There are few players, if any, that have been as impactful as a member of the Nashville Predators as defenseman Roman Josi.
The 6’1″ blueliner has been the Predators’ captain since September 2017, and he has led it well. With his guidance, Nashville has reached new heights, like winning the Presidents’ Trophy in the season immediately following its trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Now, Josi leads the Preds in a different way. After 12 seasons and 791 games, the 32-year-old has broken the franchise scoring record with 567 points.
No Predators player has scored more than Roman Josi.
Prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, David Legwand was at the top of that list with 566 points. Josi scored his seventh goal of the season to tie Legwand and then assisted on a goal later in the contest to stand alone at the top of the leaderboard.
It’s not normal for a team’s all-time leader in points to be a defenseman, but Josi is not a normal defenseman. Take last year for example, when he recorded an astounding 96 points (23 goals and 73 assists) in 80 games. He was a finalist for the Norris Trophy.
He is again producing at a high level in 2022-2023. His 25 points (seven goals and 18 assists) are tied for the most among Predators skaters this season. That is also one of the better totals by a defenseman in the NHL this year.
Josi contributes in all areas for Nashville, and his 25:25 time on ice per game leads all other Nashville skaters by nearly four minutes.
In his career, Josi, a second-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL draft, has played in 791 games en route to his record-setting 567 points. He has notched 147 goals and 420 assists in his career and is a plus-64. Josi has one Norris Trophy win on his resume, and that came in 2020.
He has been a part of some stout Predators defenses, filled in seamlessly for former captains Mike Fisher and Shea Weber upon their departures, and has been everything the Preds could ask for and more.
Without question, Josi’s career in Nashville is one for the history books. He is not only one of the best defensemen in franchise history, but he’s now the team’s leading scorer as well.