key factor keeping Nashville from being a true Stanley Cup contender in recent seasons has been scoring up front. Guys like Martin Erat, Patric Hornqvist, Sergei Kostitsyn and Mike Fisher are all useful players but they’re all second-liners being depended on for first-line minutes and power-play time.
For Nashville to reach the next level, its youngsters must improve. That means players like Colin Wilson and even new addition Niclas Bergfors need to deliver on their first-round draft pedigree.
If they don’t, I think Nashville could be in trouble. The Preds lost key depth forwards like Joel Ward, J.P Dumont, Steve Sullivan and Marcel Goc. In addition to Franson, their blueline lost Shane O’Brien, and Francis Bouillon is battling concussion problems.
Thanks to Rinne, Weber, Suter and Trotz’s system alone, Nashville should at least hit the 90-point mark again and may be one of four teams to make the playoffs out of the Central. With a few untimely injuries, however, the Preds could miss the big dance; if Wilson breaks out, Nashville could explode into contention. Nashville could go in many directions. I’ll split the difference and predict a similar result to last season, even if the Preds go about it a different way.
Prediction: 4th, Central Division
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