Can Nashville get back to their 06/07 form?

As we sit here on July 21, 2009, I’d be happy if the Predators just made the playoffs next spring. By falling short this past year, the Music City will be craving playoff hockey. That’s the harsh reality of being a small-market team… it’s extremely hard to compete with the big boys on a year-to-year basis. Carolina and Tampa Bay couldn’t sustain success after winning their Cups, and Atlanta has fallen off since their lone playoff appearance. Those are just a couple examples.

2+ years ago, Nashville was buzzing as the Preds were one of the best teams in the NHL. They compiled a franchise-record 110 points, and possessed one of the best lineups in hockey. Let’s look at the depth chart of the 06/07 Preds:

Forwards:
Kariya/Forsberg/Erat
Dumont/Arnott/Sullivan
Hartnell/Legwand/Radulov
Fiddler/Nichol/Tootoo
Defense:
Timonen/Zidlicky
Weber/Hamhuis
Suter/Zanon
Goalie:
Vokoun
Mason

With 3 legit scoring lines, a deep blue line, and stability in net, they had the perfect team to win it all that season. But shortly after the Forsberg acquisition, Sullivan suffered his back injury, Hartnell broke his foot, and Erat sprained his knee. The Preds also lost their division/conference lead to the Wings, and were set to play San Jose in the 1st round for a 2nd straight year.

That’s when the wheels started to come off. Nashville was eliminated prematurely, in 5 games, by the Sharks (again). Then ex-owner Craig Leipold came to an agreement with Jim Balsillie to buy the team… and the rest is history. The Predators have been forced to go back to their pre-lockout days by operating under a tight budget and relying on their farm system to produce future stars.

My question to you is this: can the Preds EVER get back to the success they had in the 2006/07 season, and even 05/06?? Think about it… 110 points (as much as the Cup-champ Ducks), they had 8 players produce 50+ points (twice as many as the last 2 years), and were regarded by some as the ‘team to beat’ in the West.

Looking ahead, Detroit will always be Detroit, no matter how many free agents they lose. Chicago is going to be a force for the next 3-5 years. And Columbus and St. Louis seem to have more pieces in place right now than Nashville to make a run in the division. In 5 years, the top line of Sullivan, Arnott, and Dumont will have moved on. Colin Wilson would be anchoring the top line alongside who-knows. And the blue line duo of Weber and Suter could have left via free agency.

Getting back to a 110-point season is a long way off. They simply don’t have the depth to be a Cup contender or even crack the top 5 in the conference (ANA, CGY, CHI, DET, and SJ) this year. The only way they can vault themselves to another great regular season is by putting together a magical playoff run (or two) as a 7 or 8-seed, which is possible. They’d be able to generate more revenue, and the fan base would grow by each playoff home game.

There’s a theory out there that Leipold and Poile pulled the trigger on the Forsberg trade knowing the front office troubles were coming. So they wanted to bring in a star to fill the seats and perhaps the team could go deep in the playoffs. But Nashville’s stay on top was short-lived, and now sustaining success is going to be a chore for the small-market Predators… even in the salary cap era.