So, the big question through all of it is what does Nashville (26-23-6) do in advance of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6?
A team that once looked like a definite seller with a GM that had given no public indication he was near the end of his term is back in the race, a potential buyer, and starting a search for a new GM.
"I don't know and that's what makes this whole transition for Barry Trotz a difficult decision because you've got to look at the projection of this team and the organization," Hal Gill, a former Predators defenseman turned broadcaster, said on the "NHL @TheRink podcast" this week. "It still baffles me because they could go out and look like the worst team on the ice, and they did that in the second period of their last home game (a 6-5 win against the St. Louis Blues on Monday). And they turned it around and found a way to put it together. Down 5-1, I thought they were the worst team in the League, and then they flipped a switch and they looked like the best team and no one is ever going to beat them.
"They play fast, they play hard. Stamkos has come alive. Roman Josi is playing as well as he ever has. So I don't know where you go with this team. It's a struggle for me to say that this team can't win because I've seen them play where they can beat anyone. They went into Colorado [on Jan. 16] and they beat them at home, and they were the first team in the League to do it this year. So they have those moments, but they also lay some eggs."
Gill, though, referenced Nashville's 17 comeback wins, which is the most in the West and second in the NHL behind the Montreal Canadiens (18). He said it's a sign the Predators are battling, and maybe that is enough for Trotz, in his final end-of-season run as general manager, to try to add for a playoff push that once seemed so unlikely.
"It's a lot of effort in a condensed season," Gill said. "It's been a battle, but this team has battled, and so I give them a ton of credit for that. I want to see what they can do."
In addition to the interview with Gill, this week's episode touches on various other topics, including the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning, who are 18-1-1 in their past 20 games, the difference in the Columbus Blue Jackets since Rick Bowness took over as coach Jan. 12, the struggling New Jersey Devils and a quick look at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, specifically why Czechia and Switzerland might be able to medal.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
