![]() ![]() How are they going to pull that off, with a core of almost exclusively veteran players, including some on contracts that a portion of the fan base bemoans on a regular basis? A new general manager is going to have the authority to make changes as they see fit, but the plan will not include dismantling the roster with the intention of gaining high draft picks for the next few years. The Sharks have made it clear they want to move forward, not backward next season. The team got younger and faster, and the Predators collected more points per game than they had since finishing with 100 in 2018-19. Three rookies all played key roles in trying to replace the contributions lost when Ellis and Arvidsson were moved. Players who were on contracts that Predators fans had complained about for years produced like they are being paid to do. Several of the most important veteran players had career offensive seasons. It was the best offensive season in club history. The Predators responded this season with 97 points. The best goalie in franchise history retired, though his understudy had already replaced him in the leading role. Nashville did trade two key players last offseason - Ryan Ellis to Philadelphia and Viktor Arvidsson to Los Angeles. ![]() Just getting in and losing right away does not meet the expectations created during the club’s trip to the final in 2017. They also won six of their last eight games last year to edge out Dallas for the last spot in the reconfigured Central Division. Nashville’s place among the top teams has been slipping away, though the Predators did manage to earn an invite to the expanded playoffs in 2020 after firing coach Peter Laviolette midseason. That’s exactly what we hope for next year for sure.”īefore everyone starts to point out the flaws in the Nashville-San Jose comparison, because it is admittedly not apples to apples, let’s look back to where the Predators have been recently. They’ve got some young guys who have come in and played really well, and that’s a big part of why they’re having success. “They’ve got a guy who is in the mix for the Norris (Trophy), and a few guys having career years. “I think so,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said when asked if the Predators’ success this season might be something the Sharks can replicate next year. And it is part of why the path the Sharks intend to pursue is complicated, and far from assured of being considered a success. That last sentence is likely to elicit a wide variety of responses, some quite emotional, from Sharks fans. Nashville might be the most similar franchise to San Jose in the NHL right now, though there are some other candidates.įor much of this season, Nashville provided something of a blueprint for San Jose to follow next year. Those first three sentences also describe the Nashville Predators, the other club the Penguins defeated to claim the Cup during their back-to-back championships in 20. Several of the core players from that team are still on the roster, but the results haven’t been the same of late and there is a significant portion of the fan base that wants big changes in an attempt to return to title contender status. Its best season concluded with a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final. Think of a relatively young NHL franchise that has built a tradition of winning, but has yet to claim the league’s ultimate prize.
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