Much like the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Nashville Predators also narrowly missed out on the playoffs – the Winnipeg Jets had 95 points and the Preds finished with 92. Like the Jets, the Predators have a rockstar goalie who was let down by his coach and his teammates. Veteran Predators stars like Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, and Filip Forsberg are all going to be coming out of their athletic primes, so it would be wise for the Predators to upgrade in a weak Western Conference without compromising their future endeavors.
The 24th overall pick might not be as high of a pick as Daniel Briere might be hoping to get in exchange for Scott Laughton, but it’s fair value at the end of the day. Laughton is a decent player who offers a lot, but he’s just not a star. The 2022-23 season was the only such season in which Laughton surpassed 40 points. Laughton’s previous career-high was just 32, back in the 2018-19 season. The Nashville Predators just poached their new head coach Andrew Brunette from the New Jersey Devils, and Brunette’s first order of business should be asking Barry Trotz for an upgrade for his third line. Center Tommy Novak had a breakout season with 43 points in just 51 games, but teammates Yakov Trenin and Colton Sissons combined for just 54 in 77 and 82 games played, respectively.
I'm going to go ahead and say it: Quentin Musty has a pretty decent shot pic.twitter.com/TNhUhc3BC2
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) August 1, 2022
The Predators’ top-six appears set with Forsberg, Johansen, Duchene, and the likes of breakout phenoms Cody Glass, Luke Evangelista, and Phil Tomasino, but the rest of their forward group needs a facelift. After giving away former first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen on waivers, the Predators can’t afford anymore slip-ups as they seek to remain in playoff contention. It would be wise for the Preds to target a safe bet like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Scott Laughton.