The Nashville Predators stole all of the headlines on free agency day

The Nashville Predators won the day. Coming into free agency, some good players were looking for new NHL homes. Some of the very best ones decided that they wanted Nashville to be their new home. 

It started when they signed Steven Stamkos. That’s right. The Tampa Bay Lightning legend is headed up to Nashville to play the next few years of his career with a new team. 

Stamkos is one of the greatest players to ever dawn an NHL sweater. Throughout his career, he has won the Stanley Cup twice and has won the Rocket Richard as the league’s leading goal scorer twice. 

Over 1082 games, Stamkos has scored 555 goals and has 582 assists for 1137 points. He has transitioned to a winger as he has gotten older but he will bring plenty of offense (especially using his elite shot to score) to this already good Predators squad. 

The Nashville Predators had themselves a big day on Monday 

The second-best forward on the free agent market was Jonathan Marchesseault. He had a cup of coffee with a few other organizations early in his career but the best thing that ever happened to him was being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in their expansion draft. 

There, he became a high-end offensive player. He helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. He was so good that he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. The follow-up act was a 2023-24 season in which he scored 42 goals and had 27 assists for 69 points in 82 games.

This is relevant because the Predators didn’t stop at Stamkos. They also signed Marchessault which means they got the two best offensive players available. That is 82 goals from last year being added to the lineup. 

The Predators got Alexander Carrier on a three-year deal as well. He helps them have some good depth up front.  

Nashville’s forward group is more than solidified now. It is a unit that could compete for the Stanley Cup if everyone lives up to their hype, including the players that they already have. 

Brady Skjei has been an outstanding defenseman throughout his career. Now, he’s headed to Nashville as well which makes their defense core even better. With a guy like Roman Josi already in the lineup, Skjei should fit right into that group. 

Nashville gave Jussi Saros, their star goaltender, a contract extension. Now, we know he is the guy going forward. It has started rumors that Akira Askarov, their top goalie prospect, may be traded soon. 

They still need an NHL backup goalie though so they went out and signed one. They ended up with Scott Wedgewood who was great last year for the Dallas Stars. Now, he is in Nashville looking to play as much as possible. 

It is shocking to see this all from one team. An already playoff-worthy team went out and made their team so much better. Don’t be surprised if this day plays a big role in them being one of the elites in the Western Conference again going forward.