Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile recently told NHL.com that part of the reasoning behind head coach Peter Laviolette being hired was a need to improve the team’s offense. However, he’d be wrong to think Nashville was incapable of putting the puck in the net under Barry Trotz, the man Laviolette will be replacing.

Since after the 2004-05 lockout, when the Predators started establishing themselves as perennial playoff contenders, Nashville finished in the top half of league scoring four times, once as high as fifth (2006-07 with 3.24 goals per game).

So, the thought process that replacing Trotz automatically improves your team’s offense is a flawed one. Sure, the team did finish 30th in scoring in the 2013 lockout-shortened season (2.27), but, when your most dynamic offensive player is defenseman Shea Weber year after year, you’d think some of the blame would have to fall on Poile himself.

Looking at that 2013 roster, behind Weber the top three scorers were forwards or, for all intents and purposes, a top line. That “top line” comprised David Legwand, a notoriously defense-first forward, Mike Fisher, another notoriously defense-first forward, and Martin Erat, a player who, no joke, has scored just eight total times for three different teams over the last two seasons.

Is it really any wonder Trotz failed to ice an offensive juggernaut that season? Really, the only wonder should be how he was able to improve significantly upon that season’s 16-23-9 record.

This past year, the Predators placed 19th in scoring and posted a 38-32-12 record, with only Matt Cullen as Poile’s big-name addition to the team last summer. So, with largely the same lineup, Trotz was able to make do and lead the Preds to a decent 88-point campaign.

Admittedly the team did miss the playoffs for the second straight season, the first time that has happened since the lockout. And it may very well have been time for a change behind the bench. After all, Trotz has been the only coach this franchise has ever known. Maybe another will fare just as well...maybe even better.

And Poile is technically right about Laviolette tending to inject life into a team’s offense. In his eight complete seasons behind the bench, Laviolette-coached teams have finished in the top 10 in scoring six times. However, as impressive as that little factoid is, the key part of that sentence is “teams,” as in plural.

Laviolette has coached a total of three teams since 2001-02 (New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers), finishing out of the playoffs four times (he was also fired at the beginning of seasons in Carolina and Philadelphia before his teams had the chance to miss them), perhaps never as significantly as in 2006-07, the season after he captured the Stanley Cup.

That is maybe the most telling fact of all. Sure, Laviolette has had success whenever he’s behind the bench, but that success tends to be short-lived.

He was able to stay with both the Hurricanes and Flyers for parts of five seasons each (with the Islanders for only two), after which management had had enough. Five is not necessarily a bad number here, admittedly. It is when compared to the 15 Trotz managed to stay with Nashville, though.

Whether Laviolette will only be able to manage another five with Poile, a man who stayed with Trotz despite him missing the playoffs for five straight seasons from 1999-2003, is anyone’s guess at this point. Even if logic dictates Poile has a near-infinite amount of patience, that situation was very different.

Trotz was taking over an expansion team that showed improvement almost year after year. That’s why it’s unfair to question the team’s performance for his first few seasons. He was doing the best he could with a flawed roster handed to him by none other than Poile, which is eerily similar to the situation that led to his firing after these past two unsuccessful campaigns (with injuries also affecting the end results).

In spite of all his supposed offensive shortcomings, Trotz was hugely successful in terms of his teams’ defensive acumen and, for seven straight seasons, his teams placed in the top half of goals against, placing as high as third in 2010-11 (2.32).

Laviolette, meanwhile? Despite being a former defenseman, he’s the polar opposite. With exception to the 2010-11 Philadelphia Flyers, who finished 11th in terms of goals against (2.63), none of his teams have finished higher than 19th.

