On July 1, 2024, the Predators made quite an impact across the NHL landscape by signing three of the League’s top available free agents.
One year later, things were just a tad lowkey inside Bridgestone Arena.
“We’ve been a little more quiet this year,” Preds General Manager Barry Trotz said Tuesday afternoon.
Within the first nine hours of the NHL’s free agency signing period opening, Nashville had only made one deal - a two-year, $5.5 million contract for defenseman Nick Perbix.
But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, that was all part of the plan for Trotz and the Predators.
“We set out with a couple goals, and I think we really concentrated on fixing our defense…now and into the future,” Trotz said. “We’ve got some great prospects on the way, but…we wanted to get bigger and we want to get younger… Then, the other thing that we set out to do is allow opportunity [for our young forwards]. We’ve got some really good young forwards. It's time for them to play.”
On the defensive side of the puck, not only will Perbix help shore up things on the right half of the corps as a right-handed shot, but the other prize on the backend came via trade a day earlier.
The Predators acquired 26-year-old defenseman Nicolas Hague and a conditional 2027 third-round pick on Monday from Vegas in exchange for defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and forward Colton Sissons, and the Preds are quite bullish on the potential for their new addition.
“You're getting a 6-foot-6 defenseman who we project is going to be in that top four [of our defense corps],” Trotz said of Hague. “He's going to play high minutes… We just feel he’s one of those players that is going to make a difference in the right age category for us as a hockey team…and getting someone who is…maybe a little bit undervalued in his previous situation.”
While Trotz said the door is open for additional free agent signings, Nashville’s GM also added, “I don’t think we’re in on the big names right now.”
Instead, the most notable move the Preds will make this offseason may have already occurred, and Trotz believes it could go a long way in helping his group address a major area of needed improvement.
“The big thing for me was the trade that we did the other day,” Trotz said of the Hague deal. “That one feels absolutely right for where we want to go with this team… We’ve got lots of good players [on defense]. I mean, having a healthy Roman Josi back in on the defense that we currently have and the depth that we have there, I think we're going to be really, really good. And that’ll make [goaltender Juuse] Saros’s life a lot better too, because last year, there [were] times it was very unfair for him. He took a lot of heat for it unnecessarily.
“If you can't defend, you can't win. We’ve just got to be better at defending. Start there, and then you're always in the game when you can defend.”
And as for those skaters up front whose time to play has come, Trotz mentioned the likes of not only Matthew Wood - who appeared in six games for the Preds at the end of last season - but also top prospects like Joakim Kemell, Reid Schaefer and 2025 fifth overall pick Brady Martin as individuals who could find themselves competing for a roster spot in September.
“We’re going to build,” Trotz said. “We need to build a new core, and that’s tremendously exciting for us as an organization.”
The Preds desire Martin to become a notable part of that core in due time, and while nothing is guaranteed, Trotz again spoke quite highly of his top pick in the Draft, especially when it comes to the potential possessed by the young centerman.
And while this year’s free agency period may be on the quiet side in Nashville, Trotz expects his team - now and in the future - to be anything but.
“This young man, nothing would surprise me,” Trotz said of Martin. “He's got tons of confidence. I think he's a guy that pulls you into the fight… He’s got more skill than you thought. He will hurt you. He'll pull guys into the fight; all those things that make your team better when it matters, and he steps up when it matters. [He’ll get] a chance at training camp to step up. It was funny - he came in and he saw [6-foot-6 center] Mike McCarron walk by, and he's like, ‘I’ve got to go against him?’ And it was, ‘Yes, you do.’ And he goes, ‘No problem.’ I think you’ve got to be excited. I think our fan base, you're going to love this kid. I know you are. I’d bet my life on it."
