Predators Fall Flat After Big Offseason

In shocking fashion, Nashville Predators are the NHL's last team without a point.

Oct 19, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Jonathan Marchessault (81) skates as Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) pokes at the puck during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

After adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and more in the offseason, the Nashville Predators entered the regular season with nearly-unmatched hype. Nashville made a somewhat surprising playoff appearance last season, so to many, their big additions this offseason would lead to even better results.

To say the season hasn't gone as planned so far would be one hell of an understatement.

After a 5-2 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, the Predators are now 0-5-0 on the season and the NHL's last team with zero points. Even worse, they've been outscored 23-10 on the season and four of their games so far have been at home.

It's difficult to even pinpoint what's gone wrong, but let's try to boil it down as much as possible.

First, the Predators' shooting percentage is a league-worst 5.7 percent (per NHL.com) more than an entire point lower than the next-closest team, the Edmonton Oilers at 6.8 percent. That's an absurdly low percentage - no team shot below 8.3 percent last season - especially for a team with as much talent as Nashville.

Second, and on a related note, the Predators' power play currently ranks just 18th in the league at 18.8 percent, Nashville's power play hasn't been great for a long time, but adding Stamkos, who is known for his power-play one-timers from the left circle, should've helped it improve. Stamkos did score his first goal as a Predator on the power play Saturday, but it still wasn't enough to get the win.

Third, star goaltender Juuse Saros hasn't been playing anywhere close to his normal level. In four games, the former Vezina Trophy finalist has a .875 save percentage and a 3.46 goals against average, and he's one of the worst goalies in the league in terms of goals saved above expected. The Finnish netminder did miss the season opener on Oct. 10 with a lower-body injury, so it's very possible that it's still affecting him. Either way, his play has been costly.

Now that they've dug themselves into an early hole, the Predators face extremely long odds to get out of it. The last team to start 0-5-0 and make the playoffs was the 1995-96 Montreal Canadiens, who finished with a 40-32-10 record. However, that was in a league with 26 teams instead of 32 (the Predators didn't even exist at the time), so 90 points almost certainly won't qualify for the playoffs in the modern NHL.

If there's any silver lining, it's that the Predators vaulted themselves into a playoff contention last season with an 18-game point streak (16-0-2 record) from mid-February to late March. It's not an ideal situation to be in, but there's still some time to right the ship.

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