DLLS Stars Podcast: Were Predators The NHL’s Biggest Disappointment Last Year?

Our summer series “The Other 31” has been rolling along, but today, we get our first Central Division team – the Nashville Predators, with special guests Chris Mason, Predators TV Color Analyst, and Emma Lingan, Predators beat writer for The Hockey News. One year ago, the Predators were being lauded for winning the offseason, landing big-name free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, plus adding Brady Skjei and Scott Wedgewood, while signing number one goalie Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.9M extension. It didn’t translate to results on the ice, as the Preds started the season with a five-game losing streak and had the worst record in the NHL (7-16-6, 20 pts., 0.345) through the first 29 games, finishing 2024-25 30th out of 32 teams (30-44-8, 68 pts., 0.415). We’ll ask our guests what went wrong last year, what general manager Barry Trotz is doing this off season and if the 2023 Matt Duchene contract buyout still haunts Nashville?