Predators’ Depth Pieces Will Sway Stanley Cup Aspirations

The Nashville Predators have built a strong case for the most productive summer in the NHL by adding top defenseman Brady Skjei, scoring winger Jonathan Marchessault, and Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos. Each of the trio are set for a pivotal role in Nashville – headlined by the premier-scoring Stamkos’ rounding out of the team’s top line, next to Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg. The moves cost Nashville $20.5MM and could easily be enough to earn them a top-three spot in the Central after picking up a Wild Card spot last season. But the throes of the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown that teams can’t go far on the backs of just a few stars, and even with illustrious spending this summer, Nashville’s run to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup will ultimately sit with a largely unchanged depth.

That depth is most notably led by centerman Thomas Novak, who found consistency in Nashville’s third-line center role last season, after rivaling second-line minutes in 2022-23. The small decrease in ice time didn’t phase him, as Novak managed 18 goals and 45 points in 71 games – career-highs in all three stats, though a slight dip in per-game scoring from two seasons ago. He found a way to stick in the lineup through health and challenge last season – and now gets a chance to break his way into the team’s top six, assuming they choose to use Stamkos as a winger. If so, Novak would likely be flanked by productive wingers Gustav Nyquist and Marchessault, who could both provide a spark to Novak’s methodical style. While Nyquist’s longevity, and Marchessault’s change of scenery, will be notable storylines of their own this season – it will be Novak’s capability as a second-line center that will determine Nashville’s ability to deploy a top-line of superstars.

While Novak is fighting to round out the second line, Nashville’s bottom six will sit as a land of opportunity for a young core that, so far, hasn’t jumped off the page. Each of Cody Glass, Luke Evangelista, and Philip Tomasino have shown promise at the top flight but struggled to carve out a consistent role. Their place in Nashville is quickly being challenged by minor-league risers Juuso Parssinen, Zachary L’Heureux, Joakim Kemell, and Fyodor Svechkov. The quartet stands as the prospects to watch in Nashville’s upcoming training camp and could each vie for a hardy shot at the NHL this fall. Which young forwards win out the competition for ice time will underline the conversation of Nashville’s ‘X-factors’ – especially as Tomasino and Parssinen sit as unsigned restricted free agents. But it will be how the young corps blend with hardened vets like Colton Sissons and Cole Smith to form a stout bottom-six that will shape their playoff durability.

There’s a lot of hope sitting with Nashville’s inexperienced forwards, but they seem a more surefire bet than the team’s defensive group. While Skjei’s addition provides much-needed star-power behind Roman Josi, it doesn’t address the team’s lack of depth on the right-hand side –unless Skjei plays on his off-hand, which he’s done in the past. Even then, Nashville will be forced to ice at least one of Dante Fabbro, Alexandre Carrier, or Luke Schenn in their top four. Like the Predators’ depth forwards, each of these defenders have shown promise at the top flight, but sit a ways back from a confident role. Top prospects Ryan Ufko and Andrew Gibson seem to have the wind behind their sails after the end of the 2023-24 season, and could provide more depth than expected down the stretch, though both still sit multiple steps back from a real NHL chance, leaving Nashville with a defense much skinnier than its starring names would suggest.

A wide-open defense is nothing new for the Predators, and they luckily have the dazzling pair of Juuse Saros and Yaroslav Askarov mitigating most of the concerns from the crease. But over $20MM in spending this summer, and the addition of a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in Stamkos, should be enough to jolt Nashville into the conversation of Stanley Cup contenders from the Western Conference. That’s certainly the goal for new general manager Barry Trotz, though the impact of his star additions will ultimately sit with the performance of the up-and-coming depth pieces behind them.