So, if Poile is looking for the best of both worlds—a head coach that can improve his team’s offense and still have it stay defensively responsible—he might as well be looking to have his cake and eat it too. It may yet work out, but the two likeliest scenarios are:

1. Laviolette turns the Preds into that offensive powerhouse Poile is seeking at the expense of its defense, or

2. Laviolette struggles to get the offense going because of the undermanned roster handed to him and still fails to keep the team responsible in its own zone

Considering the team’s strength for the future undeniably lies in that defense with names like Seth Jones, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis to build around Weber, the smart play on Poile’s part might have been to go after a coach like Guy Boucher. Boucher, of course, is known for his 1-3-1 defensive system and was most recently coaching in Switzerland.

That’s just one alternative, though. Or at least it would have been during the hiring process. Now the only option for Poile is to spend a significant amount of time this summer trying to beef up his offense, because Laviolette can’t do it alone.

“We have (goaltender Pekka) Rinne and Weber. If we can get a forward along those lines, we’re there,” Poile has gone on record as saying recently, according to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman.

Needless to say, Poile’s work is cut out for him. And if he fails now, ownership might have to hire a new GM...one who’s really capable of improving Nashville’s offense.

New York Rangers defenceman Michael Del Zotto has been a fixture in trade rumours for months now and those whispers finally culminated in a deal on Wednesday afternoon.

Renaud Lavoie of the Journal de Montreal reports that Del Zotto was shipped to Nashville in exchange for fellow blueliner Kevin Klein:

Naturally, the first question fans of both teams have is "Who won the trade?"

The first thing to note is that this is a real hockey trade. CapGeek.com has Kevin Klein at a $2.9 million cap hit this season and for four years to come while Del Zotto is a pending restricted free agent earning $2.55 million.

Nashville sheds the remainder of a $100,000 difference in real dollars, but this is as close to a null-dollars trade as there is in the NHL today.

In Klein, the New York Rangers add a lot of things that Del Zotto lacked. Klein is bigger, older, more experienced and gives head coach Alain Vigneault the option to deploy exclusively right-shooting defencemen (Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman are the others) on the starboard side of his blue line. 

Klein also adds a physical edge to the blue line that Del Zotto lacks.

The ex-Predator has been leaned on heavily in defensive situations and currently ranks fourth among Nashville rearguards in ice time. Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com indicates that the team’s results with him on the ice haven’t been great, as his teammates have better on-ice shot totals.

That may be a factor of Klein playing more defensive zone minutes than the average Nashville defenceman or it may reflect weaknesses in his game.

The player New York sent to Nashville is a very different sort of defenceman. Del Zotto might have made a decent partner for Klein because his skill set appears complementary. Where Klein is a stay-at-home guy with some ability to play the puck, Del Zotto is an offensive force still working to develop his defensive game.

He’s also a left-shooting rearguard, which makes him a good fit for a Predators team that still has three right-shooting regulars (Shea Weber, Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis).

Nashville has eschewed the relative safety of Klein for a riskier player in Del Zotto in the hopes that he can return to the level of play he demonstrated under former Rangers head coach John Tortorella. As Del Zotto is only 23 years of age and has a history of better performances, it’s a reasonable gamble.

It also fits with another move the Predators made recently when they dealt forward Matt Hendricks to Edmonton. Like Klein, Hendricks was a depth piece—a bottom-six forward as opposed to a No. 4/5 defenceman—and is signed to a long-term deal at non-trivial dollars.

The important thing to note with both players is age. Klein is 29 years old and Hendricks 32, putting both players in the downward-slide portion of their careers.

Both are still useful, and Klein in particular likely has some miles left, but in both trades Nashville reduced its risk of seeing a steep decline while the player was still under contract. The risk might be relatively small and some distance off, but it is one worth noting.

This was a sensible trade for both teams. A Nashville club with a lot of right-shooting defencemen and troubles generating offence added a player who balances the former and should help with the latter.

A New York club in need of right-handed shots on the blue line and a player better suited to Alain Vigneault managed to get both at the cost of somebody who clearly was not working out.

Both players fit the bill as No. 4/5 defencemen and in both cases it’s easy to see why the teams involved pulled the trigger on this deal. However, it’s hard not to like the trade from Nashville’s perspective a little more simply because Klein is all he’s ever likely to be while Del Zotto has room to improve. 

