The Nashville Predators are the talk of the hockey world. Many believed changes would come once the team returned from Sweden and the Global Series after playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in a two-game set.
This would have been the week to do so as the Predators had a week off between games, but as General Manager Barry Trotz explained on 102.5 ESPN Radio in Nashville, there won’t be a coaching change because that would be the easy way out.
“I believe our coaches have done a very good job. Our record may not show it, but they are coaching their best,” Trotz said when asked why the coach hasn’t been fired yet. “And it’s very easy to do, as I’ve said in the past. It’s the easiest thing to do. This is a shared responsibility between the players, myself and the coaching staff.”
And Trotz owns the fact that his signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei haven’t yielded the desired results he was hoping for for the Nashville Predators. As he said, there is shared responsibility for the team’s underperformance over the past two seasons. Because if Trotz felt like the players were no longer listening to the coach, he would make that change.
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“So our plan hasn’t changed, and the coaches, management and even the players have been part of the plan. We’re kind of in a mix mode and we would add some young guys,” Trotz continued. “So that’s my answer to that. It’s the easiest thing to do. If I didn’t think the coaches were coaching, trying to make the players better and putting in the time and effort, then I would make a change; it’s not a little bit, because it’s the responsibility of all three parties.”
The additions of Marchessault and Stamkos were good in theory. Since it’s hard to score goals in the league, you add guys with 40 goals into the mix. However, the Predators needed a center to get these guys the puck. And like the rest of the teams in the NHL, they are also looking for centers.
“Well, I would say, especially at center ice. I think that’s something that we all tried to solve, but we couldn’t. So as you can see, there’s not a lot of movement at the center ice position in the league.” Added Trotzed.
It’s an interesting time in Nashville for the Predators as they look to combine young players and veterans. The problem is that the Predators don’t currently have these players in the lineup. Trading for these players is not easy. When David Poile was the GM, he got lucky with Filip Forsberg when he traded Martin Erat to the Washington Capitals.
But Trotz wants to do what the Washington Capitals did: restructure immediately. He doesn’t want to break it down completely and play young players who aren’t ready yet. These General Managers have seen what happened in Detroit and Buffalo and don’t want to go through a decade-long rebuild.
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However, Nashville could have already been in that position had they not signed Marchessault, Stamkos and Skjei, considering players like Philip Tomasino, Tommy Novak, Dante Fabbro, Cody Glass, Yaroslav Askarov, Alexandre Drager, Eeli TolvanenAnd Yakov Trenin a chance to succeed at the right positions before trading them for players who weren’t as good or for draft picks that may or may not make it to the NHL.
And that’s why, despite the Nashville Predators being embroiled in trade rumors, Trotz, like most NHL GMs, wants player-for-player deals, and that’s hard to come by. And if an immediate adjustment is going to happen, it doesn’t appear that the players with no-movement clauses will be traded anytime soon.
“None of the players on a no-movement basis have asked to be traded,” Trotz added. “Everyone has been on board. From that standpoint, everyone has been on board. Now there’s a lot of noise, and a lot of it is coming from the media. There’s everything from Andrew Burnette to Filip Forsberg. He’s not going anywhere.”
Now, Forsberg and Roman Josi not going anywhere; those are the only two untouchables at the moment. Are the other players open for business? At some point, Jonathan Marchessault might want to get out. What about? Steven Stamkos? Could a return to Tampa Bay be in the offing?
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Not to mention, since every team needs a center, Ryan O’Reilly is a wanted man. Again, every team needs a center, so it’s a seller’s market. Prices are high because these teams don’t like futures to remain competitive as it is a year-to-year competition.
But the Nashville Predators need the right vision. Matthew Wood, as an everyday player, is a start. Keeping Luke Evangelista around for now is a good thing, but that mentality should have started sooner. Brady Martin will be good one day. But he needs time.
There have been a lot of missteps in the history of the Nashville Predators lately, and they could be headed for another one if they don’t change their direction.
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