Nashville Predators: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

3. Do they need more depth?

Filip Forsberg has superstar potential and Viktor Arvidsson could score 30 goals next season. Ryan Johansen completes the top line trio. Kyle Turris and Nick Bonino give Nashville plenty of strength down the middle.

Craig Smith and Kevin Fiala are solid options flanking Turris on the second line. Both players scored over 20 goals last season. Fiala is just 21 years old with plenty of room to grow.

On paper, their top six is set. But did I mention that Dave Poile doesn’t rest until he’s broken the system and created the perfect team? Something went wrong for Nashville in the playoffs last year. They struggled to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche in the first round and were taken down by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. A second round flame out is not what Nashville had in mind when they won the President’s Trophy.

The top line did their part in the playoffs. They were failed by the guys behind them. Turris was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the playoffs, failing to find the back of the net in 13 games. There is little chance that Poile deals Turris less than a year after acquiring him, but Smith feels like a potential trade candidate.

Not only will Nashville hope that Ryan Hartman makes the leap, but Eeli Tolvanen is waiting in the wings, ready to explode. Plenty of teams are in the market for a 20-goal scorer on the right side of 30 with a fair contract.

No, the Predators don’t necessarily need more depth. But they could use Smith to acquire a reliable bottom six forward in order to move Tolvanen up the depth chart.

More than anything, they need the guys behind their top line to play better when it matters most.