Opinion: Predators GM's Comments About A Rebuild Raise Doubts

Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz is among the more engaging people in hockey. But recent interviews with him included some comments about the team's future that raised eyebrows.

Specifically, Trotz spoke out about the Preds’ terrible start to the season and how it affects his plans for the team now and for the future.

"If we don't get it going, then I'm going to start our rebuild plan a little bit," Trotz told 102.5 The Game radio on Tuesday. “What we did in the summer, as they say ‘fantasy hockey,’ until we have a good team,” Trotz told The Game. “(If) we don’t become a good team, then we’re going to see a lot more of our kids starting their process.”

Speaking to The Tennessean afterward, Trotz said, “We're never going to burn it down to the studs,” referring to a full roster rebuild. But he said if he doesn't see success, he suggested he'll look at swapping out veterans not named Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Ryan O'Reilly, Brady Skjei, Stamkos and Marchessault for a younger player.

With due respect to Trotz, we’re not buying the notion that a youth movement is on the verge of starting in Nashville while keeping those veterans. It’s easy to throw out comments about the ramifications of continued losing, but essentially, Trotz is in for a penny, in for a pound with this roster. It's not like the Predators suddenly should start using talent that’s not proven to be effective at the NHL level.

To be sure, the Predators defined themselves as a win-now team in the off-season by adding a slew of veterans, including star center Stamkos, Stanley Cup-winning right winger Marchessault and defenseman Skjei via free agency. Once Trotz committed to those players – and once he locked up his veterans to long-term contracts – he set the course for the team for the foreseeable future.

Trotz had every opportunity to embark on a full rebuild when he took over from longtime Preds GM David Poile in the summer of 2023, but his competitive instincts pushed him in a direction where he was retooling and not rebuilding. Despite Nashville’s awful 4-7-1 start to the year, that philosophy is almost certainly in place.

Josi, Saros and Forsberg aren't in Nashville for the long term just so the team goes back into a partial retool.  Stamkos, Skjei and Marchessault aren't better off being a part of one, either.

The Predators don’t look good right now, but there’s a lot of hockey still to be played, and Nashville can focus on improving in the short term to justify the investment Trotz has made in so many veterans.

The one move that could be made to change things up is to fire current coach Andrew Brunette, but he’s had only about a year-and-a-half on the job, and it’s difficult to envision another bench boss coming in and having a meaningful impact on Nashville’s win/loss columns.

If Trotz does start selling off fringe parts of the lineup, the best the Preds probably could hope for is to be a “mushy middle” team – too good to finish near the bottom of the standings and land a top asset in the next draft, and too bad to do any real damage in the regular and post-season. Again, that’s not what Nashville’s veterans should want now or anytime soon.

Perhaps the comments are this year's version of cancelling the Predators' trip to a U2 concert at the Sphere, which led to a season comeback and a playoff berth. But this team's core is locked up under contract for at least the next three seasons. They need to figure this malaise out for themselves, and their prospects need time to develop in the proper way.

For better or worse, the Preds are stuck with the group they’ve got, and they have to figure out the solution internally.

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