Training Camp is just weeks away, and a new season of Preds hockey is right around the corner.
As General Manager Barry Trotz enters his first season at the helm and Head Coach Andrew Brunette enters his first behind the bench, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2023-24 Nashville Predators.
The 2023 NHL trade deadline in March created a domino effect for the Preds, setting off a series of roster moves that spilled into the offseason. The result? A team that looks very different than it did this time last year. This year’s training camp will serve as a clean slate of sorts for Trotz and the coaching staff, as well as for the players competing for the substantial number of roster spots that are still very much up for grabs.
Roster construction can be like a game of Tetris, maddeningly complex with a seemingly infinite number of potential moves. Add in the details of contracts and waivers, and the process becomes infinitely more complicated. While no one – no, not even the Predators front office – knows for certain what the rosters for the Predators and their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee will look like on Opening Night, we can begin to break the roster down and examine the options at each position on the ice.
We’re breaking down the Predators roster from the crease out, so let’s move now to the blueline. We have already looked at the key pieces on the wing, so let’s round things out with the Preds options down the middle in 2023-24:
