More so than any former Predators player, Nashville fans love giving the business to defenseman Ryan Suter whenever he returns to Music City.

The perception of many — right or wrong — is that Suter led Predators general manager David Poile and the organization on during his free-agency summer of 2012, ultimately rejecting Nashville for a 13-year, $98 million contract with Minnesota.

That long-lasting resentment will show itself in a couple of ways when the Predators play host to Suter and the Wild on Tuesday night:

One will be the customary booing every time Suter, who was Nashville’s first-round pick in 2003, touches the puck.

But the other is a little more personal, as a number of Predators fans are likely to crank up a favorite chant — “Jo-si’s better! Jo-si’s better!” — at some point. It’s a not-so-subtle way of stating that Roman Josi, the player who more or less stepped into Suter’s skates when he left, has exceeded Suter.

Is that actually the case?

Both blueliners are among the best in the NHL. Suter, 34, has three times finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting and three times been selected to play in the league’s All-Star Game. The 28-year-old Josi, a second-round pick in 2008, has twice finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting and twice been selected to the All-Star Game.

But does one have an edge on the other overall?

We enlisted the aid of two NHL Network analysts — Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens and retired 20-year NHL defenseman Ken Daneyko — to compare and contrast the two players.

Here’s a look at what we found:

Offense

It’s hard to beat Josi in this department, as his speed, skill and puck-carrying ability make him a threat as soon as he gets possession. He ranks among the NHL leaders in successfully bringing the puck into opponents’ zones, where he can set up teammates or unleash a hammer of a slapshot.

Josi has scored more goals (92) in his eighth season than Suter has in his 14th (82), and Josi is averaging .63 points per game in his career, a notch above Suter’s career figure of .51.

“Roman is a guy that rushes the puck more than Ryan does,” Stevens said. “Ryan is a little more stay-at-home. Roman is like another forward. He gets the puck and he’s just looking to go, where Ryan is looking to move the puck and support the rush, create offense from the blueline in.”

Added Daneyko: “I think Josi is a little more dynamic and obviously a little more of a threat from a goal-scoring standpoint. When I say dynamic, there’s a little more flash, a little more flair, maybe a little more offensive ability than a Ryan Suter from my perspective. Ryan Suter does it gracefully, subtly, does everything well and kind of conserves energy.”

It should be noted, too, that this is Josi’s fifth season under Preds coach Peter Laviolette, who from Day One has pushed his defensemen to join the rush. Suter has played on more defensive-minded teams, both in Nashville under Barry Trotz and for a number of years in Minnesota.

“I think Ryan Suter has probably evolved a little more in joining the play more than he had the last two years,” Stevens said. “It’s important now that ‘D’ join the play and support the rush, keep the offense going. I think a lot of D-men are evolving, and I think Ryan has stepped that up a good bit also.”

Edge: Josi

Defense

The 6-2, 208-pound Suter isn’t a physical monster in his own zone, but the nephew of Hockey Hall of Famer Gary Suter has enough of a nasty streak that opponents definitely know he’s in the neighborhood.

Much like the rest of Suter’s game, the edge he plays with is understated, sometimes invisible. But he knows the value of a well-placed stick or elbow when necessary.

“Suter is probably a little nastier,” Daneyko said. “I don’t know if people notice enough that he’s a little dirty — plays on the edge — like some star players do. I’m not knocking it because that makes you effective. So that’s a compliment.”

Josi is solid in his own zone as well, even if he isn’t as physical all the time. He’s averaged 0.7 hits per game during his career, just a tad under Suter (0.8). It’s also worth noting that Josi averages 1.9 blocked shots per game, half a block better than Suter (1.4) per contest.

“Josi is maybe not overly physical, but he does take the man — he does seal his guy off,” Daneyko said. “He does play strong in his own zone. Suter’s not going to rock you, but he’s just a little dirtier. That keeps top players on edge a little bit, and you always want that element.”

Edge: Suter

Ryan Suter (Eric Hartline / USA Today)

Special teams

Josi and Suter see plenty of time on the power play and penalty kill, another illustration of how both are quality two-way players.

