Predators' newest offensive weapon says reversal of 2018-19 woes is certain based on existing lineup

There is no telling how much time and energy Nashville Predators players, coaches and executives spent in recent months trying to make heads or tails of the team’s power play struggles.

Monday, Matt Duchene made sense.

“Regardless if I was on the team or not, I know the power play would be better this year for the Predators because they have so much talent,” Duchene said. “Power play is a contagious thing. When things are going really well, it rolls seamlessly and easy. When they’re going poorly, it’s a snowball effect the other way.”

The 28-year-old center officially joined the Predators Monday on a seven-year, $56 million free agent contract. One of his first acts with his new team was to offer up an Aaron Rodgers “R-E-L-A-X” moment. He gave his Mark Messier Game 6 guarantee. Or something to that effect.

OK, so his claim is not likely to earn a place among the great quotes of American sports history. That is not what matters.

What does matter is that he is the one guy offered an assessment of the situation that made included an assurance that all eventually would be OK. Who would have thought it would be the new guy?

Unquestionably, coach Peter Laviolette did nothing to put anyone’s mind at ease with his rambling, exhaustive and — dare we say — exhausting recap of what took place throughout 2018-19 and what he figured would come next. Instead, he was like a patient lain out on a psychiatrist’s couch desperately searching his entire being for the answer to one of life’s great riddles.

The players had no real explanations or answers on the day they cleaned out their lockers. The best they could do was shrug and say they would try again next season. General Manager David Poile took the unexpected step of hiring an additional assistant coach to run the power play simply because he had success with that aspect of the game as a head coach in junior hockey.

All of them left the impression that 2019-20 could provide a repeat performance of what was one of the league’s worst power plays last season and one of the worst in franchise history.

No way, Duchene says. It was not about the players. It was not about the scheme. It was about momentum, he said. It was about rhythm, he said. It was about the unique nature of hockey, he said.

Most important, he was completely believable when he said it just as he was when he added that he planned to be part of the reversal.

“I’m excited to get to work with that,” Duchene said. “It’s such a huge part of the game now. You’ve got to score on the power play, especially in the playoffs. … It’s really important to have that going and I know it’s a priority for the coaching staff and for our team.”

Of course, it is nice to hear someone say things will be better. Most Predators fans won’t rest easy, though, until they actually see the improvement … or should we say the return to normalcy.

Keep in mind, Nashville’s power play ranked between 10th and 16th in the NHL for three straight seasons before last year’s meltdown. While not one of the game’s best, it was a far cry from the worst.

That sort of ranking would look pretty darn good to most next season. And it would end the discussion of what is wrong with the power play that has been raging for some time now and that had everyone who lived through it saying everything but the right thing.

“I’m sure guys are going to be sick of answering questions,” Duchene said. “I’ve been asked about it already as much as anything so I’m sure they last year got asked about it a lot and I’m sure guys will want to put all that skepticism to bed.”

His attitude is a good first step toward that end.