Nashville Predators make major line swaps, including with Steven Stamkos, after 0-2 start

Following an 0-2 start to the season, the Nashville Predators have made a surprising change to their forward lineup.

Steven Stamkos, who had been at wing to start the season, practiced at center with Cole Smith and Jonathan Marchessault at Centennial Sportsplex on Monday.

Coach Andrew Brunette said the goal is to get Stamkos, who has yet to score for the Predators, more chances to get his game going.

"We thought we'd go (Stamkos) in the middle, see how that works," Brunette said. "It might help (Stamkos) get the puck a little bit more than what we've had."

While the move to center for Stamkos might not be shocking — he played there for most of his 16 years with the Tampa Bay Lightning — the addition of Smith to that line certainly is. A bottom-six forward with good size and speed, Smith is not seen as a playmaker with the puck. In 160 career games, he has 13 goals and 27 assists.

Though Stamkos skated with Tommy Novak and Colton Sissons at center previously, Brunette believes Smith's energy and physicality could help get Stamkos more room in the middle of the ice.

"(Smith) is a big engine, he does a lot of really good things out there," Brunette said. He also said the change might not be permanent.

"We'll reconvene (after practice), talk to (Stamkos), talk to some other guys," Brunette said. "It was kind of thrown together quickly this morning, so we'll see."

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Smith admitted he was surprised to see himself paired with Stamkos and Marchessault at practice. He said it was "pretty cool" to skate with them, but he's not going to change his approach.

"I can't change anything about my game," Smith said. "Whatever happens, happens. Just keep playing hard."

The Predators' next game is 7 p.m. CT Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville Predators forward lines and defense pairings

Stamkos' line wasn't the only change on Monday, as Mark Jankowski and Juuso Parssinen were both elevated from their previous roles. Here are the forward lines and defense combinations at the Predators' practice on Oct. 14:

Filip Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Gustav Nyquist

Cole Smith - Steven Stamkos - Jonathan Marchessault

Mark Jankowski - Tommy Novak - Luke Evangelista

Juuso Parssinen - Michael McCarron - Colton Sissons

Philip Tomasino extra

Roman Josi - Dante Fabbro

Brady Skjei - Luke Schenn

Jeremy Lauzon - Alex Carrier

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com . Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1 . Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators make major line swaps, including with Steven Stamkos, after 0-2 start