THN.com’s Summer Splash series continues – and in this file, we’re focusing the spotlight on Team No. 23 in our rankings of teams’ off-seasons – the Nashville Predators.

In this team-by-team series, we’ve been analyzing every NHL team’s off-season, moving in reverse order from the teams that got the worst to the best, and the ones that finished in between those two poles. To create the rankings, we’re breaking down every organization’s notable additions and departures, including trades, free-agent acquisitions, departures, and hirings and firings if applicable.

We’re now moving into the stretch of teams that have more or less stayed the same this summer. At the end of this article, you’ll see the teams that finished beneath the Predators. But for the moment, the focus is entirely on the Preds.

Additions

Erik Haula (LW), Nicolas Hague (D), Nick Perbix (D) 

The Breakdown: The Predators were a massive letdown last season, finishing seventh in the Central Division – their worst finish since they finished sixth in the division in 2013-14. As a result, some observers were expecting Preds GM Barry Trotz to make extensive changes to their roster this summer, but that hasn’t happened.

Instead, Trotz went out and acquired Haula in a trade with New Jersey. After that, he traded for former Vegas Golden Knights D-man Hague, and finally, he signed former Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner Perbix to a two-year deal carrying an average annual salary cap hit of $2.75 million. Haula will contribute to Nashville’s bottom-six group of forwards, while Hague and Perbix will firm up the Predators’ defense corps. 

Other than that, this is largely the same Predators team that underachieved greatly last year. Trotz did hang onto $10.1 million in salary cap space, so more moves may eventually be coming for Nashville. But Trotz is banking on a revamped group of defensemen to improve what was the NHL’s sixth-worst defense last season, averaging 3.34 goals-against per game.

Departures

Colton Sissons (C), Jakub Vrana (LW), Kieffer Bellows (LW), Jeremy Lauzon (D), Marc Del Gaizo (D)

The Breakdown: There are few departures from the Predators – at least, when it comes to players who were notable performers in Nashville last season. Sissons was the most-utilized player who is now a former Predator, but even then, Sissons was a fourth-liner who posted just seven goals and 21 points in 72 games. Preds management hasn’t lost all that much this off-season, but you won’t find an NHL team that hasn’t lost a handful of players one way or another.

Three of the four departing Preds players were forwards, while the other two were fringe defensemen. And the additions of Hague and Perbix will cover off any drop-off in play resulting from those changes at forward.

Trotz has shown in his time running the Predators that he’s not afraid to swing for the fences, mostly when it comes to free-agent acquisitions like star forward Steven Stamkos, winger Jonathan Marchessault, center Ryan O’Reilly and defenseman Brady Skjei, but those moves last season did not lead to playoff success. So Trotz is moving in the other direction and doubling down on his 2024-25 roster.

The Bottom Line

The Predators play in arguably the NHL’s toughest division in the Central Division, so getting back into the playoff picture will be a serious challenge. But if star defenseman Roman Josi can return to action after dealing with a nervous system disorder last year, and if Trotz’s changes to his group of blueliners improve Nashville’s back end, the Preds should be more competitive in 2025-26.

Still, for the purposes of this Summer Splash ranking, we have to note that the Predators essentially have stayed the same. The losses they’ve dealt with up front have been traded off by the improvements they’ve made in their own zone. And Nashville now has to hope for a better result in the win/loss columns next season.

If the Preds hadn’t made those two additions on defense, they’d have finished at or near the bottom of these rankings. But even with Hague and Perbix in tow, Nashville feels very much like a team that’s running it back with the same lineup and hoping for better results. Father Time will render his own judgment on that approach, but for the moment, Trotz will be counting on the benefit of the doubt in the hope he can turn things around after one terrible year.

Summer Splash Rankings

23. Nashville Predators

24. New York Islanders

25. Tampa Bay Lightning

26. Toronto Maple Leafs

27. Dallas Stars

28. Calgary Flames

29. Los Angeles Kings

30. Winnipeg Jets

31. Chicago Blackhawks

32. Buffalo Sabres

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

Veteran winger Max Pacioretty, who spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Montreal Canadiens, flipped the script for the 2024-25 NHL season, signing a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His regular season was rather uneventful as he missed all but 37 games, mostly due to injury. However, when the playoffs rolled around, the 36-year-old was arguably one of the Leafs' top performers, putting up three goals and eight points in 11 games.