For other pieces by Jonathan Willis, follow him on Twitter.

Size is an undeniable asset to goaltenders, and now the Nashville Predators have two that are 6’5” or taller, but unfortunately, one is injured and the other is Devan Dubnyk.

Two games in after being traded to the Predators from the Edmonton Oilers, the 6’6” Dubnyk is already up to his old tricks—none of them good.

Despite being available to the Preds against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, Dubnyk served as Carter Hutton’s backup, much the same way he had become Ilya Bryzgalov’s in Edmonton.

Since the latter played his first game for the Oilers back in late November, Dubynk had started just 11 of 25 games. And you know what they say about backups to Ilya Bryzgalov, don’t you? Well…they’re worse than Ilya Bryzgalov. It’s admittedly not that popular of a saying, but, boy, does it ring true.

Given the net against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, Dubnyk allowed five goals on just 29 shots. He now has a record of 11-18-2 on the season.

Admittedly, a large reason for that horrendous record is that he had been playing behind the defensively unaware Oilers. However, that excuse won’t fly playing behind the Predators.

Whereas the Oilers average 31.9 shots against per game (eighth worst), the Predators average 29.2 (10th best). The Oilers, meanwhile, have allowed the most goals in the league at 179, and a large reason for that is they had been playing in front of Dubnyk. He now has a goals-against average of 3.42 and a save percentage of .892.

Granted, the Predators have allowed a lot of goals this season as well, 146 in all, but that’s a big reason why they got Dubnyk in the first place—to tend goal until No. 1 Pekka Rinne (who’s 6’5”) is healthy again following his hip surgery back in October.

Since then, the Predators have been forced to try to get by with second-rate goaltending. They had given the reins to a duo comprised of 22-year-old Marek Mazanec, who can probably stand some seasoning in the AHL—and 28-year-old AHLer Carter Hutton, who can probably stand to just be sent back down to the AHL, period (despite some admittedly awesome saves).

It should be noted, following the acquisition of Dubnyk, Mazanec, who’s 8-10-4 on the year with a 2.80 goals-against average and .902 save percentage, was promptly demoted. It should also be noted that he’s 6’4”, which isn’t really important, but just weird in that the Predators management really does seem to have a fetish for tall goalies.

Hutton, for the record, is a practically dwarfish 6’1”. Rinne’s former backup, Anders Lindback, was 6’6”, though, so Hutton simply must have some incriminating photos of general manager David Poile in his back pocket or something. Just how extreme is this fetish exactly?

Anyway, a common misconception is that Dubnyk is horrible. And while, yes, he certainly isn’t, well, good (at least not right now), he has had his moments.

For instance, in each of the three seasons prior to this one he never once earned a save percentage below .914. Last season, through 38 games as the Oilers’ undisputed fodder—er, starter—he actually had one of .920, which is actually very good.

So, one has to believe the Predators were on some level taking a calculated risk that the goalie they were acquiring was the Dubynk of 2012-13 and not 2013-14. Of course, if they really possessed time-travel capabilities, one has to believe they would have gone back to undraft Alexander Radulov by now.

Coincidentally, Radulov (15th overall) was the pick immediately after Dubnyk (14th) back in 2004. Despite it being a relatively weak draft after the first two picks (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin), it’s safe to say the Oilers missed out on Cory Schneider (26th), and the Preds missed just about anyone who didn’t leave for the KHL…twice.

In any case, the younger and statistically superior goalie, Mazanec, being demoted following Dubnyk’s acquisition indicates that Poile is perhaps “calling” the Predators season and prepping for April’s post-mortem press conference as we speak.

Few would blame him.

At 21-22-7, the Preds are now 10 points out of the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference and 18 back of the Colorado Avalanche for the last of three Central Division berths. There is still no timetable for Rinne’s return. So, this is likely just about biding time and giving Mazanec the chance to properly develop under better circumstances with the Norfolk Admirals actually having a shot at the playoffs.

