Potential Future Leadership Targets for the Nashville Predators

The Player/Alumni Combo

If the Nashville Predator’s faithful wants a sense of familiarity with who leads them into the future, but don’t want someone who comes from the current front office directly, there is a familiar name that is now an executive “free agent”, and what’s better: he comes from the Nashville Predator’s system. I’m talking about Steve Sullivan.

Sullivan held various roles within the Arizona Coyotes front office since 2014 from Director of Player Development, to Assistant General Manager, culminating in a very short stint as General Manager after the team was left scrambling prior to the Edmonton bubble.

Sullivan was let go a couple weeks ago, but he was also there to watch a team that is in a small market build itself into at a minimum a playoff contender – for full context, that isn’t an easy feat to do with hockey in the desert, but they had success in the draft and some key veteran signings.

On the ice Sullivan embodied what it meant to be a player in Smashville. After a debilitating back injury that would end many careers in the NHL, Sullivan fought back through nearly two years of rehab to return to the ice.

Not only did Sullivan return, but he had one of his better seasons. That resonated back in the day with Nashville Predators fans, and endeared him to a franchise built on grit and toughness.

Whether or not Sullivan’s player persona can truly translate to front office prowess is still to be determined. While he’s had front office experience, it may not be as much, or at the level of success, of other possible candidates.

Still, Sullivan would have more to work with in Nashville than he had in Arizona, and a market that is very attractive to free agents for multiple reasons. Time will tell if he can emerge as a front runner, should the opportunity come to pass.