Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban have the Nashville Predators looking like contenders
Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban have the Nashville Predators looking like contenders.
The Nashville Predators are a talented team that performed well below expectations during the 2016-17 NHL regular season. However, the performances of Ryan Johansen and P.K. Subban have the Preds looking like serious candidates to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Nashville has been less than bashful over the last two years about trading away big names. Many experts out there criticized their decision to part with Seth Jones, a young defenseman with a massively high ceiling, for a center who many have claimed to be lazy — Ryan Johnasen. But the doubters have fallen silent on that front. The same hate came out when the organization traded away fan-favorite Shea Weber for P.K. Subban. And just like before, the haters have gone silent.
Aside from the fact that both Subban and Johansen are arguably two of the best at their respective positions, they have had a massive impact on the attitude and play style of the Preds. Johansen has brought a creative force at center that Nashville previously lacked. As for Subban, the Preds didn’t take a step down in talent while adding a superstar personality that seems to be gelling perfectly with the organization and the fan base in The Music City.
Ryan Johansen
Johansen was frequently criticized during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets for going missing on the defensive end. It was this exact characteristic that saw him quickly fall out of favor with head coach John Tortorella, who loves his players to play an end-to-end style of hockey — something that Johansen has seemed rather incapable of since coming to the NHL.
Despite his defensive shortcomings, he has fit like a glove since arriving in Nashville. The strength on the back end, and the willingness of the coaching staff to work with his playing style has paid major dividends for both Johansen and the Predators. This can be made clear by the fact that Johansen has 22 goals and 73 assists in 124 games since finding his new home. Add that to his 7.21 Rel.CF% (Relative Corsi-For Percentage) from this season, and it becomes apparent that Johansen has had a serious impact on Nashville.
It was obvious to see that Nashville had a very talented squad at their disposal before the arrival of Johansen. What they really lacked was a truly top centerman, and they have found just that. For this, no one should underplay the impact that Johansen has had in turning the Preds into serious Stanley Cup contenders.
P.K. Subban
Subban was met with a sense of cautious optimism in The Music City. It is understandable, as trading someone like Shea Weber isn’t an easy thing to do. Sending away a player who has defined your organization for over a decade is obviously going to be met with some anxious fans. But when you bring in another elite talent, with an arguably more marketable attitude, you’re going to draw in fans you may have previously missed out on.
With all talks of marketability being tossed aside, P.K. Subban has fit like a glove. Paired on the first pairing alongside Roman Josi, Subban has had a significant impact on a Nashville roster that was already staunch on the back end. And even with all of the criticism of his high-risk, high-reward style of defense, the fans have come to love him in only a single season, and rightly so.
Subban only played in 66 games this season for the Predators, but was able to score 10 goals and add 30 assists to his 40-point season. On top of that, his 4.09 Rel.CF% was third on the entire team, trailing only Viktor Arvidsson (5.18) and the aforementioned Johansen. These numbers point to a sustainable future of elite play on the blue line for the Preds. And with Subban playing healthy now, he is undeniably a massive factor in their current Stanley Cup Playoff run.
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What’s in store
The future, both immediate and the foreseeable, is a bright one for the Nashville Predators. Not only do they now have an elite top center with the ability to create offense, but they also have a fantastic defenseman with high end point production to compliment Josi. It is because of these two, and the core they already had in place, that the Nashville Predators are looking like serious contenders to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.
All statistics courtesy of HockeyDB, and all analytics courtesy of Corsica.hockey