The Nashville Predators Are All In On Winning Now

NHL free agency opened on Monday and Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz wasted no time making a big splash. In the span of a few hours, the Preds signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. As a lifelong fan, I can't recall Nashville ever being this aggressive in free agency.

The Predators Want To Win And Win Now

For years, the Nashville Predators have been about drafting well or trading for prospects and then developing the core of the team in-house. Sure they've gone after some big names in free agency and trades to bolster the lineup, PK Subban and Matt Duchene are the most recent examples, but they've never really brought multiple big names all at once. Well, that sure changed on Monday.

The Predators opened free agency by signing Marchessault to a five-year, $5.5M AAV contract. The former Golden Knight adds Stanley Cup-winning experience to a team looking to get over the hump.

But Barry wasn't done yet. Just minutes after the Marchessault deal was announced, Trotz surprised a lot of people by winning the Steven Stamkos sweepstakes. The former Bolt signed a four-year, $8M AAV deal to come to the Music City.

Two huge additions back to back. Some General Managers might call that a solid day at the office. But not Trotzy. The Preds announced yet another big addition in the form of Brady Skjei, signing him to a seven-year, $7M AAV contract.

The former Carolina blue-liner recorded 47 points last season. That would have been good enough for the second-most points for Nashville defensemen last season. He will bring some offense to a D-man group that only had two players record more than 21 points in 2023.

Trotz decided it was time to shake things up. This is a franchise that has not won a playoff series since 2018. After last year's disappointing postseason performance, it was beginning to feel like the Preds' window to make a run at Lord Stanley's Cup was almost officially closed. After all, Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi are not getting any younger. Trotz decided that it was time to strike while both were still in the prime of their careers. The Nashville Predators are officially in 'win now' mode.

Next season should be a lot of fun.

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