- Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators general manager, initially aimed to build a competitive team for immediate success.
- However, a disappointing season has led Trotz to shift his focus toward developing young prospects.
Throughout his first two years as Nashville Predators general manager, Barry Trotz has authored some memorable one-liners.
"I want our scouts to find players that get people out of their seats," he said when introduced as the team's second general manager following the retirement of David Poile.
"I don't want you to come to Nashville to retire, I want you to come to Nashville to win," was another, which he said following his first free agency day in 2023.
His latest came when asked how he plans to liberate Nashville from the bottom of the NHL standings, a position no one in the organization was expecting to be in following a summer of increased expectations.
"The plan is written in pen, but the path is in pencil," Trotz said.
While the plan wasn't for Nashville to be out of playoff contention by February, given the reality, Trotz is rerouting the path for the Predators on the fly, overwriting plans he made just months ago.
Deciphering what has been scribbled in pencil on top of the pen is challenging, but here's what Trotz's original plan seemed to be and where he's headed next.
What was Barry Trotz's original short-term plan for Nashville Predators?
Following his record-spending free agency haul on July 1, Trotz was clear about his short-term goal for the Predators.
"I just want us to be a threat," he said on opening day of training camp in September, adding later that he expected the team to make the postseason and possibly win a playoff round.
Trotz's strategy to turn the Predators into a threat was logical enough. Add proven goal scorers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to a lineup with Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi. Lock up starting goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year deal. Replace Ryan McDonagh with top defenseman Brady Skjei.
But that's all on paper. Once the games were played, the Predators were anything but a threat.
An 0-5 start led to several other long losing streaks. Meager goal scoring couldn't carry the defense, which had its own issues and injury complications, and there were the inexplicable poor performances from Saros.
However, Trotz clarified in November that this was all accounted for in the plan.
Trotz explained that the summer's big spending was just a temporary distraction for the real goal: to buy time for the team's young prospects to develop in AHL Milwaukee and elsewhere. Because top prospects Fedor Svechkov and Joakim Kemell still need more time — and the next crop with Tanner Molendyk, Matthew Wood and David Edstrom haven't even turned pro yet — Trotz needed a few bridge years.
Again, the plan is logical enough: Field a competitive team and give time for your prospects to develop. But when the season fell apart, he was forced to "start the clock" on prospects like Svechkov and Kemell well ahead of schedule.
Barry Trotz penciling in new plan for the Nashville Predators
With the 2024-25 season in shambles, Trotz formulated a Plan B — or is it Plan C at this point? — to reset the roster for 2025-26.
He made three trades at the deadline, sending Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak, Mark Jankowski and Luke Schenn out in exchange for forward Michael Bunting and three picks in the 2026 draft.
Off-loading Novak's contract was the biggest relief for Trotz, who said the 27-year-old wasn't living up to the three-year, $10.5 million contract he signed in March 2024.
"If you want to move up the lineup, and get paid more, there's more responsibility," Trotz said of Novak, who had 22 points in 52 games for the Predators this season after a 45-point season in 2023-24.
But according to Trotz, the most significant move for the future was acquiring Bunting.
Bunting, who has played 326 games with the Coyotes, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes and Penguins, is a high energy, playmaking winger who brings an element of physicality to the forward position. According to Trotz, the 29-year-old will have a mentoring role with the Predators next season.
"Next year, we're going to have some young guys come and play that have spent time in Milwaukee," Trotz said at the conclusion of the trade deadline. "We're going to surround them with our veteran guys."
Bunting, who is signed through 2026, will join O'Reilly, Stamkos, Forsberg and Marchessault next season in the top half of the forward lineup, looking to mentor younger players like Svechkov, Kemell and 21-year-old Zach L'Heureux.
On defense, Josi, Skjei, and Jeremy Lauzon will do the same with Adam Wilsby, Spencer Stastney and likely 2023 first-round draft pick Tanner Molendyk, who is expected to turn pro this spring.
Trotz did not rule out more changes over the summer, but admits the 2025-26 roster is going to look similar to this year's.
"Add some youth, add a little bit of speed, add a little bit of sandpaper," he said. "Maybe not doing wholesale changes, but just some tweaking."
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter,@alexdaugherty1.Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page@tennessean_preds.
