After only three seasons, Nashville has mirrored the expansion team's path to success, one staked out by San Jose, Florida and Ottawa. The Predators' next step is claiming a playoff berth, a goal they nearly accomplished last season. Two obstacles in Nashville's way are an unwillingness to spend money and a lack of goal scoring. While the Predators can't afford to shop for a marquee name, they must improve their offensive attack in order to contend. They can start by re-signing star winger Scott Walker. With our without the 25-goal scorer, Nashville's young stars David Legwand and Scott Hartnell will have to step up their play to protect goalie tandem Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun.

Here are your thoughts on what the Predators need for next season:

Inching closer to the postseason
What do we need to make the playoffs? A bit more goal scoring. We've got two of the best goalies in the league and a solid defense. We've also got a lot of young talent on offense. With a bit more experience, I think a few players will come on strong, particularly David Legwand. I also think that adding an experienced enforcer in Stu Grimson will be helpful. The Predators are a relatively small and fast team. I'm delighted that we acquired Grimson this year. Also we have some excellent prospects coming up, including Konstantin Panov, Daniel Widing, Jordin Tootoo, and Martin Erat. So I feel highly confident of our future! For this year, I am hopeful that if we can put the scoring up a notch, we'll have a great shot at making the playoffs! And since Marian Cisar and Scott Hartnell now have a year's experience under their belts, I think we might just make it!

Jenny Ann
Nashville, Tenn.

Market moves needed for exciting and talented team
The Predators are an entertaining team to watch. They make up for their lack of talent with four high-energy, attacking lines that force turnovers and play solid defense. They also have the most underrated goaltending tandem in the league in Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun. However, if the Predators are going to take the next step and make the playoffs, they have to address two big needs. First, they have to acquire some goal-scorers. Why this team didn't re-acquire Andrew Brunette through free agency is beyond me. They could have used his offensive output. With their goaltending depth, they could easily trade Dunham or Vokoun to acquire offensive help. Secondly, they need to acquire more muscle. They have tons of skaters but very few checkers. Signing Stu Grimson was a good move, but Grimson can only fight. The Predators desperately need a power forward who can spark the team and defend their skaters.

Brandon
Bartlett, Tenn.

Steve
Portsmouth, R.I.

Preds must build from within
Obviously the Preds need some goal-scorers. But I think the source of those goals doesn't have to be a high-priced free agent. Players who were drafted two and three years ago need to take advantage of the opportunities they have. The entire team needs to have the work ethic shown by Scott Walker last year. I'd like to see Dan Hamhuis make the squad and take Richard Linter's place. I also think this may be the year that youth and speed have a big advantage against some of the older teams in the division. I think the playoffs are within range this year. I can't wait until the puck drops.

Jason
Nashville, Tenn.

Shaky blue line could doom playoff hopes
Whether Nashville has Scott Walker signed or not, it will not change the fact that they are so goaltender-dependant. Their defense is young, inexperienced and mistake-prone, and consequently, so are their goalies. Basically, if Mike Dunham pulls a Brian Boucher, I doubt Tomas Vokoun can stop the amount of flying rubber this sorry defense allows on a long-term basis. Cliff Ronning is doing the best he can to put numbers on the board, but he doesn't have any help up front, and lets face it, he's not getting any younger. Sorry, Nashville fans. The Preds will be right where they belong this season -- last in the division.

Billy Bob
Phoenix

Bob
Nashville, Tenn.

No-name team will fade quietly
Nashville is simply not good enough to compete at the playoff level. After a respectable first couple of years, this year will be a tough one for what is actually quite an old team (Cliff Ronning, Stu Grimson) despite having some promising younger players (most notably, David Legwand). The Predators just don't seem to jump off the page when you look at the roster and possible line combinations. More importantly, this translates in their on-ice performances, which are quite lackluster. How many people in NHL towns absolutely want to be at the game when the Preds come to town? Probably not many. Before the Predators make their way up the league's pecking order, they need to add a little more fire power and let the younger guys develop (think San Jose over the past seven years). Prepare for a rebuilding year.

Dave
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Legwand's magic key for Preds
I can't really see how next season will be any different for the Predators. No big trades, no big free agent signings. Their best chance to make the playoffs rests on the shoulders of David Legwand. If he has the breakout season we anticipated last year, expect Nashville to sneak into the eighth spot. Otherwise, look for them to grab 75-80 points and miss the postseason.

Eric
Three Rivers, Mich.

Jen
Milwaukee

Legwand key for offensive improvement
Obviously they need more offense. They clearly have an above average defensive system with good goaltending, but all that can guarantee is a lot of low-scoring games. Young talent like David Legwand needs to show more and hopefully become someone who will rise to the occasion. Their best bet is to develop from within and stockpile as many draft picks as possible.

Bob
Hillsborough, N.J.