Hockey fans are well familiar with this story by now. Nashville Predators win NHL free agency With three major steps on July 1. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault join the Predators To strengthen the top six forward group. And Brady Skee signs seven-year contract To give Roman Josi a reliable partner in the top pair.
The Predators began the 2024–25 season against the Dallas Stars. And things did not start in the right direction. Stars hand season-opening loss to Nashville By the score of 4-3. Losing the opening game of the season is no surprise. However, Nashville’s status as one of two winless teams to start the year is a bit surprising.
The Predators and San Jose Sharks have started the season without a win. In saying that, the two teams are not completely alike. The Sharks have two points on the season due to an overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues and a shootout loss to the Stars. Meanwhile, the Predators have not registered a single point yet this season.
nashville, Like the rest of the players in the leagueIs Taking part in the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy on TuesdayThis is their next chance to finally get into the win column. However, before the puck drops on Tuesday night, here are two reasons the Predators will be winless in 2024-25.
Predators’ free agency trio still adjusting
Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Scheie certainly raise expectations for whichever team they sign with. As a result, fans expected Nashville’s expensive trio to make an immediate impact on the ice. However, the Predators haven’t seen this immediate impact through their first five games.
To be fair, Marchessault has contributed offensively. He is one of the team leaders with a goal and four points in these first six games. However, half of these points came in a season-opening defeat to the Stars on 10 October.
Stamkos and Skjei, meanwhile, have provided less solid impact. Stamkos scored his first goal as a Predators player on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. Skjei has recorded one assist in his first six games with Nashville.
This does not mean that these three players are playing very badly. In fact, there is some underlying evidence to suggest that they may play better. For example, according to Evolving Hockey, Stamkos leads all Predators skaters with a 3.09 individual expected goals.
The overall thing is that all three are still adjusting to their new team. Once they become comfortable, each player should start to feel their impact. And with these three players moving forward, the Predators will definitely see better results.
Nashville had trouble stopping goals.
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Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Scheie are expected to play key roles for the Predators. However, they won’t be the only reason for this team playing well. Nashville had a strong talent list prior to entering NHL free agency. And so far, the entire team has not performed well.
One particular area where the team struggled was in preventing goals. According to ESPN, the Predators have allowed the seventh-most goals so far this year. Additionally, only two teams have ever had a goaltender save percentage lower than Nashville.
The deeper you look the more obvious this problem becomes. For example, according to Evolving Hockey, the Predators have allowed the second-most goals per 60 minutes at 5v5. By the start of the season only the Philadelphia Flyers had a higher GA/60 at 5v5. Additionally, Nashville has the second lowest on-ice save percentage ever at 5v5.
To be fair, the Predators certainly haven’t produced a great offensive effort. But it doesn’t matter how many goals they score if they can’t keep the puck out of their own net. If Nashville wants to make a run in the playoff race as the season progresses, they will need to find a way to limit the goals they give up as soon as possible.
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