After all, Nashville didn’t give up a whole lot to get Dubnyk. Going the other way was Matt Hendricks, a grinder whom the Predators had admittedly just signed to a four-year, $7.4 million deal in the offseason.

While that four-year term would indicate the Predators believed Hendricks was a missing piece of the puzzle, the $1.85 million price tag per year is kind of steep for a third- or fourth-liner, especially for the Preds, who traditionally make it a habit to not spend up to the cap.

So, the Oilers actually did the Preds a solid here. In return, the Preds get Dubnyk’s expiring contract. Chances are good he won’t be re-signed. But if he is it will only be as Rinne’s backup.

It would be a definite step backward for Dubnyk. Being as tall he is, though, he must be able to more easily see the forest for the trees and know his options are limited. He’s got talent, just not the confidence right now. He has to build himself up again from square one, because being forced to back up Bryzgalov?

That’s pretty much rock bottom.

That Pekka Rinne is one of the few elite goaltenders in the National Hockey League is uncontroversial.

But that’s only half of the reason why his injury is such a serious hurdle for the Nashville Predators—a team likely to be in a life-or-death battle for a spot in the playoffs this season.

The other reason is that the two goalies Nashville has as alternative options have a combined six games of NHL experience. Backup Carter Hutton played one game for Chicago last season and has five under his belt with Nashville this season, while third-stringer Magnus Hellberg’s only NHL action came in relief of Hutton against St. Louis last Saturday.

How much of a drop-off is it from Rinne to Hutton/Hellberg and is that drop-off going to kill Nashville’s playoff hopes?

The first matter at hand is the extent of Rinne’s injury. The Predators have announced that he will be out for a minimum of four weeks, which is serious but represents a relatively small portion of the NHL season.

However, a report in the Finnish magazine Urheilulehti suggests that time frame could be even longer. Sections of the story were translated for Josh Cooper of The Tennessean and indicate that Rinne is suffering from a serious infection that could do long-term damage to his hip.

"I don’t know about the timetable. First and foremost, we have to focus on getting the infection eliminated. I don’t want to guess, but I hope things get better as soon as possible," Rinne said.

In other words, Rinne isn’t likely to be healthy for at least four weeks. Depending how things go, it might be significantly longer than that before he’s ready to return to the team.

Rinne is a known quantity. He has been the Predators’ starting goalie since 2008-09. Over his career, he’s had both good and bad years, but overall has posted an exceptionally good .919 save percentage.

We know less about Rinne’s replacement, Carter Hutton. The 27-year-old saw his first minor league action in 2010 after spending four years in college hockey. In the years since, he has faced a little over 3,000 shots at the AHL level, posting a .911 save percentage.

Stephan Cooper of SBNation blog Eyes on the Prize has done some work to determine how the typical AHL goalie performs in the NHL. Goalie performance is far less stable than skater performance, so the individuals studied varied widely, but he found that on average an AHL goaltender will lose roughly seven points off his save percentage when he moves to the majors.

This means that a reasonable expected performance for Hutton would be in the .904 save percentage range.

Let’s try and express that difference in more concrete terms. The Predators average 29.5 shots against per game. Over an average 10 games with Rinne, they would expect to allow 24 goals. Over an average 10 games from a goalie with a .904 save percentage—our Hutton projection—they would expect to allow 28 goals.

Ten games is roughly equivalent to a month of NHL action, so if Rinne is out for only a month, then a four-goal shift isn’t likely to be the deciding factor in a league where the typical team scores well over 200 times in a season.

Moreover, Hutton’s early performance has had some ups and downs but has been broadly encouraging. Over five games, the rookie has a respectable .912 save percentage.

In the short term, the absence of Rinne is not a fatal blow.

Long-term, though, those extra four goals for every 10 games add up to a considerable figure. For the Predators' sake, it should be hoped that Rinne is only sidelined for a month. Nashville's early-season performance has them two points back of St. Louis for the final Central Division playoff spot, and there is precious little margin for error. A lengthy absence for Rinne would almost certainly exceed that margin. 

