“The goal is not to build a wild card team or a team that can make the playoffs,” [MacFarland] said. “It’s really hard to do. Don’t get me wrong. But our goal is to methodically build a team that can get into that window where we’re hopefully competing or having a chance to win the big prize, so what we’re going to try to focus on day by day is that process.” - Nashville Predators President of Hockey Ops and GM Chris MacFarland to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika
September is here and a new era for the Nashville Predators is close to taking the ice. From the front office to the roster the changes made by new General Manager Chris MacFarland have been extensive. In the front office MacFarland has hired 5 new members to his leadership team building a very experienced group with a heavier focus on analytics. On the roster, MacFarland made a number of moves to add a young scoring forward and defensive stability to the bottom 6 forwards. All that change also leads to a number of questions that won’t be answered for some time. So before training camp starts in a couple weeks let’s take a look back at an offseason of change in Nashville.
Major Questions Ahead of Camp
How does the roster strategy / direction of the franchise change? Based on the quote above and the moves so far, Chris MacFarland appears to have no intention of tearing this Predators team down to the studs but is realistic about where the team stands. It is likely much more will be known as 2027 approaches and we see where this Predators team stands.
Is Chris MacFarland done? For the immediate near term, I think yes. Chris MacFarland will likely want to see how this new group comes together and reacts to the coaching staff. So unless something falls into his lap I don’t think there will be any moves of significance until closer to Thanksgiving. That being said, if the team starts slow again then all bets are off at what changes could be on the horizon. (author’s note: Luke Evangelista was traded literally seconds after this was published)
Where will all these new players fit? The biggest positive to the roster from the new additions is flexibility. Ross Colton, Mavrik Bourque and Alex Kerfoot have all played both center and wing. Colton, Bourque and Hoglander can all play different roles across the lineup as well. Personally I would love to see a 3rd line of Colton, Drury and Hoglander to start the season. Defensively, Ilya Lyubushkin being right handed and more of a stay at home type player gives more pairing and matchup flexibility as well.
Which prospect(s) will grab a roster spot? The most likely answers are Brady Martin and Ryan Ufko. Martin made the roster out of camp last season and Ufko played relevant minutes down the stretch so there is precedent. The wild card is Vitali Pinchuk. While he’s not exactly a traditional prospect having played multiple KHL seasons, he’s still on the younger side and learning the NHL game. If he can show productive tendencies in Predators training camp it adds a whole new wrinkle to how the roster will shake out.
Key Additions
Front Office - Rob Blake (Executive VP of Hockey Ops), Vukie Mpofu (Assistant GM), Jamie Langenbrunner (Special Assistant to the GM), Dawson Sprigings (Assistant to the GM)
Forwards - Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nils Hoglander, Alex Kerfoot, Vitali Pinchuk, Adam Edstrom
Defense - Ilya Lyubushkin
Key Subtractions
Front Office - Brian Poile (Assistant GM), Jeff Kealty (Assistant GM)
Forwards - Erik Haula, Fyodor Svechkov, Zach L’Heureux
Key Dates
Rookie Camp Opens - September 11
Prospect Tournament - September 13-14
Training Camp Opens - September 16
First Preseason Game - September 20
If nothing else, there should be plenty of intrigue among the Predators fanbase of what this team could be. With the changes made to the roster made by Chris MacFarland, if nothing else the floor is raised for what this team should be. What remains to be seen is just where the ceiling can be. If this group cannot reach it, expect even more changes coming from a new look front office. A new era has arrived in Nashville and now we get to see what it looks like on the ice.
