Barry Trotz Outlines Vision for Predators Future

The Nashville Predators have officially entered offseason mode, and President of Hockey Operations & General Manager David Poile has begun the process of "handing the keys" over to his successor, Senior Advisor Barry Trotz.
Trotz, who will officially take over as General Manager effective July 1, sat beside Poile and Head Coach John Hynes as he reflected on the 2022-23 season and outlined his vision for the future of the franchise on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.

"When I got hired before the trading deadline, we made a lot of changes," Trotz said. "And it's been a fun ride; it really has. I get to come in and get to evaluate and get to watch and get a handle on some of the prospects and some of the veteran guys on the team."
The back half of the Predators season saw plenty of ups and downs, from deadline moves to season-ending injuries and everything in between. While Nashville ultimately fell just short of playoff qualification this year, Trotz sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic for next year and beyond.
"I am just disappointed like everybody else that we didn't get to the playoffs]," Trotz said. "But we will. And we've got a really good ceiling set up by what David has done. Myself and the management team are left in a great position to go forward here with all the assets that we need to make that happen."
In his
[opening remarks at Monday's press conference
, Poile outlined the Predators' three foundational pillars as elite goaltending, veteran leadership and young talent. Trotz echoed Poile's optimism about these existing assets and the possibility of adding more.
"We've got some leadership," Trotz said. "We need our top players to be our top players. Combined with the quality people that we have in the veteran roles, and also the young players coming up to feed off that energy, and the elite goaltending, I'm excited for the future. I'm excited for the opportunity to use the assets that David has given me to work with going forward, be it draft choices or be it cap space; all that sets us up for the future."
Nashville's goaltending, specifically Juuse Saros is arguably the primary reason why the Preds remained in the hunt for a playoff spot until last Tuesday despite a barrage of injuries and a young, inexperienced lineup.
"We've got elite goaltending," Trotz said. "Elite goaltending covers up a lot of stuff. I want to temper the expectations a little bit. I think our turnaround in terms of getting to where we want to be can be very quick with opportunities. But when we had to win games down the stretch, those high-pressure, meaningful games… we had a lot of trouble. So we've got some work to do. Let's just be honest there. But we've got the assets to do that. We need a full roster as well. But we have some of those things in place."
Necessity breeds opportunity, and the trades and injuries to the veteran core afforded Nashville's young prospects the opportunity to play at the NHL level more - and in some cases, sooner - than they otherwise would have. Young players like Tommy Novak, Luke Evangelista and others, who were first expected to be temporary call-ups, ended up becoming key contributors on the Predators offense and making names for themselves in the process.
"Some of the older players had career years [last year], and they're important for us to win," Trotz said. "And then you've got the emergence of young players like Tommy Novak… As older players, they see younger players moving up the ladder in terms of their ability to play. I use the term 'man's league,' and what you're seeing is some young men turning into men and playing in the National Hockey League. And as that happens, there's a closer divide between the talented older players and young players, and there's going to have to be integration."
What exactly this integration will look like remains to be seen, but it will require some open mindedness on the parts of both the management and the players regarding individual roles.
"Some of the older players may not get some of the minutes that they did in the past, so they've got to sort of remake themselves a little bit and find their role," Trotz said. "But we want to get everybody… in the right seat, knowing their role and then doing their job. And if we get all that in place, I think we can have a really good turnaround."
With ample cap space and a plethora of draft picks, the Preds are also well positioned to supplement their current roster with some missing pieces sooner rather than later. When it comes to beefing up Nashville's roster, Trotz is focused on three key areas: size, speed and scoring.
"I'm looking to get faster," Trotz said. "I want to add some size at key positions, and I want to add a little more scoring… In a short span of 20 games you saw the young players max out; can they do it for 82? I don't have that answer… But we have the X Factor in goal, and that allows us to get there night in and night out."
While the exact construction of next year's roster is yet to be determined, Trotz plans to remain committed to the three-pronged foundation he inherited from Poile: experienced leadership, combined with up-and-coming youth, anchored by top-tier goaltending.
"I think there's a really good blend of some of the older players and some of the young [players]," Trotz said. "If you get too old of a team, I think you lose some of that enthusiasm and some of that fire that you need for an 82-game schedule. If you get too young [of a team], you can get overwhelmed and not have the guidance that you need to have success in this league… I think we're going to have a blend, and I think that's the most dangerous when you have that blend."