“Which players do yall feel have the most pressure on them coming into this season?” –@alex_kolstee
RK: The boring answer is Phil Tomasino. I’m going to go with Tommy Novak. An eye-opening tryout with Nashville last season has a lot looking forward to what Novak can do. Will he be impactful? Where’s the right place in the lineup for him? Can he play with speed, or is his skillset all about slowing down the game?
KR: In terms of this season in particular, I think I want to say Ryan O’Reilly. I think Rachel’s right in looking at the young players and how this season is likely to affect their careers, but from another angle, O’Reilly is replacing two fan-favorite players–at least one of whom had very little notice of and wasn’t happy about his departure–and was specifically brought in as a Conn Smythe winner, who’d been a captain on his previous team, in order to help change the Preds’ culture. There are going to be a lot of eyes on him.
“Is there potential to sign phil kessel?” –@TaylorB13739236
RK: I highly doubt Phil Kessel ever becomes a Predator. I’m sure a team will lock up the ironman when they’re faced with a training camp injury over the next week or so.
KR: I try never to say never, but I don’t feel like it’s terribly likely. Kessel–for better or for worse–doesn’t really feel like a Nashville kind of player, and it’s yet to be seen how much Barry Trotz is willing to change what that looks like. Besides, he’s no longer as young as he was (which of us are, right?), and speed and finesse often don’t age as well as strategy and shot volume.
“Lineups. Particularly the D pairs.” –@Rockets160 and “How will defensive pairings look?” –CGBrulez
RK: Here’s my best stab at D-pairs:
Josi-McDonagh
Carrier-Barrie
Fabbro-Schenn
When it comes to forward lines, I have no clue what we might see.
KR: Having the only two LD on the same pair, as Rachel has suggested, bugs me, but it’s true that Josi-McDonagh worked out fine last year, and I can see them not wanting to mess with that. I don’t think replacing McDonagh with Tyson Barrie would be a great fit for Josi, and I don’t love top pairing Luke Schenn. We’re going to have a more in-depth look at the team’s defense next week, which is going to include more thoughts about what might be the best choices.
As for the forwards, like Rachel, I’m not sure. There’ve been so many changes this summer, and part of Nashville’s offensive struggles over the seasons have to have been related to player usage as well as roster composition. Just because John Hynes would have done something doesn’t mean Andrew Brunette will.
“First line with Forsberg, Evangelista, and which center: The obvious choice O’Reilly, or the more daring choice Novak? (and why)” –CGBrulez
KR: I’m a cautious person by instinct. My own preference would be Novak with Forsberg and Evangelista, and O’Reilly on the second line, so that Forsberg and O’Reilly can use their proven talents to elevate the entire top six.
“Why is Parssinen always the one being pushed to wing instead of Novak. Novak is the inferior defensive player and provides little at the dot. Seems like an easier transition to wing of the 2.” –John76916013496
RK: This is an interesting point. Parssinnen could surely use a look at center during training camp, but it’s possible that John Hynes and coaches from last season only wanted the young Finn on the wing. Novak has extensive experience as a center in the AHL, but that doesn’t have to “stick” once he’s with the Predators.
KR: It’s also possible that Hynes and the other coaches had a strong preference for Novak at center, maybe because of his AHL experience there, or that there are aspects of Novak’s game at center–like his playmaking–that they wanted to encourage. The only player still on the roster who had more assists or primary assists than Novak last season is Josi, and while some of that may be because of his icetime and usage, he did still manage to accomplish a good bit with it.
“How do you guys see the D-corps rounding out? Will someone be traded?” –@darth_5
RK: It really is very crowded on Nashville’s blue line. To me, the best trade option would be someone like Tyson Barrie, a proven leader and not-too-old veteran. Without a trade, I fear we don’t see some of the youngsters in the lineup unless there are injuries to two or more d-men.
KR: I agree that I’d like to see the Preds flip one of their older supporting defenders, though I don’t have a particular preference as to whom. This team had a reputation when I got into hockey as being a factory for great defenders, and I’d love to see them get back to developing them. I know there’s a hard cap and that forwards are more important to success, but the Weber-Josi–Ekholm-Ellis years were really something special to me.