Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The Nashville Predators won’t be confused for a team that puts up three or four goals a game. Nashville is second-to-worst in the NHL scoring just 2.3 goals per game on average. There aren’t a lot of leaders on the roster right now except for Shea Weber, who is leading the team with points with 24 on defense.
Nashville is better than their record indicates, though. The Predators were 15-21-9 going into play on Monday after losing their last eight games. If Nashville could just score more, they would probably be in the playoff race.
That obviously didn’t happen this year. The loss of Ryan Suter is free agency hurt the back of the Nashville defense and the offense didn’t pick up the slack. Weber is going to need to be this team’s leader for a long time to come and he has the talent to do that, but he needs help.
One year ago, Nashville looked like they were heading in the right direction and were well on their way to the playoffs. but it has been a quick and painful trip down the Western Conference standings. This offseason is going to be one where the team needs to decide what they want to do next with the roster.
Weber is under contract for the next 13 seasons, and the team isn’t going to trade him. It has been a bad season with injuries, which has hampered the team’s ability to produce. I would assume that a season with a healthy group of players and Weber’s leadership in back will cause Nashville to go up in the standings next season.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