The Nashville Predators have an extremely valuable asset in young Seth Jones. Size, speed, offensive acumen—there's a lot to like and he's 19 years old, in the NHL and impressing observers.

Jones already possesses a wide range of skills that, once he matures, could give Nashville an impact player at both ends of the ice. There are very few NHL players in any era who possess the full range of skills and remain healthy over a long period. Jones' resume suggests he could be such a player. He could be the next Drew Doughty.

Still, there are those who suggest recent history offers significant proof that elevating teenagers to such a prominent role can result in disappointment.

What makes Jones so special? 

Since 2008-09, there have been 10 NHL regular defensemen who have played 50 or more games as rookie teenagers (about two per season). As luck would have it, five of them played in the CHL and give us a nice comparison to Jones in his draft season. 

One of the things that sets Jones apart as a teenager is offensive potential, which, when added to the other traits on his resume, allows him to be considered a future complete defenseman—someone who can handle all disciplines and be responsible in all areas. It's a rare and valuable thing.

Even early in his rookie NHL season, Jones handles the puck with authority and is naturally aggressive in the offensive zone.

Cam Fowler	55GP, 8G, 47A, 55PTS	1.00 PPG
Michael Del Zotto	64GP, 16G, 47A, 63PTS	0.98 PPG
Seth Jones	61GP, 14G, 42A, 56PTS	0.92 PPG
Drew Doughty	58GP, 13G, 37A, 50PTS	0.86 PPG
Luke Schenn	57GP, 7G, 21A, 28PTS	0.49 PPG
Tyler Myers	65GP, 6G, 13A, 19PTS	0.29 PPG

This shows us that Jones compares well to the five other teenagers offensively, giving him one more role he might successfully fill at the NHL level. Whereas Luke Schenn or Tyler Myers were considered future shutdown or stay-at-home types, Jones' numbers suggest that even when he's struggling defensively—which happens to all defensemen, not just rookie teenagers—he can help the team in an offensive role.

As such, Jones is more complete as a prospect than Myers and Schenn coming out of junior, and more comparable to Cam Fowler, Michael Del Zotto and Doughty.

The early proof comes from Jones' first 13 NHL games during which he's scored twice and added four assists on an offensively challenged Nashville team. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AOEIRc1DCo

The defensemen listed above came with varying degrees of defensive reputation and once again Jones compares well to the group. Schenn and Myers were considered stronger defensive players on their draft days while Doughty came with a very good defensive reputation and was considered the most "complete" defender in the group.

Fowler and Del Zotto had impressive offense, but were considered to be projects defensively.

This brings us to Jones. We've already established he's in the range of the best offensive teenagers coming out of the draft over the last few years, but how does he look defensively? There are a lot of positives about Jones' game and they were touched on in TSN's final predraft rankings for the 2013 class:

He is blessed with great athletic ability and he moves about the ice with ease and the ability to use his skating to his advantage either defensively or offensively. He understands how to use his advantages to gain the upper hand and whether it is a skill situation or a physical situation, he is able to do it a forceful manner. He is an excellent passer who remains composed under pressure and he has a heavy shot, which poses considerable challenges for goalies. The word that comes to mind when you watch him is: unique. He has all the makings of being a cornerstone defenceman.

The gifted youngster has delivered early in the NHL. In an interview with The Gazette, Predators general manager David Poile offered glowing praise for the youngster:

I don’t think any of us saw that coming.

You’d probably think you wean a player into your lineup, especially a younger player, in maybe the third pairing and the fifth or sixth amount of ice time. I mean, I thought that would probably be the normal way to do it.

But there’s nothing normal about this. We got the Roman Josi injury. He seemed to be the best fit to come up to play with Shea and they’ve played really well together. As you know, he’s playing his off side, which is not easy for anybody, and he seems to do really well on that.

This is a gifted player, so good that he may in fact make the three teams who passed on him at the 2013 entry draft wince for 15 years or more.

