In Nashville’s 3-2 Jan. 20 loss in Arizona against the Coyotes, Predators captain Roman Josi scored one of Nashville’s two goals. The goal was the defenseman’s ninth of the season, but more notably, it was the 167th of his career. That goal moved Josi past Shea Weber for most goals scored by a Predators blueliner and into third place in franchise history for goals scored.
Josi is a world-class talent, excelling in all three zones, and he’s done so for his whole career. He’s solid in the defensive zone, skates extremely well and is most on display when leading the breakout out of his own end, and his numbers speak to how good he is offensively.
While his goals may not be as highlight-worthy as Weber’s, Josi does everything at an elite level and should and will go down as the best defenseman in franchise history. Josi won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman in 2020 and finished a close second in 2022, when many felt he was deserving of winning his second Norris.
While goals get most of the attention, Josi holds a comfortable lead as the franchise’s leader in assists. He’s more than 100 clear of second-place David Legwand.
Like Weber, Josi was a second-round draft pick, a sure victory for Nashville’s amateur scouting staff. Switzerland isn’t a huge hockey hotbed loaded with talent, but the Predators saw something special in Josi. And they worked some draft-day magic to trade up to grab the 38th overall pick to select Josi in 2008.
Josi has been remarkably consistent throughout his career. Playing in his 13th season, Josi is poised to post his 10th double-digit goal season in his last 11. The one exception there was the eight he scored in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
As the team’s best defenseman, he’s called on to play big minutes in all situations. Throughout his career, he’s hovered around 25 minutes per game, and this season is no exception, as he’s averaging north of 24 and a half minutes of time on ice thus far.
Josi, 33, is signed through the 2027-28 season and he carries a salary cap hit of $9.059 million per season throughout the remainder of his contract.