Predators’ Poile preaches change, but how much is possible?

By John Glennon

Clearly still frustrated over his Predators' opening-round playoff loss to underdog Arizona, Nashville general manager David Poile wasted little time Thursday in announcing a need for change moving forward.

His words must have come as a relief to Predators fans who've seen the team's postseason fortunes steadily decline since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.

But does that mean we should expect the Predators to completely blow up their roster, transforming themselves into something hardly recognizable over the next few months? Anything's possible, sure. But I'm not sure I'd forecast a monstrous overhaul, in part because several hefty long-term contracts will probably keep much of the Preds' core in place.

Let's take a look, first, at the players who are – barring unexpected trades – all but certain to return.

Starting with the forwards, the top-line trio of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson redeemed themselves to some degree in the playoff loss, once again looking like an elite NHL grouping. Johansen and Forsberg tied for the team lead with five points in a four-game series, while a healthy Arvidsson scored three goals, tied for the team lead with Forsberg.

Was that enough to make us forget Johansen and Arvidsson suffered huge drops in their points-per-game average during the 2019-20 regular season, or that Forsberg remained a streaky goal-scorer? No . . .

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Author: John GlennonMulti-media journalist with extensive expertise covering the NFL, NHL, professional soccer and more, including the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators for The Tennessean with articles, videos and podcasts. Strengths include the ability to write quick, concise and thorough analysis, as well as the ability to uncover unique human-interest stories. In working as a reporter, John developed skills that extend beyond the sports journalism world. An efficient and effective communicator, John is confident, calm and productive under deadline pressure and knows the power of the written word. John brings to Broadway Sports a work ethic second to none, an intellectual hunger, and an ability to inform and entertain readers, viewers and listeners. Reach out directly to John at: