Colorado Avalanche Face an Augmented Nashville Predators

The Colorado Avalanche will have to face the Nashville Predators, a team that executed arguably the biggest trade of the off-season.

The Colorado Avalanche are going to need to bring some extra will to win to the table when they face the Central Division rival Nashville Predators.

June 29th was a bombshell of a day in the NHL. Just two days before free agency opened, Steven Stamkos signed an extension with Tampa Bay, the Edmonton Oilers made a — to put it mildly– questionable trade that saw them part ways with Taylor Hall, and the Nashville Predators traded elite defenseman Shea Weber for the slightly younger and more offensively-minded elite defenseman, P.K. Subban.

Now I don’t think the Subban-Weber trade is as one-sided as a lot of folks believe, but I do think, from contract to age to point production, the Predators came out on top, and have taken a step towards being a legitimate cup contender.

Subban will be likely be partnered on the blue line with another elite defenseman, Roman Josi, who finished fourth among NHL defensemen in point production last season.

With Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm as a likely second pairing, and the superb goaltending of Pekka Rinne backing it all up, Nashville will be difficult to solve in their own end, and could have one of the most offensively threatening blue lines in the league.

While perhaps less notorious than their blue line, the Nashville forwards are nothing to shrug at either. Four of their players tallied 50 points or more, with Filip Forsberg leading the way at 65 points.

Combining this solid offense with arguably one of the best defensive teams in the league makes Nashville a frightening squad to face for any team, and especially a Central Division team like the Avalanche.

The Stats Perspective

Last year, Nashville was seventh in CF%, putting them just ahead of the Western Conference Champion San Jose Sharks, and making them one of the best possession teams in the league.

However, their PDO put them towards the bottom of the league, placing 22nd. If the Predators keep up their strong possession numbers combined with a bit more accuracy and puck luck, we could see this team that perennially sees a first or second round exit turn into a true cup contender.

Next: Colorado Avalanche: The Minnesota Wild Are Not Our Rivals

What this means for the Colorado Avalanche

More from Mile High Sticking

The good news is that the Avalanche have fared relatively well against the Preds recently, despite Nashville’s smart possession-driven play. In their five meetings last season, the Avs won the series 3-2. What’s more impressive is that with the exception of one game, the shots on net were close to equal the entire time.

The bad news is that this Nashville team is no longer the same. I think the addition of P.K. Subban will be felt more than anyone can imagine, as a defense-first team adds some serious offensive firepower to its blue line.

While Shea Weber’s slapshot is certainly feared around the league, Subban’s puck moving abilities and creativity will transform what was once more of a pure shut-down defense into a multi-dimensional threat.

However, there is definitely hope. Should Colorado pursue a defensive system that pressures the puck more this year, they’ve had success forcing mistakes out Subban in the past, who would likely be on the top pairing for the Preds. In fact, this beautiful game-winner by Iginla (and Michel Therrien’s public condemnation of Subban) likely contributed to why P.K. is on the Preds in the first place:

Other Central Division Previews:

Conclusion

Nashville looks primed to make the jump from Wild Card team to becoming a dominating force in the Central. However, the Avalanche have had success against them before, and with both teams looking similar in build to last year, their match-ups promise to be extremely entertaining hockey.