Feb 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) battle for the puck during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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ROMAN JOSI: Aug 12, 2016/vol. 70, issue 03
His fleet feet and joyous approach gave Nashville the courage to trade franchise rock Shea Weber. Team Europe needs more of the same
BY DAVID BOCLAIR
All the movement eventually catches up to Roman Josi, and he needs time to be still.
“I’m a really lazy person whenever we have a day off,” Josi said. “Most of the time I’m just relaxing on my couch. I just watch TV.”
It seems reasonable given that, on the ice, the 26-year-old is a study in perpetual motion. He is a oneman transition from defense to offense when he carries the puck out of his own zone and promptly puts opposing players on their heels.
In his own end, he closes down space more than he takes the body, wins races to 50-50 pucks and sublimely backchecks after his offensive intentions mislead the opposition into thinking it has an odd-man rush.
Maybe his approach is tied to his native Switzerland, a country that can’t compete with the elite on traditional terms. Or maybe he’s just the right guy at the right time.
Whatever it is, Josi is a prototype for the modern defenseman, a blueliner in title but a player for whom the entire sheet of ice presents possibilities.
In five seasons with Nashville he has 190 points (52 goals, 138 assists) in 334 games. He is the only defenseman in team history to post 40 or more assists in a season twice and 55 or more points twice. He was one of four NHL D-men with more than 60 points in 2015-16 (he had 61), and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting the past two seasons.
The combination of his elitelevel performance and joyous approach helped Nashville, the team and the city, recover from the heartbreak of Ryan Suter’s 2012 departure via free agency.
Even more remarkably, Josi unwittingly helped franchise officials envision their roster without Shea Weber. They apparently became so dazzled by Josi and his fleet feet they wanted more. So they acquired a similar skater, P.K. Subban, in exchange for Weber in a June blockbuster.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t like somebody to say things come easily to him, but he plays the game fluidly,” said Predators GM David Poile. “It looks easy. Some guys have to work like a dog, and they don’t get any results. Josi makes good plays. He’s very comfortable out there all the time.”
What makes him uncomfortable is the idea he is one of the best defensemen on the planet.
“I’m still young,” Josi said. “There are so many great defensemen out there, a lot of great defensemen who have been doing it consistently for years. Shea is one of those guys. I still have a lot to prove, but I am happy with the way I’ve played the last two years. I hope I keep it going.”
Nonetheless, the idea he is a star is not new. It has expanded from when he was one of his country’s top prospects to when he was Switzerland’s best player.
Josi led an improbable Swiss silver medal effort at the 2013 World Championship, when he was named Most Valuable Player (a first for a player from his country), Best Defenseman and a tournament all-star. That ranks as the pinnacle in his career with the national program, which dates back to 2007 when he played at the world juniors as well as the under-18 worlds.
In 2009 and 2010 he played in the WJC and the World Championship.
“He’s a good guy – he’s my friend,” said Predators left winger Kevin Fiala, one of Switzerland’s rising stars. “He’s our best guy. He’s our leader.”
Josi was an obvious choice for a Team Europe roster that otherwise will rely on much older defensemen such Zdeno Chara, 39, Dennis Seidenberg, 35, and Christian Ehrhoff, 34, plus Josi’s countryman and off-season training partner, 38-year-old Mark Streit.
It is remarkable that hockey wasn’t an obvious career path for Josi during his early childhood in Bern.
“I always wanted to be a soccer player when I was younger,” he said. “I can’t remember what finally made my decision, but then I finally decided to play hockey, not soccer.”
The Predators could not be happier with his choice. As they have switched to a more a offense-minded team under coach Peter Laviolette, Josi has become the guy who makes them go.
“I love it,” Poile said. “That’s the exciting part of the game and how we want to play. As long as he has the stamina to do it, go for it.”
There’s always time to rest away from the rink, after all.