When is the Nashville Predators' Window to Win?

Every team has a window to win the Stanley Cup. Sometimes that window is very short, while others can keep it open for a number of years or re-open it very soon after it ends with proper re-tooling.

In the Nashville Predators' case, it has been open a few times since entering in 1998-99. Between the 2003-04 and the 2011-12 seasons, the Predators made the playoffs seven times, finishing second or better in their division five of those times, but only hitting 50 wins once. I wouldn't consider Nashville in their window to win that entire time as there were two clearer small windows.

The first was 2005-06 to 2006-07 where the team finished with 106 and 110 points, but failed to do anything with that as they were eliminated both seasons in the first round. Three seasons later the Predators had another window to win where they finished with 100, 99, and 104 points and actually made it out of the first round in the second and third seasons. Unfortunately, that is as far as they got.

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The third and most recent window to win the Stanley Cup was between 2014-15 and 2018-19. The Predators won their division twice, had a 117 point season, made it out of the first round three times, and lost in the Stanley Cup Final. This was Peter Laviolette's only five full seasons as head coach of the Predators. A five-year window to win is great for any team, but not every team can take advantage of it since there are now 31 other teams competing for the same goal, albeit not all at the same time.

So, when is the Predators' next Stanley Cup window going to be? Are we already in it? Despite the 18-game point streak and Nashville about to clinch a playoff spot this season, there are too many stronger teams for them to be considered a Stanley Cup contender. That isn't to say they don't have a chance, because they absolutely do, but the lineup needs to be better to be considered a real contender in their window.

There are three players who ensure the Predators can open that window very shortly, and that's Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Juuse Saros. While Forsberg is just 29 years old, he still has time before he starts to decline.

Josi, on the other hand, doesn't have that much time. He should currently be given votes for both the Norris Trophy and the Hart Trophy and is over a point-per-game while greatly impacting every other aspect. He will be 34 years old in two months and it's anyone's guess when he might drop off. Talent like Josi doesn't come along very often and great teams need help from the back-end. There is no immediate replacement for him either, so a Stanley Cup window will have to be with Josi in the mix.

Assuming the Predators can keep Saros around and head into the next few seasons with Josi, Forsberg, and Saros, that is their best bet to win. They have two elite players in their primes, Josi right before his expected drop-off, and anything else they can complement the team with. There are a good number of talented prospects and young players already in the mix. A couple could break out or force themselves into larger roles. There are some key pieces that aren't getting any younger like Ryan O'Reilly, Gustav Nyquist, and Ryan McDonagh, but the Predators will also have a lot of cap room to work with and potentially bring in a big free agent or make a big trade to open up that window.

By analyzing the contracts, ages, and impactful players already on the team and potentially on their way, it is likely that the Predators' next window to win will be in 1-2 years and last for two years at the most. Depending on what happens and how players age/contracts work out, it could open back up soon after for longer. This is also just an educated guess as the team could struggle when they are supposed to succeed or fail to adequately bolster the lineup. The great thing about the NHL is that anything can happen, including the Predators winning the Stanley Cup this season.

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