What a weasel this guy is.
From this year:
>After “winning” the offseason last year, the Predators decided to go in a different direction this summer. Erik Haula isn’t much of an upgrade over Colton Sissons, and while Nicolas Hague holds some promise, he doesn’t have the top-four experience that Jeremy Lauzon has. Nick Perbix also feels a little redundant to some of the lesser-known options the team already has, too. The end result is more of the same, but probably a little worse.

From last year:
>The big winners of free agency land just outside the top five. The only thing standing in their way? A backup goalie swap that looks like a four-goal downgrade.

>Other than that, things look great in Nashville. The Predators added two bona fide top-six forwards, seriously boosting their attack. Replacing two bottom-six forwards with Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault is a big deal for the team’s bottom line. Now, a team that once looked destined for a rebuild has found new life with a re-tool that should keep Nashville in the playoff mix.

>Add Brady Skjei — a modest upgrade on Ryan McDonagh with more offensive flair — to that and the Predators had a strong offseason. They sacrificed some defense to do so, but it was worth it for the added firepower. Only two teams improved their Offensive Rating more than Nashville and that’s a key consideration for a team coached by Andrew Brunette. The Predators’ roster now looks a lot closer to one he can do some damage with.
By putting "winners" in quotation marks, he wants to make it look like it was everybody else who thought Nashville was going to be great, but not him.