He has a range of skills, and the importance of that fact cannot be underestimated. All young defensemen struggle, and when they do, it's important to have another area they can contribute in.

When Schenn struggled or Myers came upon hard times, they did not have the combination of speed and offensive ability to remain productive. On the other hand, during times of struggle for Del Zotto and Fowler, they could not rely on outstanding defensive acumen to stay in the lineup and work through their problems while remaining productive.

Jones is playing almost 25 minutes a night and consistently delivering high-quality outings.

History tells us there will be a time when his offense dries up or he is exposed defensively. The great news for Jones and the Predators is that the rookie should be able to contribute in at least one area during these key developmental moments.

In this way, he most closely resembles Doughty from the group above, and that's a very nice neighborhood.

Gifted teenage defensemen who display a complete skill set are extremely rare and Jones may be that franchise blueliner that every NHL team covets.

The entire Internet seems to be pointing and laughing in the direction of the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. 

Thanks to numerous images tweeted by the Fan Relations Coordinator of the Nashville Predators, Meghan Hunter, we have stunning pictures of an arena that received a brief facelift this offseason. 

Here is what the ice looked like Wednesday. 

Yes, you and a million other people are thinking of the same yellow-snow jokes. Deadspin's Barry Petchesky, Bloguin's David Rogers and many others noted how the arena looked like it was suddenly flooded by people with weak bladders. 

In all fairness, it's not the best look for a playing surface no matter the sport being played on it. 

Let's take a moment to giggle and get that all out of our system. 

Now we can appreciate something that is actually pretty cool. 

I know my initial thought was to cringe at what looks to be a huge ice block of, well, you know what. The team, as well as Hunter, then sent out some additional images that show how cool it looks with the finishing touches. 

With the painted lines, the arena most definitely transforms into a surface begging for hockey players to skate on it. 

It's only a shame there isn't an actual NHL game about to be played—at least, that's my own humble opinion. Fans of classic white playing surfaces can debate the finer details in the comments section below. 

Rogers notes the ice will go back to the normal color by the start of the season, and this "gold" color is simply there for the summer. 

The Sporting News' Sean Gentille reminds us that there are teams who have been known to go with pink ice for breast cancer awareness, so this is hardly the first time a hockey arena has decided to tint the playing surface. 

Now if any other venues are about to dye their ice crazy and wacky colors, we might suggest you go with something other than gold. 

In the end, the gold ice comes out looking far more hilarious than you may have intended. 

Hit me up on Twitter: Follow @gabezal

Yesterday, when the Nashville Predators' executives approached the stage to make their first draft selection of the 2013 NHL draft, GM David Poile couldn't believe his luck:  

"I wish I wouldn't have to say, 'I can't believe the player was there,' but we had Seth Jones rated No. 1. We think he is just a terrific player," Poile said. "This is a franchise-type player. ... Seth Jones to us has been the best player, but we'll see. We all know how it goes with the draft and we won't know for several years, but this feels real good." 

Poile echoed a sentiment many other rival GMs had previously said—that Jones was the best prospect overall in this year's heavily stacked draft. So when Jones was passed over by not only the Colorado Avalanche (who held the No. 1 overall pick) but also the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, Poile ensured Jones would fall no further. 

The former Portland Winterhawk, still only 18, stands at 6'4" and weighs 205 pounds. Scouts have repeatedly lauded his polished two-way game, including his booming shot from the point, his on-ice vision, as well as his positioning and physical play on defense.  

Throughout the pre-draft process, the phrases "franchise player" and "elite potential" were often attached to predictions about Jones' game at the NHL level. Players with those sorts of labels given to them come along very rarely, especially so for defenseman. 

So to have Jones available to pick at a No. 4 when the consensus among scouts was that he was guaranteed to be a top-two selection was a huge victory for the Predators. 

And taking him with their pick automatically makes them one of the winners after this year's draft. 

