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When the NHL free agency period began back on July 1, who would’ve thought that the Nashville Predators would be the most prolific in signing the bigger names? In years past, the Preds have never seemed to be the type of team to sign the big players, relying more so on the players coming up through their system, or through trades. However, these last couple of years have looked different.

In his first two years as the team’s general manager, Barry Trotz has made quite a few moves to change the culture in Nashville. In the 2023 offseason, Trotz hired Andrew Brunette as head coach, who had only one previous year of head coaching experience. In his one year as the interim head coach of the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, Brunette’s team went 51-18-6 in the 75 games he coached, helping the team win the President’s Trophy.

During the free agency period of 2023, the Predators’ two best signings were center Ryan O’Reilly, who helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, and forward Gustav Nyquist. Nyquist would go on to have a career year in 2023-24, scoring 23 goals and recording 52 assists to tally a career-high 75 points. The two additions gelled well on a line with Filip Forsberg, who set a new franchise record for goals in a season with 48 and a career-high 94 points.

Overall, the 2023-24 Nashville Predators season was a roller coaster of emotions. Heading into their February 15 matchup with the Dallas Stars, the Preds were 27-24-2 and well outside of a playoff spot, where most experts expected them to be in the preseason. At this point of the season, the team was about to embark on a five-game road trip with one of their stops being in Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights, and where the team planned to attend a U2 concert at the Sphere.

However, the team seemed to forget about their game against Dallas, as the Predators suffered the worst home loss in franchise history in a 9-2 beatdown. Frustrated with his team’s performance, Trotz canceled the U2 concert trip. So, what happened next?

The team proceeded to go on the longest points streak in franchise history, going 16-0-2 in their next 18 games, which helped them reach the playoffs by season’s end.

Nashville would lose their first round series in six games to Vancouver, but overall, it seemed like the team was finally heading in the right direction.

Fast forward to July of 2024 and the Predators signed three of the biggest names on the market in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Stamkos was previously a long time member of the Tampa Bay Lightning for 16 seasons, having helped the team win two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. Coming off a 2023-24 season in which he scored 40 goals and 81 points, he will be a valuable addition to the Preds’ forward group.

Also bolstering the forward lineup is Marchessault, who was a teammate of Stamkos for two years from 2014 to 2016, a member of the 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights and he is coming off of a season in which he scored 67 points, including a career-high 42 goals.

Skjei will be looking to fill a hole in the Preds’ defensive pairings after coming off of a career year in Carolina where he scored 47 points.

Along with the new additions, the Predators re-signed goalie Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension, and he will most likely be backed up by a talented prospect in Yaroslov Askarov.

With the new additions and changing culture in the last couple of years, it appears that the Predators might just be in contention for Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2024-25.