While Mavrik Bourque has spent the bulk of his NHL playing time on the wing in Dallas, he is a natural center. Now that he’s with the Predators, he’s going to get a chance to play down the middle with his new team. Speaking with NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika, new GM Chris MacFarland indicated that Bourque will get “every opportunity to excel in the middle of the ice.”
The center position has been one that Nashville has been trying to fill for quite some time now. Veteran Ryan O’Reilly has been thrust into a number one role, one that he’s not best suited for at this point in his career while Steven Stamkos can play down the middle but is generally viewed as a better winger now. If Bourque, who signed a six-year, $33MM contract soon after being acquired, can come in and fill a regular spot down the middle and continue to chip in offensively, his addition could wind up being one of the better ones league-wide this summer.
MacFarland also spoke about what else he’d like to do roster-wise. Acknowledging that it’s probably not going to be easy to do, he noted that he’d like to add some puck skill on the back end. Beyond Roman Josi, the Predators don’t have a lot of mobility or offensive upside on the blueline.
Brady Skjei has had some offensive success in the past but is coming off a quieter year on that front while Justin Barron hasn’t been able to replicate the production he had in the lower levels. Of the other four blueliners on their roster, they’re more the stay-at-home defensive variety.
Unfortunately for the Preds, there isn’t much in the way of mobility available on the open market. Former Predator Nick Blankenburg is one of the better offensive fits available while veteran John Klingberg would also fit the bill, though they already have seven defenders signed for the upcoming season. If MacFarland does find an addition he wants to make, they have ample cap room to do so with the team holding over $7.6MM in space, per PuckPedia.
Speaking of the back end, Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean wonders if MacFarland should be taking a different approach. Instead, he suggests that Nashville should look at moving Josi. The long-time captain has two years left on his contract at a $9.059MM AAV.
At 36 now, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be signing on for a new deal after that.
While MacFarland has been active in adding pieces to help them now, he also spoke of wanting to build a sustainable contender. Given the teams ahead of them in the Central Division, the window to contend may very well come after Josi’s deal expires. Accordingly, dealing him now could better set them up to try to contend down the road.
Josi has had some challenges staying healthy lately. He missed 14 games last season with an upper-body injury and 29 games in 2024-25 due to a pair of injuries. He’s still quite productive when available, however, and put up 13 goals and 42 assists in 68 games last season.
But while dealing the captain would be the more prudent play long-term, it seems unlikely they’d consider it now given the additions they’ve made to the roster and the desire to add more puck skill on the back end.