Predators GM Barry Trotz Threatens his Team After Slow Start: "I'm Going to Start Our Rebuild Plan"
The Nashville Predators were a team that had promise coming into the 2024-25 season, but their slow start amidst big signings has led GM Barry Trotz to rethink things.
It was a spending spree for the Nashville Predators this past offseason. Signing Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, Jonathan Marchessault, William Carrier, and Scott Wedgewood to add to a team featuring Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros seemed like the recipe for a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
But with that spending spree may be buyer's remorse. GM Barry Trotz's team is out to a slow 4-7-1 start this season and is sitting dead last in the Central Division. Outscored by 12 goals, they have not impressed on offense or defense and it's a stark reminder that money doesn't buy success and Trotz may begin blowing things up:
Never one to settle for complacency, Trotz's team needs to start picking up the slack or they may find themselves out the door quicker than they came in. Names like Gustav Nyquist and Dante Fabbro are UFA's after this season, and they could also get rid of Luke Schenn, Colton Sissons, and even Ryan O'Reilly is up for grabs.
Nashville can build around the pieces they have, mainly Forsberg, Saros, and Josi but again, this isn't a young team. There is a heavy load of veterans aged 30+ at a premium cost and it's not feasible to keep waiting it out and waste time not recouping money and assets.
The Predators have $30M issued to Stamkos, Forsberg, Marchessault, and O'Reilly; not to mention Nyquist at $3.185M. For a huge investment in players of which the youngest is 30 in Forsberg, the veteran overpayment experiment has failed spectacularly.
Nashville could off-load O'Reilly to a team in need of center help (cough, Toronto Maple Leafs, cough), they can dump Nyquist's bloated deal to Columbus and take advantage of their generosity, and perhaps even decide to trade long-time defenseman Roman Josi a la Erik Karlsson's departure from Ottawa.
Trotz does have a lot of capital and could use that and a big deal to grab a future star to build around, or take a few struggling players and use his ability to maximize players' potential and mold them into above-average NHLers. But one thing is for certain.
Nashville has become prey this season, and other teams should look to pounce on their vulnerability. But it could be just the trap they wanted to set, giving teams a declining, overpaid player for the chance to see success once again.
