© Rebekah Mohrmann/Nashville Predators

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Nashville Predators.

The Nashville Predators surprised many by qualifying for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs but won’t be sneaking up on opponents this season.

The Predators were one of the busiest teams in free agency, signing forwards Steven Stamkos (four years, $32 million) and Jonathan Marchessault (five years, $27.5 million), and defenseman Brady Skjei (seven years, $49 million) to contracts July 1.

Stamkos and Marchessault each has won the Stanley Cup, which appears to be a realistic goal in Nashville after adding veterans to an already talented group.

“We want to win a Stanley Cup. That’s why we play the game,” Stamkos said at his introductory press conference July 15. “I think some people are sometimes afraid to say that and it heightens expectations, but at the end of the day, I’ve always been a big believer that you have to believe you can do it in order to achieve it.”

Last season, the top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist combined for 97 goals and 238 points and were Nashville’s top three scorers among forwards. Roman Josi (85 points) was third among NHL defenseman in scoring and Juuse Saros won 35 games and finished fifth in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL.

“When looking at the team that Nashville had last year, the amazing run they went on and maybe some unfortunate breaks in the playoffs, not being able to advance further, but the building blocks were here,” Stamkos said. “You look at elite goaltending, you look at elite defensemen, you look at elite forwards, they check those boxes off.

“Then the excitement of free agency and adding the players that were added here, not only for their skill set on the ice but the character they bring into the room, the experience they have of winning Stanley Cups or going far in the playoffs, you can never have enough of those guys as well. The expectation will be to make the playoffs and go on a run. That’s a pretty fair assessment of what this group can accomplish.”

Under first-year coach Andrew Brunette, the Predators started 5-10-0 before winning 13 of their next 16 to turn the season around. They also had an 18-game point streak (16-0-2) from Feb. 17-March 28, but lost the Western Conference First Round in six games to the Vancouver Canucks.

“Even before the signings on July 1,” Skjei said, “the youth in this organization, the skill they have up here, even in the (American Hockey League) in the farm system, the team is going to be good for a while and make playoff runs in the future. Like I said, adding the guys that we did on July 1st, just hopefully we can speed that up pretty quickly. I think it’s going to be a very exciting few years here in Nashville.”

Stamkos helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Cup in 2020 and 2021, and Marchessault won the Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. O’Reilly (2019, St. Louis Blues) and defenseman Luke Schenn (2020, 2021, Lightning) give the Predators a handful of champions who can help them get over the hump. They have lost their past six playoff series and won one since losing to the 2017 Cup Final in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The future is promising, and I just want to help the Preds to achieve their goal and I think we all have the same goal, which is to win,” Marchessault said. “… They reminded me last year of my first year as a Golden Knight (making a surprising run to the 2018 Final in their first NHL season), so it’s a good thing and hopefully the new guys can come in and help the team to get a championship. That is the goal here.”

Saros signed an eight-year, $61.92 million contract that begins in 2025-26 and Scott Wedgewood a two-year, $3 million contract July 1. Wedgewood advanced to the Western Conference Final each of the past two seasons with the Dallas Stars.

“When you bring in proven winners and guys who have been on deep runs, you’re right in the thick of it and ready to go at any point in time,” Wedgewood said. “You can’t not be excited. With the youth and the skill that this team possesses, it’s going to be fun to watch.”