Predators' Trotz praises Josi: 'He's just carried us all year'

Predators general manager Barry Trotz singled out his captain as Nashville's MVP amid the team's surprising season.

"I don't think there is a better defenseman on the planet - and that's this year, right now - than Roman Josi," Trotz said, according to NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika. "That's saying a lot because there's some terrific defensemen. But for our team, he's just carried us all year. It shows in his stats night in and night out."

The 33-year-old ranks second on the Predators with 70 points in 69 games this season, while his 18 goals are the most among all NHL blue-liners. He also places in the top three in his position group in wins above replacement (2.9) and goals above replacement (18), per Evolving-Hockey.

Josi has been fueling Nashville's recent red-hot run, too. The Predators last lost in regulation on Feb. 15 and have gone 13-0-2 over their last 15 games. The veteran has chipped in with 21 points over that span and is a plus-20 while averaging a team-high 23 minutes of ice time per contest.

The Preds failed to make the playoffs last season, ending an eight-year run, but they seem set to start a new streak this campaign. They currently have a strong grip on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 40-25-4 record.

Trotz conceded that he didn't know what to expect out of Nashville during his first season as general manager.

"I thought we could have a rough season," he said. "It could be not a real strong team. Or, we could be sneaky good."

The executive also probably didn't foresee canceling a trip to see a U2 concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas to punish the Predators for their poor play in mid-February, but they've been lights out ever since.

Nashville's turnaround forced Trotz to change his strategy heading into trade season.

"The trade deadline was very difficult for me," he said. "I had to balance a couple things. Going into it, probably a month before, I was making all the calls to all the general managers here, saying, 'Hey, I'm probably going to be a seller. It doesn't look like we're going to make it, so here's some of my options, and if you're interested in any of these ...'

"And then as we got to the trade deadline, I said to the players, 'Show me, and I'll add.' And then they did."

If the Predators beat the Florida Panthers on Thursday, they'll set a record for the longest point streak (16 games) in franchise history. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET.