Puck Daddy’s NHL 2014-15 Emoji Preview: Nashville Predators

(The 2014-15 NHL season is nearly upon us, and attempting to handicap the winners and losers can sometimes leave us speechless. So we decided to break down all 30 teams with the next best thing to words: Emojis!)

Last Season In Emojis

Last Season, In Summary

It was a rough season for the Predators.

Just 10 games in, the team lost ace goaltender Pekka Rinne to a hip injury, and wouldn't get him back until March. The inexperienced net-minding plus Shea Weber having to carry the team on his back was too much for the Preds to overcome.

They finished sixth in the Central with 88-points, just six games over .500 at 38-32-12. There were eight losing streaks throughout the season of three games or more helping Nashville miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

When the season was said and done, the organization parted ways with the only head coach they'd ever had in Barry Trotz and brought in Peter Laviolette to shake things up.

Last Season’s Definitive Highlight

The save was magnificent; however, I'm sure most Preds fans will be happy to see Rinne, not Hutton, back in net.

Off-Season Transactions

This off-season, Nashville became the Land of Discarded Toys with their additions.

Most notable is the addition of James Neal in a trade that sent Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to Pittsburgh. Despite having 27 goals and 34 assists, the Penguins new management felt he was expendable after a series of questionable on-ice decisions.

Michael Del Zotto, acquired during the season from the Rangers, was not tendered a qualifying offer, and became a free agent. To fill his space in the roster, the Preds signed Anton Volchenkov to a one-year deal after he was bought-out by the Devils.

Olli Jokinen (Jets), Derek Roy (Blues), and Mike Ribeiro (Coyotes) round out the group of grizzled veteran free agents signed to one-year contracts by GM David Poile.

Had all these players been assembled in their respective primes, they would have made for one formidable group. Now...not so much.

One thing the Preds know for sure going into camp is that they will be without the services of Mike Fisher for a while, a top point producer for Nashville. Fisher tore his achilles tendon in the off-season working out. Not to worry, they have almost an entire team of centers to take his place, at least they're listed as centers.

Behind Shea Weber, and since-departed Patric Hornqvist, in scoring was Craig Smith. In his third NHL season, the 25-year-old put up career highs with 24 goals and 52 assists. 

Paul Gaustad and Matt Cullen established themselves as the top centers for Nashville coming in at fouth and sixth best in the NHL, respectively. In 1,200 attempts, Gaustad won 58-percent of his draws; whereas, Cullen won 56.7-percent of his.

The Preds struggled to score goals, and are hoping for breakout seasons from Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrock, and Gabriel Bourque. Forsberg is the most intriguing of the group of kids. He was drafted 11th overall by Washington in 2012, and was flipped to Nashville less than a year later. Is there something that Washington saw that they didn't like, and Nashville has yet to see it?

Neal and Ribero have history after playing together in Dallas years ago, with Ribeiro having one of his best seasons statistically. Coach Laviolette has confirmed the two will get some playing time together, at least during camp.

Even if they don't admit it: every organization wants a Shea Weber.

Norris Trophy voters opinions aside, Shea Weber continues to be one of the best offensive-defensemen in the NHL. He led the Predators in scoring with 23 goals and 33 assists, and average time on ice of 26:54. He was paired primarily with Roman Josi. Josi rounded out the top five point producers for the Preds with 40-points and was able to keep up with Weber in TOI.

The big question mark comes with youngster Seth Jones. He was good, but not great in his freshman year. Some attribute it to his lack of a stable defensive partner; others to the fact that the team couldn't score goals to give him better numbers. Jones would likely have to make a vast improvement to unseat Josi as Weber's primary partner. Instead, Jones can do his offensive-defenseman thing with potential new partner Anton Volchenkov.

Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis round out the blue line, if it weren't for Ellis and his pesky RFA contract. As of Monday, Ellis and the team have not reached a new deal. There appears to be some question in Ellis's mind as to how he's going to be utilized in his new coach's system. Should Ellis hold out, Victor Bartley is available.

Pekka Rinne is the No. 1 goalie for Nashville. Period. End of story. And boy, do they hope he stays healthy.

The 31-year-old goaltender carries a $7-million cap hit, and has five-years left on his current contract. He missed 51 games this past season due to a hip injury that required surgery and a scary infection that followed. In total, Rinne played in 24 games with a record of 10-10-0, 2.77 GAA, and .902 SV%.

Backup Carter Hutton and backup-to-the-backup Marek Mazanec split the starts with Hutton taking a majority of the load; neither were remarkable. The organization did show some faith in Hutton’s abilities by signing him to a two-year contract extension (at a reasonable $725K per) in the off-season.

[ Yahoo Sports Fantasy Hockey: It's time to join a league today! ]

Probable Text Conversation Within Organization

Special Teams

The Preds were 12th in the NHL on the power play at 19.2-percent clip. They were the only team to not allow a short-handed goal. Shea Weber and his terrifying shot from the point led the team with 12 goals. Picking up Neal and his 11 PPGs while with the Penguins helps spread around the offense.

As for the penalty kill, things weren’t so pretty despite being the fourth least-penalized team in the NHL at only 238 times short. Nashville ranked 25th in the league at an 80.2-percent success rate, and had a league-worst two short-handed goals.

GM and Coach

Nashville knew only one head coach in their entire existence, and now he is gone. In rolls Peter Laviolette who was axed by Philadelphia after only three games into the 2013-2014 season. How much will a new voice and new style affect this hockey club?

Like the coach, Nashville has had only one GM - David Poile. With Trotz gone, the pressure is now on Poile to turn the franchise's fortunes around. 

And Now, A Blooper 

"Worst Person in the Sports World" might be a bit much, but it is still pretty funny. Glad to see the team didn't take themselves too seriously when they corrected the mistake. GO PERDS!

The Potential Best Thing About This Team

Pekka Rinne stays healthy, Shea Weber continues to dominate, and the kids provide consistent offense for David Poile's Frankenstein of a team.

The Potential Worst Thing About This Team

Too much change all at one time. New coach, new (but old) players, and new strategy concentrating on offense first over being defensively sound.

Single Emoji Prediction

GM David Poile is all-in on this one, and it could cost him his job.

He let Trotz go; brought in a coach that has had past success, but was run out of his old city as an embarrassment. He's changed the strategy of the team and brought in some shaky vets to help see it through. There is no in-between on this - either the Preds make the playoffs or they fail terribly.