The 2023-24 season was supposed to be a transitional year at the start of the Barry Trotz rebuild in Nashville. New coach Andrew Brunette and the roster misunderstood the assignment to the joy and delight of the Smashville faithful. The new-look Preds, led by 2023 free agent acquisition Ryan O’Reilly, finished the regular season with 47 wins, and managed to take the Pacific Champion Vancouver Canucks to 6 games in the first round of the playoffs. On the back of this success, Trotz decided to go all in on the 2024-25 campaign with high profile free agents to best utilize the last elite seasons of players like Roman Josi, O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, and Juuse Saros.

               The crown jewel signing of Nashville’s offseason was longtime Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. Stamkos has been a superstar level producer for more than 90% of his career, and his scoring capabilities haven’t shown many signs of wavering despite turning 34 in February. Nashville will look to Stamkos for finishing help in the offensive zone as well as his leadership abilities. His defensive contributions have regressed (-3.9 Defensive GAR in 2023-24), but Nashville already has a litany of strong defensive players to offset that impact. Johnathan Marchessault also joined Nashville this offseason to reunite with Stamkos. Marchessault joins the Predators after seven consecutive Star+ seasons with the Golden Knights. Like Stamkos, Marchessault brings more than moderate value in the offensive zone despite being past his prime (33 years old) while coming off a bit of a down year defensively (-1.6 GAR). Between both forwards, the Predators will see more consistent goal support beyond the Herculean outputs they got from Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist last season. The final major pickup was defenseman Brady Skjei. In the early portion of his career in New York, we saw flashes of what Skjei could be, but during his last four seasons in Carolina, he has defined himself as one of the best second-pairing puck-moving left-handed defenders in the league. Scoring-wise, Skjei has posted three consecutive Star seasons while maintaining a positive defensive GAR. Due to Nashville’s lack of high-end left-handed defenders Skjei will likely see top pairing deployment with Josi to better matchup on the left side against teams than the Preds did a year ago.

               Moving to the draft, Nashville had two selections in Yegor Surin and Teddy Stiga that stood out. Surin recorded 52 points in 42 games in the MHL and will likely cut his teeth in the KHL next season. Surin plays a reckless (not necessarily a bad thing) and physical game in the offensive zone where he uses his size and skill to drive to the net to disassemble tight defensive structures. If this translates to the professional game, and he’s able to elevate his skill and hockey IQ to increase when and how to utilize the skill set, Surin could be a solid top six forward. Stiga was a member of the USNTDP this past season and was a prevalent offensive force. Stiga has a strong toolkit with his playmaking and shooting skills, but his hockey IQ is among the best in the class of 2024. His ability to not only find open space but chart his course there as the puck does is a special skill that very few players possess, and with more experience, there is a good chance Stiga could become an impactful top six forward in the NHL.

               Overall, the Predators had an exceptional offseason by picking up multiple players that fixed their immediate needs, while also picking prospects who will have several years of runway to develop. The Predators receive an A for doing all these things. The only criticism is that they’re attempting to load up in the league’s best division whose cores are all in win-now mode. Looking to Dallas, Colorado, and Winnipeg, the Predators look like a whale caught between three giants. If they’re lucky, health will be a factor toward the end of the season to give them a legitimate chance to ascend when it matters most.