Season Overview

Roman Josi is, in my opinion, the next man to have the C stitched onto his jersey after Fisher hangs up his skates. Why? Well, offensively, he totaled the 4th most points this season, and he has played at a level over the past three seasons that got him selected to participate in three straight All-Star games and put him in the Norris and Lady Byng conversation (for at least a little bit of the season).

Josi Since Becoming the Everyday 1st Line LD

His shooting percentage is not anything amazing, but it falls right in the middle of the pack with NHL defensemen this past season. He also took the 6th most shots of any defensemen in the league. He still managed to score the second highest number of goals by a Predators defenseman this season, and he continues to climb the ranks of franchise records in goals (18th), assists (6th), and points (8th).

What really set him apart this season, though, has little to do with stats.

It also doesn’t have anything to do with his top-secret modeling career either, but feel free to look at that image (or any others you can find) for as long as you’d like. Just make your way back here when you’re done.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed that. What struck me as special about Roman Josi’s season was the way he stepped up as a leader. He was not the only Predator to keep the team headed in the right direction, but he took the leadership role he had already been awarded and used it as a stage to do what needed to be done and lead the younger guys.

(As I typed that I thought about the fact that I literally just praised a 27 year-old for his leadership. This guy is and will be a cornerstone of the franchise for a long time, and that’s awesome.)

A lot of guys his age (at any position) like to try to be the flashy, heroic, goal-scorer or big-hitter while letting the over-30s be the voice in the locker room, but not Josi. He has grown up from the starstruck, 21-year-old linemate of a Nashville defensive legend into a budding local legend himself. I hope to see another decade of him in gold, filled with an endless number of these:

Best Moment of the Season

Gosh, there were so many. Like this one…

…when Josi corralled the loose puck and fired a GWG into a wide open net to beat the Ducks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. (Need I remind you that this goal came minutes after the Predators had TWO goals disallowed in less than 60 seconds?)

Or this one…

… when he tore the roof off of Bridgestone Arena by scoring the franchise’s first ever home Stanley Cup goal.

Worst Moment of the Season

He’s had a season that was almost as good as his last one. It was hard to find a worst moment of the season… at least until I remembered the game against the Bruins in January.

Anton Blidh five-minute major on Roman Josi. #Preds pic.twitter.com/bFgd0LvV3b

— Mark Harris (@TweetsByHarris) January 13, 2017

Josi would miss about three weeks of the season, including nine games, after an apparent head injury. There were reports that this was the 7th concussion in his career, which is concerning.

Trending Up or Down?

Up. Josi has had three straight ASG appearances, and the year before those wasn’t too bad either. As GMDP and Coach Laviolette’s dream of having a group where anyone on the ice can lead the team into the offensive zone, look for Josi to have another 40-point season, and don’t be surprised when he’s heading to Tampa at the end of January.

FINAL GRADE: A

As one-half of an extremely prolific defensive first-line, Roman Josi put forth a great 2016-2017 campaign. He found ways to score when the team needed him to, passed the puck better than some of the forwards on the team, and took charge in the locker room when Fisher was injured. He won’t be the next Shea Weber (there will never be another), but he’s the next best thing. And he’s ours for at least 3 more years. (The only reason he doesn’t get an A+ is because he had the 61-point masterpiece of a season in ’15-16.)

How would you grade Roman Josi’s season?