Nashville’s big summer of spending hasn’t gotten off to a great start and Barry Trotz is already considering making some changes.
The Predators’ general manager made an appearance on 102.5 The Game on Tuesday and said that if the team doesn’t turn things around soon, then a rebuild could be in the cards.
“I’m trying to do some things right now,” Trotz said. “We will be limited a little bit because of some of the contracts that we do have. If we don’t get it going, then I’m going to start our rebuild plan.”
Trotz joined the team’s front office ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing former GM David Poile. After taking the team to the playoffs in his first year at the helm, the Predators made some huge splashes in free agency, signing Steven Stamkos (four years, $32 million), Jonathan Marchessault (five years, $27.5 million) and Brady Skjei (seven years, $49 million).
However, their season hasn’t gone as expected, with the team losing five straight to open the campaign and are 4-7-1 overall on the year, good for last place in the Central division.
“What we did in the summer was fantasy hockey until we become a good team,” Trotz said, explaining that the rebuild will come more from internal pieces than trades necessarily. “If we do not become a good team, then we’re going to see a lot more of our kids starting their process.”
So far, the team’s big free agency swings have struggled to produce in big ways. In the first 12 games of the year, Stamkos has two goals and three assists, Marchessault has two goals and five assists and Skjei has two goals and four assists.
They also penned long-time goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.9 million extension, but in 10 games, he has a 3-6-1 record with a .902 save percentage and 2.83 goals against. His six losses are tied for the league lead.
“We brought in the veteran players this year to be a threat, and then hopefully in the coming years our young guys come in and they take bigger roles,” Trotz said about the team’s goals coming into the year. “If we fall into the position where we fall out and it doesn’t come together, then I’m going to start that process and you’re gonna see some kids.”
Trotz still made it clear that the goal is to win and hopefully giving more ice time to the team’s younger players will push them in that direction.
As it stands, the Predators have the third-highest average age on their roster at 30.4 years old. Their three youngest forwards — Philip Tomasino, Juuso Parissinen and Luke Evangelista — are all set for restricted free agency after this season.
The team is scoring the fourth-least goals in the NHL at 2.42 per game while allowing the seventh most at 3.42.
Nashville is coming off a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday and is set to take on the 8-3-0 Washington Capitals Wednesday night.
