The Nashville Predators appear to be the likely landing spot for Chandler Stephenson in free agency to help down the middle.
The Nashville Predators are really in need of a top-6 center and there aren't too many options available to them this year. That is the most clear cut area that needs to be addressed and the team is the most likely to sign Chandler Stephenson.
While the term and AAV is unknown, Elliotte Friedman predicts that Stephenson will be headed to Nashville. If it doesn't happen, then the former Vegas Golden Knights center is likely to be signed by the Seattle Kraken or St. Louis Blues.
Stephenson has been on the radar of Nashville for a while as the Golden Knights have Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, and William Karlsson, so there is no space down the middle in Vegas anymore. The Predators offer a top-6 role at center for Stephenson and the 30-year-old has more than proven he can handle the workload and the matchups as he has averaged over 18 minutes per game in each of the past four seasons.
When Eichel has been injured, Stephenson even stepped up and served as the top line center. The former third-round pick of the Washington Capitals is much more of a playmaker than a shooter, recording 53 goals, 127 assists, and 180 points in 235 games over the past three seasons.
Stephenson is coming off a season where he declined offensively as there were more mouths to feed in Vegas, but he still scored 16 goals and 51 points in 75 games. He can play in any situation, getting Selke Trophy votes in 2022-23 as well as logging over 200 minutes on the power play and over 100 minutes on the penalty kill in each of the past two seasons.
Stephenson isn't an elite player, but he is in his prime and is one of the best players for the Predators to target in free agency this year.