Despite Roman Josi's emergence as a top-four defenseman for Nashville this last season, the loss of former Predator Ryan Suter left a huge hole on Nashville's blue line that the team struggled to cope with. Suter's departure was one of the key reasons that the Predators missed the playoffs by a substantial amount this year. 

However, Jones projects to instantly fill the top-line role that Suter left as a partner for incumbent captain Shea Weber whilst being able to immediately contribute on the power play and penalty kill. 

His presence also adds to the extraordinary depth that Nashville now has on defense, as he joins the likes of Weber, Josi, Kevin Klein, Ryan Ellis, Vic Bartley, Hal Gill and more at the NHL level. 

Whilst adding a top-six forward to help Nashville's anemic offense was, and still most likely is, more of a concern for Poile, Jones' fall—coinciding with the Panthers' selection of target Sasha Barkov—meant drafting Jones was a move that made a lot of sense for the organization's long-term as well as immediate future. 

Jones has the potential to become an elite defenseman in "Smashville" in the Predators' defense-orientated system under coach Barry Trotz. He will also make a difference in aiding an offense that ranked 29th in the league last season in goals scored per game.

Jones is a rarity, someone that will help his team in all areas of the game upon his arrival, and he figures to be a future franchise cornerstone in Nashville.

Picks like that, especially at No. 4 overall, make any team a "draft winner."

Seth Jones may be frustrated he fell to fourth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, but the Nashville Predators should be overjoyed.

TSN’s Craig Button, NHL Central Scouting, The Hockey News and McKeen’s Hockey ranked Jones as the best prospect in the entire class, according to TSN. Even more beneficial for the Predators—and terrifying for the Western Conference—is that Jones now has a chip on his shoulder after his slide, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Greg Wyshynski.

Here is Jones in a Nashville jersey thanks to USA Hockey’s official Twitter account and career projections for the Portland Winterhawks star.

How Jones Fits with the Predators

Nashville’s greatest need wasn’t defense. Even with the fourth worst record in the league, only 19 teams allowed fewer goals than the Predators this past regular season. Their leading point scorer was even a defenseman, Shea Weber.

What they were desperate for was offense. Nashville finished tied for dead last in the NHL in goals scored per game. However, great defense beats great offense in hockey.

The Predators will have a great defense for years to come with Jones in the fold.

Offensive Projections

Jones isn’t just a bruiser. He led all Western Hockey League defensemen in points this year, scoring 14 goals and delivering 42 assists. Jones also scored seven points—recording a goal and six assists—in seven games in the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship en route to the third goal medal of his career.

He may not provide as much scoring as a Nathan MacKinnon or Jonathan Drouin, but Nashville’s offensive attack will improve with Jones on the ice.

Defensive Projections

Thanks to the genes he inherited from his father Popeye Jones, who played for over a decade in the NBA, Seth is an elite athlete. As a result, he has unlimited potential as a defender.

Jones’ physical ability alone should quickly provide the Predators with one of the NHL’s top defenses.

He led the Winterhawks to the 2013 Memorial Cup. It wouldn’t be surprising if he led Nashville deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs quite a few times as its defensive anchor.

Player Comparison

Jones projects well to being a Kris Letang-like presence for the Predators. The 6’4”, 205-pound Jones is taller, but he’s about the same weight as the 6’0” 201-pound Letang.

Letang, a two-time All-Star and 2012-2013 finalist for the Norris Trophy, tied for the Pittsburgh Penguins team lead in points this past postseason with 16. Considering he plays with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, that’s quite an accomplishment.

Jones will add the same all-around ability to the Predators.

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels

Player: Seth Jones

Drafted By: Nashville Predators (4th overall)

Position: Defense

Final Central Scouting Ranking: No. 1 North American skater

Height/Weight: 6'4'', 205 lbs

DOB: October 3, 1994 (18 years old)

Most Recent Affiliation: WHL, Portland Winterhawks

Background

Seth Jones has been considered a top-end defensive player since the Everett Silvertips drafted him 11th overall in the 2009 WHL bantam draft. He elected to spend the next two years with the U.S. National Team Development program, splitting time between the USHL, U-17 and U-18 teams before joining the Portland Winterhawks in 2013.

