Predators’ Roman Josi finally joins Paul Kariya in extremely exclusive franchise club

The Nashville Predators are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Roman Josi and company have completely turned things around after a rough stretch during the season. Now, they are legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And Josi is a major reason why.

The Predators captain recorded his 50th assist against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. With that helper, he has joined former Nashville forward Paul Kariya as the only two players to record two 50-assist seasons with the team, according to NHL Public Relations. Josi has also scored 15 goals on the year, bringing him to 65 points.

Wednesday also marked the 100th multi-assist game for the Predators captain. This makes him the fifth active defenseman in the league with as many multi-assist performances. He joins Kris Letang, Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, and Erik Karlsson in that company.

Roman Josi will go down in Predators history

Roman Josi has spent his entire career in Nashville to this point. He debuted back in the 2011-12 season, playing 52 games. The Swiss rearguard scored just 16 points in his rookie season. However, he would soon emerge as one of the best defensemen in the entire league.

Josi’s breakout came in 2013-14 when he scored 13 goals and 40 points. From then on, the Predators captain has scored at least 40 points in every season except the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Across a full 82 games, he was on a nearly 60-point pace in that season, too.

Josi has experienced playoff hockey a few times, as well. In fact, he was with the team when they made their only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. The Predators captain scored 14 points in 22 games during that 2017 playoff run. However, Nashville fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who repeated as champions.

To this point, Josi is the all-time franchise leader in points. Furthermore, he is the team’s all-time leader in assists, with nearly 500 to his name. Josi is third all-time among Predators skaters in goals with 173. His teammate, Filip Forsberg, holds the top spot with over 270.

Roman Josi has seen a lot during his time with the Predators. With performances like his on Wednesday night, he is showing that he is one of the best players on the team currently. And there is certainly a case to be made that he is one of the best players to ever wear a Nashville sweater.