Skjei ‘super excited’ to team up with Stamkos, Marchessault on Predators

EDINA, Minn. -- The Nashville Predators have a roster that looks strong on paper. Brady Skjei is determined to make that strength extend to the ice when the defenseman joins veteran forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos in a few weeks at training camp.

Skjei, Stamkos and Marchessault each signed with Nashville on July 1. Stamkos signed a four-year contract, Marchessault five years, and Skjei seven.

“The team looks really, really good,” Skjei said Wednesday at Da Beauty League, a 4-on-4 summer league featuring collegiate and NHL players with ties to Minnesota. “Obviously a huge July 1 for the team. I mean, adding two guys (in Marchessault and Stamkos) that scored 40 goals last year is pretty impressive. So I’m super excited. I think the whole team is fired up. I can’t wait to get down there and meet all the guys.

“We have a lot of work to do, but I think we can have a good run.”

Skjei, 30, had an NHL career-high 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 80 games last season, leading Carolina Hurricanes defensemen. He also averaged 21:17 of ice time, the second-highest in his career and second among Carolina defensemen, and was one of eight NHL defensemen to score at least one power-play goal and one short-handed goal. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Skjei had nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 11 games.

Skjei is expected to be a part of Nashville’s top defense pair alongside Roman Josi. Josi had 85 points (23 goals, 62 assists) and was plus-12 in 82 games last season.

“Josi is a special, special player,” Skjei said. “He’s a guy that stands out every time you play against him. To be on the same team as him is going to be really special, and to kind of learn from him every day and pick up things to add to my game.

“To play with a guy like Josi every day is going to be a lot of fun.”

But it’s the offense that excites Skjei the most. Marchessault’s 42 goals last season tied for 11th in the NHL, and Stamkos’ 40 tied for 15th.

Between the two forwards there are three Stanley Cup championships and six appearances in the Stanley Cup Final (four for Stamkos, two for Marchessault).

Stamkos, who played his first 16 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and is their all-time leader in goals (555), points (1,137) and games played (1,082), helped Tampa Bay win two Stanley Cup championships (2020, 2021).

Marchessault, 33, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2023, when he helped the Golden Knights win the Cup.

The Predators have never won the Cup in their 25 seasons. Their lone Final appearance came in 2017, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Last season, Nashville had an 18-game point streak (16-0-2), the longest in its history, from Feb. 17-March 26 en route to clinching the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. The Predators lost to the Vancouver Canucks in six games in the first round.

“How can you not get excited with those two guys and those resumes,” Skjei said. “What they’ve been able to do in their careers, they are really important pieces to have on this team. They are huge pieces to have on the team. Those are the types of players you need on your side when you really are making a push at this thing.”

Skjei said the Predators are going to have to be determined to prove that the team is more than just a list of high-profile names.

“We have to go to work,” he said. “It’s hard work every season no matter who is on your team. You have to be ready to go to work and put the work in if you want to be successful. And we have the players that know how to do that. The players who will do that.

“We have the pieces to be a really good team for sure. I’m excited to show it.”