In 61 games with the Winterhawks, Jones posted 56 points and was an astonishing plus-46. Showing his knack for big-game play, Jones also provided 15 points in 21 Memorial Cup playoff games for Portland.

Full Scouting Report

When asked to find a weakness in the game that Jones plays, scouts are typically stupefied. There isn't anything he hasn't done well at the junior level, and he is continuing to develop and improve upon an already outstanding foundation as a player.

Jones skates well for a kid his size, has an underrated shot and is sound in his own end. The word that seems most used when describing the defender is "fluid." His stride appears effortless, his stick work flows and he tends to be the center around which games rotate.

Like most teenage defenders, Jones could stand to perform better positionally, but there's no question about his hockey IQ and ability to improve in that area. While he's not an overly mean presence on the blue line, there's no hesitation from Jones when it comes to the rough stuff if the opportunity and reason presents itself.

NHL Player Comparison

Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jones is a larger version of Letang, who's a fleet-footed skater with outstanding offensive instincts.

NHL Timetable

The size and smarts are already there, and no one would be surprised to see Jones in the NHL for the 2013-14 season. It probably wouldn't be wise to expect him to be a top-pairing guy, but he could find his way into a role similar to that of Dougie Hamilton of the Boston Bruins. Floating around and learning the ropes as a professional, beefing up a bit and gaining valuable experience. He'll likely play more games than Hamilton, but the learning program will be similar.

Top-End Potential

This is a rare defenseman than can break the game open from the back end. Jones is capable of coming up with big offensive and defensive plays, makes slick passes and possesses the uncanny traits attributed to quality leaders in the NHL.

Not only could he be a franchise presence on defense, it's impossible to overlook his likeability and charming background story.

It was a bittersweet Wednesday in Nashville, as one of the most well-known and longest-tenured Predators in Martin Erat was traded to the Washington Capitals in return for elite prospect Filip Forsberg. It's no secret that this trade deadline deal will affect the Preds' playoff aspirations in the short and long term.

The deal was first reported by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN on Twitter. 

F. Forsberg to Nash for M. Erat and M. Latta

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 3, 2013

Such a deal that separates the Predators franchise with its second all-time point-scorer is sure to have a vast effect on the team in 2013 and beyond. But it's the long-term plan that general manager David Poile had in mind when making the deal. 

For starters, Forsberg was drafted 11th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has been highly touted as a potential future star in the league. The Swedish native is just 18 years old.

Forsberg has a stellar offensive game with the ability to attack the goal. Add that to great speed for his 6'1" frame and elusiveness in carrying the puck, and you have yourself a stud who could become one of the league's top scorers. 

That type of player has been out of reach for the Predators ever since their inception and has been a glaring issue in the past few seasons.

Head coach Barry Trotz and company have used a scoring-by-committee approach that has helped them to reach the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons. But it's become apparent that not having a game-changing forward has hampered the franchise's ability to make a deep run.

If Forsberg can develop into that guy, this will be one of the best trade deadline moves in NHL history.

Even right now, it seems like a great deal for the future in Nashville's case. Erat is 31, and while he's a big contributor to the Preds' offensive output, he isn't getting any better and has two more years left on a $31.5 million contract. 

It's hard to say that this deal benefits Nashville in the immediate future, as Erat was tied for the team lead in points (21) and Forsberg likely won't see ice time this season. But according to Preds beat writer Joshua Cooper of The Tennessean, Erat requested a trade due to the team's desire to rebuild with a younger team in the coming seasons. 

Preds fans won't easily let go of Erat, who has been as big a part of the franchise as any player since he was drafted in 1999. But they'll rest easy knowing that their team will be much improved in the future. 

With a team that has many developing players, adding an elite prospect in Forsberg is a great move and one that will play a part in the Preds' resurgence in 2014 and beyond. 

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