Nashville is known as "Music City" because of it's rich history of country music. While it is steeped in tradition from an artistic standpoint, the fans of Tennessee's second largest city are some of the most vocal in all of sports. Nashville is home to Tennessee's NFL Titans and the NHL's Nashville Predators and though championships have eluded both clubs, there is no shortage of support for either.
The Predators showed up in Nashville in 1997, coincidentally the same time that the Houston Oilers packed their bags and headed up to the Cumberland River basin. The NHL put an expansion club in Nashville to grow the game of hockey and also because the city was a rapidly growing metropolitan area. While you can hardly call central Tennessee a hotbed for hockey development, the support for the Predators is undeniable.
The 2013 NHL season was unkind to the Nashville club. A slow start was the kiss of death for Coach Barry Trotz and his troops. Despite having one of the best goaltenders in the world, Pekka Rinne, the Predators were snake-bitten on a nightly basis in the goal scoring department. The Predators finished dead last in goals scored per game with 2.27 while conceding 2.77. A last place finish shouldn't be too surprising considering that major statistical disparity.
All signs point to a resurgence for Trotz and company with a full 82-game grind ahead for the NHL. The Predators season could not have ended worse, finishing the month of April with a 2-9-1 record. They were shutout three times at home during the final 12 games and only scored 24 goals in that time. They ended March with a winning record and a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. When their season wrapped 30 days later, they were contending for a lottery pick in the NHL Entry Draft.
Scoring will hopefully come easier this year for the defensive minded Predators. They have an abundance of youth on the roster including some young snipers. Patric Hornqvist, Filip Forsberg, Colin Wilson and Mike Fisher will anchor the offense with some capable assistance coming from Gabriel Bourque. Nashville won't be in the top 15 in scoring in the 2013-14 season either, but they'll collectively be more productive and hopefully stay healthy. Forsberg and Hornqvist in particular could have some big seasons.
Defense is where the strength of this club lies. Shea Weber is the captain, and by far the best player in Nashville. He'll be given the additional task of developing the Predator's top pick Seth Jones. Expect to see Jones skating on the top defensive line aside the curly Weber and learn the position at the NHL level. Roman Josi just signed a huge contract extension and will see time on the Nashville power play with his left handed shot. Kevin Klein and Ryan Ellis will occupy slots four and five on the defensive depth chart. Competition for playing time among some of the younger prospects will be fun to watch, but Jones is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
In goal Rinne will be the man per usual. He will steal an abundance of games for the Preds while keeping them in plenty of other games with his cat-like reflexes. Look for him to assume his post among the NHL's elite goaltenders.
Prediction: Fourth. Improvement will be steady but not quite playoff-ready.