Nashville Predators season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the Nashville Predators at the pause:

The Nashville Predators, trying to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a sixth straight season and the ninth time in 11 seasons, are tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They are two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the top wild card and four points behind the Dallas Stars for third place in the Central Division.

To showcase the top performances this season, here are the top players in various categories:

MVP

Where would this team be with Roman Josi? The defenseman leads the Predators with 65 points (16 goals, 49 assists), 17 more than forward Filip Forsberg in second. He is one of two defensemen in the NHL to lead his team in points (John Carlson of the Washington Capitals is the other). Josi, the captain, also leads the Predators in average time on ice (25:47), power-play points (23), shot attempts differential at 5-on-5 (plus-185) and shots on goal (260).

Rookie

Defenseman Dante Fabbro arrived with high expectations after reporting from Boston University at the end of the 2018-19 regular season and stepping right into a loaded rotation of Nashville defensemen. The No. 17 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft has been as advertised in his first full season. He is averaging 19:02 of ice time per game, which is fourth on the Predators and fifth among NHL rookies who have played at least 40 games. The 21-year-old has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 64 games.

Defenseman

Josi is the choice here as well. Among a group of defensemen stocked with game-changers, Josi is at a level all his own. He plays 2:17 more per game than Ryan Ellis, Nashville's second-most effective defenseman. He has 106 more shots on goal than Mattias Ekholm, who is second among Predators defensemen. He has 23 power-play points (four goals, 19 assists); no other Predators defenseman has more than nine. His plus-185 shot attempts differential (SAT) at 5-on-5 also leads Nashville.

Defensive forward

There is little doubt that Nick Bonino is the most trusted defensive forward on the Predators. Bonino has taken 33.8 percent of his face-offs in the offensive zone, meaning he plays the majority of his shifts trying to alleviate pressure on the Nashville defense. He has taken 928 face-offs, second on the Predators to Ryan Johansen (1,032), and won 52.6 percent, third behind Matt Duchene (56.1 percent) and Johansen (53.2 percent). Bonino plays an average of 2:36 per game on the penalty kill, the most among Nashville forwards. Forget his minus-6 SAT and focus more on the fact that he has 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) despite handling much of the dirty work in the defensive zone for the Predators.

Comeback player

Rocco Grimaldi had never been a full-time player in the NHL since making his debut for the Florida Panthers during the 2014-15 season. Since, he has played for two other NHL teams and three teams in the American Hockey League. Last season, he played 53 games with the Predators but also spent some time with Milwaukee, Nashville's AHL affiliate. This season, his perseverance paid off; he has played in 66 of 69 games and become a third-line scoring threat with NHL career highs in goals (10), assists (21) and points (31).