The Nashville Predators were not picked by many to even make the playoffs this season, never mind qualify as the 12th team and do so with three games remaining. This was not a one man effort and it took overcoming adversity and stellar team play to get it done.
The season is far from over as the Predators have a job to do in the postseason, likely facing the Vancouver Canucks or Dallas Stars in the first round. But as there are some clear team MVP candidates this season as certain players had the most impact on why Nashville qualified for the postseason, there are many more players who added to the success as well.
After going a new direction up front and not only buying out Matt Duchene, but trading Ryan Johansen as well, it looked like there were going to be a few years of struggles to make the playoffs for the Predators. This gave a ton of opportunity to players just breaking into the NHL like Tommy Novak and Luke Evangelista, but the experience wasn't on the same level.
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Experience is a key element in success in the NHL, and that's why teams like to have some veterans. As the season went on, the veterans on the roster increased. While adding Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist was overlooked by many, these two veterans brought a ton to the Predators this season, filling in big roles after most thought that their careers were on the decline. Fortunately for Nashville in a season where the young team needed them the most, both are having stellar seasons.
There are three clear team MVP for the Predators this season; one from each position. When building a team, the perfect building blocks are to have an elite forward, defenseman, and goalie. This is what the Predators have in Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros. While you could argue only Forsberg is having a career year, Josi is having a Hart-type performance and Saros has been lights out for a lot of the season even if the numbers overall don't indicate that.
Forsberg has tied the franchise-high in goals for a season with 43 already to go along with five more points than his career high with three games remaining. While Josi is 16 points from his historic season from 2021-22, he has had just as much of an impact on the Predators this season. Saros' last three seasons have been Vezina-quality, but it is very difficult for a goaltender to stay at that high of a level year after year. Some bad starts have hurt him this season through the growing pains of the team, but in general, the starter's numbers are still strong.
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It took a while for the team to learn the system Andrew Brunette implemented, but when they did, the season took a turn and the Predators got points in 18 straight games (16-0-2) and solidified their playoff hopes. On paper it may not seem like the Predators are a playoff team, but playing the way they play while getting contributions throughout the lineup, they are a hard team to contain.
Players like Colton Sissons and Mark Jankowski have stepped up and played a much bigger role than they're used to, while Ryan McDonagh has been underappreciated this season.
The Predators got hot at the right time and overcame a 5-10-0 start that really had most counting them out this season. While many general managers might have called it a season and not upgraded their team in the spot Nashville was in, Barry Trotz trusted his group, added pieces, and it paid off. Every little part of the team contributed to a playoff berth in this unexpected, but very fun season.
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