Since the end of today’s Titans game I’ve been pondering who has it worse, currently and for the future: Preds or Titans? I’m still thinking.
I think the Preds are in a worse situation for at least two reasons. They have so many bad veteran contracts, which are guaranteed. And the NHL draft is more of a crapshoot and it takes a lot longer to develop your picks.
The Preds roster is in a bad situation, and one not easy to dig out of. No depth, not really any blue chip prospects, and being managed still by the people responsible for a big portion of the mess.
The Titans have a lot of solid pieces, especially on defense. Their biggest issue is offensive line, which would make several of the offensive pieces look better, and even with a Levis bust, if you have the line in place you can generally plug in a veteran QB to manage games enough to win. Ran is working on it, and the NFL draft pays off faster and deeper. He's cleaning up the mess that Robinson left, and has an owner that at least outwardly seems to push more than the Preds owners do. I also think they have a big incentive to turn it around for the opening of the new stadium.
That's not to say the Titans have it easy, it's still bad there and will take a lot of work and some luck. But at least you can see a path out with them. Right now there doesn't seem to be a path out for the Preds. I think the Preds are still on their way down while the Titans have either bottomed out or are on the rebound.