The Nashville Predators had the most noteworthy offseason in 2024. They signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei to capitalize on a playoff appearance. Those moves have not paid off so far, as they have only have four wins in their first 14 games. After another loss to the Panthers, Predators head coach Andrew Brunette did not mince words about the tough start.
“I actually thought, you know, back-to-back, tough travel, I thought we came out with some pretty good energy, but kind of the story this season all summed up,” the Predators coach said, per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. “We made some mental mistakes, and then we took way too many penalties. Florida is a fast team, but we can’t play against them shorthanded the whole game. And kind of careless penalties two nights in a row here that put us behind the eight ball.”
The 6-2 loss was immediately preceded by a 3-2 road loss to the Washington Capitals. With nine of their ten losses coming in regulation, they are not banking points early in the season. The Predators have easily been the biggest disappointment of the season and Brunette’s comments prove that.
This low-point comes before a massive road trip that could change their season. After a pitstop in Music City to play Utah, the Predators head west. They play the Avalanche, Oilers, Flames, Canucks and Kraken consecutively.
Predators still haven’t found what they’re looking for
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The bad news for the Predators is that they are in last place in the NHL. The good news is that they went on a winning streak last year that they could use right now. Their core is the same, Filip Forsberg, Juuse Saros, and Roman Josi included, and they can tap into what happened last winter. The front office canceled a team trip to U2 at Sphere Vegas after a 9-2 loss. They immediately responded with an 18-game points streak.
The Predators have added a top-four defenseman and two top-six forwards but have taken a significant step back. While they could run off another ridiculous run, it’s irresponsible to expect that to happen. The west coast trip is the perfect time to turn the ship around. Getting away from home, away from the noise, and playing some winnable games could change their season.
Part of the issue is star goalie Juuse Saros. Another massive move Barry Trotz made was extending Saros and trading away Yaroslav Askarov. Saros has repaid him by putting up a pedestrian .904 save percentage in 11 starts. Their star goalie must pick it up to go on another U2 run, or any sort of winning streak.