While it initially appeared that Pacioretty might choose to retire from the NHL after the playoffs wrapped up, that may not be the case, as it was reported back in June that the Leafs and Pacioretty have mutual interest in teaming up for another season.

But what do you think? Will Pacioretty return to Toronto, head to another team or will he ultimately choose to retire? 

The key to having a successful team in the NHL is drafting and developing young players so they can someday lead their team to glory, and some teams are way ahead of the game when it comes to young talent and a young core.

Here are the top six teams with the best under-25 cores in the NHL.

Montreal Canadiens

Cole Caufield (RW), Lane Hutson (D), Juraj Slafkovsky (LW), Alex Newhook (LW/C), Zack Bolduc (RW/C), Ivan Demidov (RW), Kaiden Guhle (D), Jakub Dobes (G)

The Montreal Canadiens have been increasingly threatening over the years, especially last season, when they made the playoffs after a three-year drought. 

However, GM Kent Hughes and the Habs are just getting started as they have plenty of fun years ahead of them with the young roster they’ve got.

According to eliteprospects.com, the Canadiens are the youngest team in the league for this upcoming campaign, with an average age of 25.35. Their U-25 core consists of several elite players, including Cole Caufield, who recorded his first 70-point season, and Lane Hutson, who is coming off a Calder Trophy-winning season.

With that, Martin St. Louis’ team has an abundance of skill around their main guys, and that’s what puts them at the top of the list.

The 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, along with Alex Newhook, Ivan Demidov and newly acquired Zack Bolduc, completes a loaded top-nine forward group for Montreal.

On the back end, Kaiden Guhle joins Hutson and 31-year-old Mike Matheson to fill out the left side of the Habs’ defense. Since his NHL debut in 2022, Guhle has averaged 20:52 of ice time in the regular season and 21:48 in the 2025 playoffs.

In addition, goaltender Jakub Dobes had his coming-out party this season, recording a 2.74 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Anaheim Ducks

Leo Carlsson (C), Mason McTavish (C), Cutter Gauthier (LW), Jackson LaCombe (D), Pavel Mintyukov (D), Olen Zellweger (D)

The Anaheim Ducks have not qualified for the playoffs in the last seven seasons. However, with the setup of their young roster and season-by-season progression, Ducks fans might not have to wait long until they see the post-season again. 

Next season,  players such as Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier will all be one year older and a little more seasoned. All three of those forwards registered their first 20-goal seasons, with McTavish scoring the most points of the three with 52.

In addition to the trio of forwards, Anaheim has a loaded left side on the blueline with Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. LaCombe has led the way from the back end for the Ducks, scoring 14 goals and 43 points in his second full season.

Along with those three left-defensemen, Drew Helleson is set to suit up for his sophomore season after scoring 13 points in 56 appearances last year. These four defensemen complete two-thirds of Anaheim's blueline.

Ottawa Senators

Tim Stutzle (LW/C), Jake Sanderson (D), Ridly Greig (LW/C), Dylan Cozens (C), Leevi Merilainen (G)

Compared to other teams in this article, the Ottawa Senators have a shorter list of U-25 players. However, there is no shortage of quality in their young core as they hold some of the best U-25 players in the entire league.

In addition, during NHL.com’s “Young Stars Week,” they made rankings of the top 10 forwards, defensemen and goaltenders, and each list had a Senator on it.

On the forwards and defensemen list, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson were ranked No.1 in their respective positions, and with great reason.

Stutzle and Sanderson are considered leaders on the Senators as much as captain Brady Tkachuk and veteran Claude Giroux are in terms of how they play on the ice.

Stutzle and Sanderson have the potential to compete for individual awards and milestones, with Sanderson finishing in the top 10 for Norris Trophy voting, while Stutzle is capable of reaching the 100-point mark over the years he has remaining in his young career.

