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Nobody’s got a better blue line than Nashville

Shea Weber, Roman Josi

Shea Weber, Roman Josi

AP

Three ways to say that Nashville’s strength is on the blue line:

-- Of the 48 NHL defensemen with at least eight points, five of them are on the Nashville Predators.

-- Nashville d-men have 52 points combined. The forwards don’t have a ton more: 79.

-- It’s not just assists the d-men are racking up. They’ve scored a third (17) of the Predators’ 51 goals.

Convinced? OK, good.

In last night’s 3-2 victory over Anaheim -- a win that improved the Predators’ record to 11-3-3 -- captain Shea Weber scored his sixth of the season, assisted by Roman Josi:

With a limited budget to work with, GM David Poile has already managed to lock up four of his blue-liners. Weber is signed through 2026, Mattias Ekholm through 2022, Josi through 2020, and Ryan Ellis through 2019.

The next one could be Seth Jones, a pending restricted free agent. At last glance, contract talks with the 21-year-old were “ongoing.” Barrett Jackman, 34, is signed through next season.

Now, granted, it’s more than fair to question other parts of the Predators’ roster. For example, do they have the top centers (Mike Ribeiro and Mike Fisher) to win a Stanley Cup? The same question is asked of good teams like the Canadiens and Rangers. It’s a legitimate concern when you consider the quality of the centers that have won the Cup.

But it’s sure a luxury for coach Peter Laviolette to have the blue line he’s got. Nobody has to play too many minutes. Nobody gets worn down. Josi leads the Preds in average ice time, at 24:56. That’s not nothing, but it’s manageable.

In fact, maybe the Preds have stumbled upon a model for small-market franchises that can’t spend to the salary cap. Think about it. There are only six defensemen. There are 12 forwards. Don’t skimp on the blue line, try to find bargains up front. Hey, just a thought.

52 points by six d-men

Roman Josi: 4G, 9A
Shea Weber: 6G, 4A
Seth Jones: 1G, 9A
Ryan Ellis: 2G, 7A
Mattias Ekholm: 3G, 5A
Barret Jackman: 1G, 1A