Filip Forsberg is heading to Toronto as the Nashville Predators‘ 2024 NHL All-Star representative. He joins the 32-player group representing their respective teams participating in the All-Star festivities between Feb. 1-3.
Related: Predators’ Filip Forsberg Named 2024 NHL All-Star
Aside from the one player per team selection process, a fan vote will decide the remaining 12 players (eight skaters and four goalies) joining their fellow NHLers in Toronto, regardless of team. With the potential for more than one Predator to play in this year’s All-Star game, let’s look at two players deserving of some All-Star votes.
Ryan O’Reilly
The Predator’s big free-agent signing from the summer is the obvious choice to join his teammate in Toronto should fans vote for a second player from Nashville. Ryan O’Reilly quickly filled the vacant number-one center role, providing a solid two-way presence while improving the Predators’ power play.
O’Reilly’s case is clear. On the Predators, he is second in goals (15) and points (35), fourth in assists (20) and leads the team in takeaways (36) and faceoff percentage (51.97) among players to take more than 20 draws. He has an expected goals for percentage (xGF%) of 54.50, a 51.63% Corsi For, and has become the perfect partner for Forsberg under head coach Andrew Brunette’s system. Additionally, O’Reilly has logged the third-most power play minutes on the team, the sixth-most on the penalty kill — third among forwards — and is second in ice time in all situations.
O’Reilly is an all-situation top-six forward who grabbed the first-line center spot by the horns and his first half of the 2023-24 season has gone as well as any Predators fan could’ve hoped. He’s helped the team return to playoff contention, and even though the Western Conference is a dogfight, he and the Predators show no signs of slowing down.
O’Reilly’s All-Star case falls short of the resume of William Nylander, Mikko Rantanen, Mika Zibanejad, a slew of Vancouver Canucks forwards, and other players are piecing together for fans to pick between. However, he still deserves some votes and recognition for everything he brings to the Predators.
Roman Josi
The Predators’ captain last made the All-Star game during the 2021-22 season, where Roman Josi was in the midst of a career-defining 23-goal, 96-point campaign. This season, the former Norris Trophy winner is fifth on the team in goals (8), second in assists (23) and shots blocked (71), and fourth in points (31) through 40 games.
Despite this season’s point-per-game (P/G) production —0.78 P/G— being his worst since the 2020-21 season —0.69 P/G— Josi’s advanced numbers are among the best on the team. Among players to play more than 10 games for the Predators, Josi is second in Corsi For (52.70%) and ranks ninth in xGF% (53.23).
The four-time All-Star will have trouble joining Forsberg in Toronto due to the stiff defensive competition remaining. Of the 32 players selected for All-Star weekend so far, just two have been defensemen — Quinn Hughes and Rasmus Dahlin. Based on their seasons, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, and Noah Dobson stand out as three defensemen worthy of the All-Star nod ahead of Josi.
With just eight skater slots, it’s hard to imagine the Predators star garnering enough attention to outpace the trio of Makar, Fox, Dobson, and others in the fan vote, as much as Nashville will vouch for their captain. Regardless, Josi does it all for the Predators while putting up formidable counting and advanced stats to boot, making him deserving of votes.
Related: Predators’ Colton Sissons Having Career Year in 10th Season
The 2024 NHL All-Star fan vote runs through Jan. 11. Soon, we will know the final 12 players heading to Toronto to represent themselves, their team, and the league on one of the biggest stages the NHL offers. As for O’Reilly and Josi, it is doubtful either will join Forsberg on Feb. 1.
Despite both having good cases, the limited skater slot, players on other teams having better seasons, and the game itself being in Toronto leaves too many hurdles to anticipate a second or third Nashville Predator joining Forsberg.
Advanced stats taken from NaturalStatTrick.com
