Preds Prey: Offseason Wish List

The Nashville Predators had a disappointing season last year, but they have the ability to bounce back and get further into the playoffs. Yes, it will be harder with an improved Dallas Stars team and the defending Stanley Cup Champion, St. Louis Blues in the same division.

The Predators have one of the best, if not the best, top four defensemen in the NHL, and a good first line, but there are still some pieces that could be added. 

Here is my Predators’ Wish List for the Offseason:

1) Roman Josi Contact Extension

Roman Josi has one year left on his current contract, which has a cap hit of $4 million for the 2019-20 season. The Predators could wait to start talking about an extension until later in the summer, but why not just get it done and over with since it won’t affect this season’s cap hit? During the 2018-19 season, he had 15 goals, 41 assists and 56 points in 82 games played. He was the second leading scorer on the team behind Ryan Johansen who had 64 points. Josi and Ryan Ellis were the only two players to dress for every regular season game last year. 

Josi’s next contract will likely include a hefty raise since he has proven that he can be a good all-around defenseman. He averaged 25:10 of ice time per game, which led the team. The 29-year-old can skate, move the puck and has no problem joining the play in the offensive zone. Josi can be used in any situation that arises during a game whether it be at even strength, on the power play or even the penalty kill. If his next contract is well over $8 million per season, I wouldn’t be shocked. 

2) Depth Scoring

The Predators found themselves in a similar predicament as the Dallas Stars with the top six scorers on the team being from the top line and its top three defensemen. Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson did miss significant time last season and no one really stepped up in their absence. When those two were in the lineup, they had no problem producing,  but the rest of the lineup just couldn’t follow suit. It would help the team tremendously if Nick Bonino and Kyle Turris, both of whom had down seasons, could bounce back and contribute more to the lineup.

There are some players in free agency that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to sign to improve the depth scoring. Thomas Vanek is 35-years-old, but can still produce top nine numbers in the NHL. Vanek had 36 points in just 64 games played last season. Riley Sheahan may not be the best option, but he is still an option with having scored 19 points in 82 games played. Joonas Donskoi had 37 points in 80 games with the San Jose Sharks last season. Ryan Dzingel may be the most versatile option since he can play all three forward positions. Dzingel had 56 points in 78 games last year.

3) Improve the Power Play

The Predators were god awful on the power play last season and it cost them some games. They just couldn’t convert on the opportunities they were given, but they’d have to shoot the puck to score. The team seemed to be hesitant to even shoot the puck and instead would pass it around looking for the perfect play. They finished the season converting on just 33 of the 255 opportunities they had for a 12.9%. The 12.9% ranked dead last in the regular season, and they didn’t register a power play goal in the post season either.

In order to improve the power play, they need to find someone who is willing to shoot the puck. The Predators could also use a net front presence guy, who can take the goalie’s eyes away or go for deflections. It would be nice to have a bigger body there to make it harder on the defender to push him out of the way. They went the Wayne Simmonds route at the end of last season but unless they can get him cheap, I don’t see the Predators bringing him back. Another option, would be Anders Lee, who had 10 power play goals last season while with the New York Islanders.

4) Top Six Help

The Predators were mainly a one line team last season with Forsberg, Johansen and Arvidsson doing most of the scoring. They could use another top six players to balance the lines out, preferably a winger. If they can land a winger that could be useful in the top six and on the power play then they could kill two needs with one stone. It is going to be hard to do this via free agency since not many players fit this bill. They could also offer sheet a restricted free agent like William Karlsson or Kyle Connor, but I just don’t see this happening. 

The best way to fulfill this need would be via trade or free agency. They may have to go the trade route and use one of their top four defenseman as trade bait to land someone. The only real free agency option that could fit the bill would be Anders Lee, who scored 10 of his 28 goals on the power play last season for the Islanders.