NASHVILLE -- Andrew Brunette will return as coach of the Nashville Predators next season, general manager Barry Trotz said Monday.
Brunette is 77-74-13 in two seasons after the Predators (30-44-8) finished seventh in the Central Division.
"[Brunette] is going to be our head coach, and he will make some adjustments, I'm sure, in terms of how we play," Trotz said. "Obviously talking with the players and getting some of their input is always critical. I think the one thing that [Brunette] is very clear on, and I think it's clear around the League, is that you're in a partnership with your players."
Trotz has completed his exit interviews with players and the coaching staff. He thinks the adversity Nashville faced could help them rebound next season. He said multiple times that there has to be better "buy-in" moving forward.
"It's not a dictatorship," Trotz said. "You're in a partnership. The partnership is every coach has to make every player better, but the player has a responsibility to make himself better as well, with the advice that he's gotten and grow his game within the framework of our game.
"I think when you have an off season like we did, it's easy to throw out the system. It's got to be the buy-in. It's easy to say, 'Well, it didn't fit for me.' Part of the process is you've got to find that happy medium where it does fit, where your talents will fit really well into the system. And then you've got to buy in to the nonnegotiables. The nonnegotiables on a team, that's the responsibility of every guy on the team."
Brunette was runner-up for the Jack Adams Award, which is given to the NHL's coach of the year, in 2022 after guiding the Florida Panthers to the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best record in the NHL. He was also the runner-up last season with Nashville.
"We're not where we want to be," Brunette said on April 18. "It was not from a lack of care or work. It just didn't happen, and myself and my staff are going to go back to work. We're going to take a breath. We're going to analyze, find out what we can do better, where we can be better, what went wrong. I don't have all of the answers right now. I think for me, just clear my head a little bit. I'm looking forward to finding solutions."
Although the Predators missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons, the expectations are not changing heading into next season.
"We're going to put our best foot forward and try to make the playoffs," Trotz said. "That's our goal every year. Our goal is to make the playoffs, and then you get in the playoffs and it's to win the Stanley Cup. That doesn't change."