The natural inclination is to assume Josi’s skill set would result in far greater power-play production than Suter, but that’s not entirely so. While Josi does hold a big edge in power-play goals (30 in his eighth season, compared with Suter’s 29 in his 14th season), Suter has more than held his own in power-play assists.

The result is that Suter is averaging about 15 power-play points per season during his career, just ahead of Josi’s average of 14 per season.

“What I love about Suter’s game from the point is that he gets his shots through as well as anyone in the league,” Daneyko said. “He doesn’t have a Josi one-timer. Josi can really rip it. But (Suter) gets his shots through and they seem to be tipped, so he really knows where to shoot it and how high to shoot it.”

It’s more difficult to quantify individual penalty-kill stats, but it’s interesting to note that the two have averaged almost exactly the same amount of ice time on the kill during their career: Josi is at 2:18 per game, and Suter is at 2:19.

“There’s a lot of defensemen out there that are really good at one thing, but not great at everything,” Stevens said. “These guys are great all-round defensemen, and you can rely on them in any situation, anytime. Whether you’re up by a goal or down by a goal, these are the guys to put out there.”

Edge: Even

HOW THEY COMPARE: ROMAN JOSI VS. RYAN SUTER Category *Josi (Preds) *Suter (Preds) *Suter (overall) Games 549 542 1,057 Goals 92 38 82 Assists 252 200 454 Points 344 238 536 PPG avg. .63 .44 .51 Plus/minus +45 +43 +114 Avg. ice time 24:41 22:37 25:12 PP goals 30 11 29 PP assists 82 88 182 PP points 112 99 211 Shot % 6.4% 4.6% 4.5% Corsi For % 50.3% **51.7% **50.6% Avg. PP ice time 2:53 3:07 3:15 Avg. PK ice time 2:18 2:18 2:19 Avg. hits per game 0.7 0.8 0.8 Avg. blocks per game 1.9 1.2 1.4 Avg. PIMs per game :20 :42 :34 *** Team points % .60 .61 .60

* — Josi’s 8 years with Predators / Suter’s 7 years with Predators / Suter’s career numbers

** — Corsi figures weren’t available for Suter’s first two seasons in the NHL.

*** — What percentage of points available that team compiled in games during the two players’ careers.

Overall package

Suter’s consistency and his staying power are two huge pluses.

He’s produced between 37 and 51 points every year since 2008-09, aside from the lockout-shortened campaign of 2012-13. He’s on pace for 53 points this year, which would be a career high. In addition, Suter has regularly posted huge amounts of ice time. The Wisconsin native is second in the NHL this year (26:61 per game), even in his mid-30s.

“As a coach, it’s nice to have a guy that you know will be ready to go on a 30-second rest, ready to go again,” Stevens said. “He can take a long shift and still be very effective. It’s pretty impressive, especially in this day and age. The game is pressure, pressure, pressure, go-go-go.”

Josi hasn’t had the opportunity to show that he can excel into his 14th season, but the Switzerland native may wind up with a more impressive résumé if he can match Suter’s longevity.

His offensive skill set is more varied than Suter’s, one of the reasons Josi is also on pace for a career high in points (63) this season. He’s topped 50 points in four of the past five years. And it’s not as if Josi is getting a lot of rest on the bench, either, as he’s averaged 24:40 ice time in his career, including 25:11 this season.

So who gets the final edge here?

Here’s what Stevens and Daneyko had to say.

“I hate being put on the spot like that, but if you’re asking me who I’m giving an edge to right now, I have to give Josi the edge right now in today’s game,” Daneyko said. “I love both of them, so that’s not a slight to what Ryan Suter’s accomplished, and how effective and good he is. But I’m still probably taking Josi right now with the way the game’s going and him bringing a little more offense.”

Said Stevens: “There are some things Roman does a little better and some things Ryan does a little better, so for me, it’s kind of a wash. Roman scores more goals. Ryan is probably a little more physical than Roman.

“So you can dice it up however you want. But they’re both superb defensemen, and they’re very consistent defensemen. Every year, you know what you’re getting from these guys.”

Edge: Josi

(Top photo of Roman Josi: Jerome Miron / USA Today)