With that, in the top 10 list of goaltenders under 25, Leevi Merilainen was ranked fourth on NHL.com’s list. The 22-year-old netminder is set to be Ottawa’s backup next season after recording a 1.99 GAA and .925 SP in 12 games last season.

It doesn’t stop there for the Senators as they have tremendous young center depth down their lineup. Ridly Greig and Dylan Cozens complete the Sens’ middle-six forward group with scoring and grit.

Philadelphia Flyers

Matvei Michkov (LW/RW), Trevor Zegras (LW/C), Bobby Brink (RW), Tyson Foerster (RW/LW), Jamie Drysdale (D), Cam York (D)

After a rough campaign last year, the youth of the Philadelphia Flyers will be looking to spark some new energy in Rick Tocchet’s first season behind the bench.

Leading the way in Philadelphia’s U-25 core is Matvei Michkov. The Russian was a top-five rookie in the NHL last season, equalling Macklin Celebrini’s 63 points for second-best in the league, and he also finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting.

Alongside him in the forward group is Trevor Zegras, who will be putting on the Flyers sweater for the first time next season after his trade from Anaheim. Zegras is looking to find his footing after his last two seasons were cut short.

Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster continue to rise after they recorded their first 40-point seasons last year, with Foerster scoring 25 goals. The two wingers will look to solidify their roles in the top six in 2025-26 under Tocchet.

As for the blueline, Jamie Drysdale and Cam York highlight Philly’s young D-core. Drysdale was able to play 70 games in his first season with the Flyers last year. He’ll want to get his development back on track after missing a chunk of games in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.

In some ways, York will also get a fresh start with a new voice behind the bench. Last season, there were reports about an altercation between York and former coach John Tortorella, which contributed to Tortorella’s firing. Now with Tocchet in play, York will have a chance to play more freely than before.

Utah Mammoth

Logan Cooley (C), Dylan Guenther (RW), JJ Peterka (RW)

The Utah Mammoth are an overlooked team at times, but with the elite young players they have, they won’t be an afterthought much longer. After finishing just seven points shy of a playoff spot, it’s not such a stretch to think Utah could make its first post-season appearance in franchise history next year.

Center Logan Cooley and right winger Dylan Guenther lead the way for the Mammoth’s young core. They both had breakout seasons with Cooley recording 25 goals and 65 points in 75 games, and Guenther scoring 27 goals and 60 points in 70 games.

With that, Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong made a splash and traded for right winger JJ Peterka from the Sabres. Similar to Cooley and Guenther, Peterka scored 27 goals and 68 points in 77 appearances for Buffalo last season.

While it’s not a long list, there is no denying that Armstrong’s club has an exciting trio up front and will be running Utah’s offense for years to come.

New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes (C), Dawson Mercer (RW/C), Luke Hughes (D), Simon Nemec (D)

The New Jersey Devils are a product of great drafting. They’ve developed their own talent and turned them into stars. Jack Hughes is a prime example of that

Not only is Hughes one of the best players on this list, but he’s also one of the top centers in the NHL. In his last three seasons, he’s recorded at least 70 points, including a 99-point campaign in 2022-23.

With that, Hughes was selected by Team USA to compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He was one of four players on that team who were under 25 years old.

Along with Jack, his brother Luke is also considered a member of New Jersey’s U-25 core as a defenseman. He registered two straight 40-point seasons to complete his entry-level phase as he looks for a new contract.

Also on the Devils’ back end is Slovakian D-man Simon Nemec. He was selected second overall in the 2022 draft, but hasn’t been able to find a rhythm in the NHL because of New Jersey’s blueline depth. Last season, he played just 27 games after a 60-game campaign in the season prior.

Dawson Mercer was shot out of a cannon when he entered the NHL in 2021-22, scoring 42 points in his first season and 56 points in his sophomore year. Since then, he has dipped mildly, but has shown resilience and durability as he’s never missed a regular-season game in his four-year career.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.