Predators Pounce During Free Agency
Huge signings have odds moving for Nashville
Matthew Horner - Jul 4, 2024, 7:48am EDT
Preds Are All In For 2025
Free agency opened up for the NHL on Monday, and almost immediately, one organization emerged as a big player and obvious "winner". The Nashville Predators broke out their wallets and turned them upside down, dumping cash at an astounding rate for some of the biggest stars available on the market.
The first domino to fall was forward Steven Stamkos, the long-time Tampa Bay Lightning captain and star, who signed a four-year, $32 million deal. The future Hall of Famer is 34 years old now but still has been productive, recording 81 points in 79 regular-season games this past season.
They also went out and signed forward Jonathan Marchessault, the 2023 Conn Smythe trophy winner who led the Vegas Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup title, to a five-year, $27.5 million deal. While also getting older at 33 years of age, he had 42 goals to go with 27 assists last season while playing in all 82 games.
Lastly, they signed defenseman Brady Skeji to a seven-year, $49 million deal. The youngest of the group at 30 years old, he was a star for a Carolina Hurricanes defense that allowed a league-lowest 25 shots on goal per game. He is coming off of a league-high 47-point season with a plus-15 rating in 80 games.
Odds Shift
As soon as those deals were finalized, DraftKings moved the Predators from 30/1 to 18/1. Only nine teams now sit in front of Nashville as bigger favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2025. Leading sportsbooks Caesars and Bet365 moved them from 35/1 to 22/1 following the signings as well. FanDuel now has them at -225 to make the playoffs, with "No" being priced at a robust +175 odds for them to miss.
It's clear that after a huge splurge of cash, the Predators have immediately made themselves contenders overnight. It takes quite a bit to move odds so drastically like they did, and oddsmakers certainly thought highly of their work. We'll see if these signings payoff for them with a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025, or if they end up being classic free agency failures.