The Nashville Predators have had a rough start to the 2024-25 season, going winless in their first few games. Despite big offseason signings like Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the team has struggled to find their rhythm. Defensive issues, particularly allowing too many odd-man rushes, have left goalies Juuse Saros and Scott Wedgewood exposed. Offensively, the team has only managed one power-play goal in 12 opportunities, contributing to their slow start.
Stamkos, making his debut after 16 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, expressed optimism but acknowledged the team needs more time to build chemistry and find success. With big names on the roster, there’s hope that Nashville can turn things around as they continue to adjust and improve
49 Comments
dont hold on to your old junker players like stamkos.
I can't believe Barry Trotz hasn't planned 8 different team trips every 8 games just so he can cancel them already.
bros really thought the scoring came with the names
I think they just need to build chemistry. Skjei is used to playing on the Hurricanes with Pesce as his sidekick for years. Stamkos is obviously in a new environment, and Marchesault is adjusting as well after getting screwed by a team he carried to the cup.
They'll get there
You cant win stanley cup in first 10 games in a season, but you could lose it if you start doing rushed decisions and not trusting the team.
Pretty much any team will lose 5 games in row in some point of the season, but usually when it happens in beginning, it just get too much attention.
Not a fan of any of these teams but to be fair Detroit was extremely lucky to win that game and the preds are not as bad as their record suggest.
But I thought that there can't be any more goals called back.
If hell exists it's far worse than playing hockey in Nashville.
I am a huge Kraken fan, but even before then I've always loved the predators. This is very hard to watch.
I agreed though, they are an underrated fan base especially because Nashville has a solid winning history. Just no cup. They're a fun team to be a fan of for that very reason.
Pekka Rinne is too retired right now
Probably not too many of those lame chants in the crowd these days
All of a sudden, Tampa Bay is looking like a genius. :O Brutal, but Genius. Are they the next Golden Knights?
Everyone has these same conversations about teams doing bad at the start of the season and all I gotta say is 2019 st louis blues
This was very predictable. Everyone said I was nuts for saying they weren't that good.
The Stammer has made this team worse. How is that even possible?
It’s not (I guess).
No sympathy at all lol
Hiring mercenaries to your hockey team rarely benefits the team.
Sherwood.
He was the glue, and nobody knew it except the Canucks who had to play against him.
Nucks fan, deeply disappointed after we got a rivalry going last year. To think we may not meat in the playoffs ever again with these cores, really sucks.
We wings fans want an 40 game series with them
I tend to lean on younger players with fresh legs over veterans and players that have not won a Stanley Cup, I am a die hard Maple Leaf fan for over 50 years no stanley cup , on paper they they look awesome but they can’t put it together they need players with fresh legs
And here I thought he was in Nashville lol
Better start saving for college.
Nashville fans underappreciated by who? The players? You make no sense
i thought nashville would become a powerhouse after the offseason they had but i think they still need time for everyone to adjust to their system
Nashville has the worst uniforms in the league. YIKES.
Smashville is a fun place to watch a game. Stammer will come around he sometimes gets off to a slow start. I have no doubt that nashville will be there in the playoffs at the end of the year.
He should have stayed in Tampa.
He got too greedy and God punished him.
I am SHOCKED how bad NSH is so far this year.
Not stamkos fault that their goalie sucks…
The Preds are "Toast"! Perhaps next season?? Probably not, too old!
When is the next u2 concert
#fireandrewbrunette
In his career (1087 games), Stamkos has 336 even strength goals, 215 PP goals. That's 37% of his goals coming on the PP. The 5on5 / PP split for assists is similar. If the Preds can't play in the O-zone, Stammers numbers drop from great to just good.
We can all agree that a good chunk of stammers numbers in tampa were inflated by Kucherov in the end.. Having that guy on your line is a cheat code.
zero sympathy for Stamkos.
The Preds are like the San Jose Sharks at this point. They’re just not able to hang on to a lead. But either my mother or father said that Vítek Vaněček is better in goal for the Sharks than Mackenzie Blackwood. 🦈
That Askarov trade looking good huh?
Sorry for picking Saros for my fantasy team, he caught the ol' curse.
I was a doubter simply by virtue of my gut + being a Hawks fan. Didn't think it would actually pan out the way I thought it would…
Teams dont scout players before signing them? Two more goal scorers, on the old side, one pp merchant. Instead of young studs and maybe a playmaker
No surprise here or to anyone that closely follows the NHL I'm sure it';s been posted already but Stammer's HOF credentials are in the past. A wonderful player and truly a great guy from what everyone says. However he is nothing but a MINUS player 5 on 5 and what is he now? MINUS -6 already?? Still a super threat on the PP and I'm sure he will pump in 20 or more on the PP once they all settle in but that 5 on 5 is what brought Jake Guentzel to Tampa Bay and it will be quite an improvement. The GM knew what he was doing despite the public emotional outcry. Jake is fitting in real well so far and a PLUS 5 on 5 player.
It's the curse of big goalie contracts
why is everyone freaking out so much over stammer? He has been with one organization for 16 years and his initial plan was to make him a lifelong bolt and when you abruptly move to a new team it takes time to get adjusted properly. When you are with one organization for so long adjusting to another one is never easy. We are all human no one is perfect including him so people need to leave the poor guy alone. He might not be the alpha dog he was in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 or 2023 but he is still going very strong and he'll figure it out eventually. People need to learn how to be patient
I’ve also heard that Nashvilles system is particularly hard to learn per an interview with Gus Nyquist, so it makes sense that Stammer would need some time to adjust.
Poor Saros 😢
This year is really weird, Edmonton, vancouver, nashville, calgary, and a few others all performed opposite of how they were expected
No goals
Firstly, I said a few years back when Tampa let McDonagh go that they were going to miss him. Ryan made the defense better, and helps make goalies better. I called him a "second goalie" when he is on the ice. Well, he certainly helped Nashville get better and make Saros' numbers pretty damn good over the past few years. Blocking shots and clearing out rebounds helps a lot when you're a goalie. Now that he's back with Tampa, I think Vasy will have a better year statistically, but Nashville was going to feel the difference on the back end without him. Its great to have offensive defensemen, but you need an elite true defenseman, and that's Ryan McDonagh.
Secondly, Stamkos is a power play juggernaut at this point in his career, but 5 on 5 is a defensive liability, and that is already showing with Nashville. He has one goal and a -6 already on the season. As a Tampa fan, I will always love Stamkos, but over the past few seasons, he's been more of a defensive liability 5v5, and was a -21 last season, and a -5 the year before. 21-22 was the last season where Stamkos was a +25, ironically the last year Ryan McDonagh was with the Lightning. As long as Stamkos is in his wheelhouse, he'll score goals which is mainly on the PP. Again, Stammer will always be a bolt, but if the Lightning wanted to win another Cup, adding Guentzel, Moser, and Geekie have already proven to be pivotal. Was JBB's offer a slap in the face? Maybe, but with his play in Nashville, maybe the Preds overpaid for him.