Nashville Predators 2013-14 Season Primer

• Team Outlook from McKeen’s Hockey Guide:The Nashville Predators gambled big in 2011-12 on the idea they would enjoy a lengthy playoff run in 2012 and then convince Ryan Suter to stay with the team. It didn’t work and the Predators would have lost Shea Weber as well if they didn’t decide to match the offer sheet he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.

  Even without Suter, Nashville’s defense was still well stocked in 2013, but their offense was absolutely dreadful. Nashville typically doesn’t have star forwards, but they manage to get by on scoring depth. In 2013, they didn’t even have that which kept them from seriously competing for a playoff spot.

  This season, the Predators might be able to rekindle that offensive balance. Healthy seasons from Patrick Hornqvist, Colin Wilson, and Mike Fisher would go a long way towards that, while the addition of Viktor Stalberg gives them another noteworthy piece.

  Between the pipes, Pekka Rinne is a bit of an X-factor. No one is questioning his talent and perhaps his less than stellar 2013 campaign can be partially written off by the hip injury he underwent surgery for in May. However, a summer of rehab isn’t particularly confidence inspiring either, especially if he enters training camp at something less than 100%.

  At least the defense remains a key strength. Weber will be complimented by youngsters Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis as well as veteran Kevin Klein. On top of that, top draft pick Seth Jones will attract a lot of intrigue going into the season. Could he be the guy who eventually replaces Suter? If so, how much can we expect from him as a teenage rookie? Nashville was lucky to get him with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, but as with any rookie, there will be some growing pains.

  Taking it all in, Nashville is capable of bouncing right back into the postseason, although they should be seen as more of a bubble team than a sure bet.

• Team Fantasy Outlook from Dobber Hockey’s 2013-14 Fantasy Guide – Over a 150 pages of fantasy goodness:Dobber’s lowdown on: Craig Smith – When a young, unproven player goes through a lengthy slump, it’s extremely difficult for him to get back on track. The coach will give an Alex Ovechkin or a Phil Kessel 20 minutes per game for 50 games if that’s what it takes, because he knows that proven players like that will get going eventually. He doesn’t know that about Craig Smith. So when Smith started with one point in 15 games, it was lights out, shut’er down. That he managed 11 points in 29 games after that is actually a pretty decent result. The sophomore jinx hits players 21 and over more than it hits the younger rookies, so Smith was in a high-risk group and at this point I consider it nothing more than that. After the season he was second on Team USA in scoring with 14 points in 10 games when they won the bronze. Besides, in last year’s Guide I told you that he was a “prime candidate for a sophomore slump’ and ‘if he takes a small step back, don’t write him off’. I wrote this in
  advance of last year!

  Russian Sergei Kostitsyn signed a three-year deal to play in the KHL. He and his brother Andrei are probably there for good. Inconsistency hurt both of them, though Sergei seemed to be more grounded and harder working. I left his name in the chart in case some readers were unaware.

  As soon as Wilson was out of the lineup (shoulder), both Fisher and Legwand started putting points on the board. Fisher had 10 points in 25 games with Wilson in and 11 points in 13 games with Wilson out. For Legwand it was nine in 25 and 16 in 23.

  Bourque had 10 points in 14 games prior to a knee injury ending his season. He’s a third-line guy with second line potential and he is a candidate for modest numbers in the high-40s if he can get off to a good start.

  As disappointing as Ellis has been, keep in mind that he’s played just 64 games in his NHL career. Let’s give him a couple of full seasons first (150 games), shall we? At least defensively he has been solid. Ellis was one of just four Nashville players with a positive Corsi (more attempted shots by Nashville than the opposition when he is on the ice) – and the only defenseman.

  Josi got off to a slow start, but a four-point game in late February turned things around. He ended the season with 15 points in his last 29 games, which is exactly the pace that poolies pegged for him to begin with.

Follow link for more info and stats

Additions: F Matt Cullen, F Matt Hendricks, G Carter Hutton, F Simon Moser, F Eric Nystrom, D Bryan Rodney, F Viktor Stalberg, F Mark Van Guilder.

Subtractions: D Jonathon Blum, D T.J. Brennan, F Bobby Butler, D Scott Ford, F Matt Halischuk, F Linus Klasen, F Jack Maclellan, G Chris Mason, D Mike Moore, F Chris Mueller. G Chet Pickard, F Ben Ryan, G Jeremy Smith, F Brandon Yip.

Promotion candidates: F Filip Forsberg, D Mattias Ekholm, F Austin Watson

Player salaries: $64,371,666 (25)
Cap Number: $65,443,810
Bonuses: $3,818,333
Cap Space: $2,674,524
Forwards: $36,780,000 (16)
Defensemen: $21,113,810 (7)
Goalies: $7,550,000 (2)
Source: CapGeek

Forwards
Colin Wilson – Mike Fisher – Patric Hornqvist
Viktor Stalberg – Matt Cullen – Craig Smith
Gabriel Bourque – David Legwand – Filip Forsberg
Eric Nystrom – Paul Gaustad – Matt Hendricks
Nick Spaling – Richard Clune

Defensemen
Roman Josi – Shea Weber
Seth Jones – Kevin Klein
Victor Bartley – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm

Goalies
Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton

2013 Nashville Predators Draft Results 

Nashville Predators Top Prospects

2012-13 Nashville Predators Player Stats

Some info, stats and video taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30 series.