NHL Trade Deadline Looming, Trotz Readies for His First as Predators GM

In the early hours of March 1, an air of excitement fills the offices inside 501 Broadway.

Upstairs, where the Nashville Predators business side operates, there’s the same chatter and buzz you’ll find most Fridays.

But one floor down, the Predators hockey operations offices are, in contrast, nearly silent.

Nearly.

Inside General Manager Barry Trotz’s office, a TV tuned to the NHL Network is replaying highlights from the Predators 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild the night before. It’s the team’s seventh win in a row.

The Predators are surely the hottest team in the NHL, the voices on the TV suggest.

Hours earlier, Trotz was there watching his team record the third-longest winning streak in franchise history, a number he coached the same club to nearly 15 years ago.

Hours from now, he’ll be there to see them match his record from almost 20 years ago.

But Trotz doesn’t know that yet. What he does know is that there’s business to attend to.

With the NHL trade deadline looming and his surging Predators team wresting control of the Western Conference’s second Wild Card position, the second general manager in Predators history is about to put his stamp on one of the more avidly anticipated deadlines in recent memory.

“As a general manager, you're going to get a lot of criticism, from who we draft to the trades we make to how we play,” Trotz said. “I've done some things that are pretty bold at times where maybe I'm not necessarily always following the GM’s playbook… You’ve got to be brave and not scared of criticism, not scared of getting outside your safe area. One of the things I always said as a coach to my players is that you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone. Because you can't grow unless you get out of your comfort zone.”

A year ago, the third-winningest head coach in NHL history was admittedly outside of his.

Stepping back into the spotlight alongside the winningest GM in League history, and the only in Predators history, Trotz got acquainted quickly and learned from the best.

“I was a little bit of an outsider last year,” Trotz said. “I watched the process and I was a part of the process, which was really good. And I think this year, it's a little different. I feel more comfortable this year than I did last year, because David Poile will always be the GM to me. And I still rely on him to give his opinion… And in some of the stuff I think the thought process is a little different. It's the same in some ways, and then in some it is a little different, because I have maybe a different perspective.”

That perspective, the kind that comes from winning 914 career NHL games and delivering a 44-year old expansion team their first Stanley Cup, is one that few could ever imagine.

It’s given Trotz an invaluable edge, too. 

“[As a head coach] you get a much better feel for guys that you can win with, and guys that you can trust,” Trotz said. “Guys that you can develop and guys that when you're behind the bench, you can feel the emotion and you can see when a guy is committed on that puck. It's a lot easier to separate the players from the businessmen… And it's a lot harder from way up high, not being in a dress room, not being in all those places that matter when they're competing and being 400 feet away from every play. It's just different.”

Helping Trotz adjust to the difference is one of the best hockey operations teams in the NHL. 

“I'm relying on what I know from 25 years and from what I've done, and I am out of my comfort zone and learning on the run with some fantastic people,” he said. “Be it (Assistant General Managers) Jeff Kealty in our scouting, Brian Poile in terms of the salary cap and the League rules and Scott Nichol with the development model and what we're trying to build. We've got to work together and I think we work really well together.”

The team on the ice is good, too. Probably better than anyone could have predicted back in September. 

Earning eight wins in a row and 30 in their last 44 outings, the Predators have hopefully given Trotz a clearer view of the path ahead before his first trade deadline in the general manager’s chair.

“You could have the best team in terms of skill and talent and all that, but that doesn't make them the best team, it just makes them a talented team,” he said. “This team is maybe not as deep in some of the high-end talent, but they are deep in character and they are deep in commitment and playing a certain way, and that's why they're having success.

“I don't think anybody who looked at our roster going into the season would expect the Preds to be in a playoff position at the trade deadline. But too many teams, and too many people in the media or wherever would say that. So I give a lot of credit to our players and I give a lot of credit to our coaching staff, because they've done a wonderful job.”

The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline is on Friday, March 8 at 2 p.m. CT. Visit NashvillePredators.com or follow @PredsNHL on social media for up to date coverage.