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Three Things Barry Trotz is Looking to Change for Nashville Predators

By Chad Minton

Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators talks with Head Coach Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals speaks during Media Day for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena on January 29, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators talks with Head Coach Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals speaks during Media Day for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena on January 29, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Time to Get Faster and Catch Up with the Rest of the NHL

The game is changing. It’s evolving into a more offensively-driven league with speed and scoring off the rush. It was painfully obvious, and has been for a few years, that the Predators can’t keep up in this facet of the game among the NHL’s top-tier teams.

Trotz told the media on Monday that he wants to address this deficiency:

"“I’m looking to get faster,” Trotz said. “I want to add some size at key positions, and I want to add a little more scoring”."

Now the last part of that statement couldn’t be more obvious. The Predators were 27th in Goals Scored at 5-on-5 and 28th in Goals Per Game. So how do we fix this for 2023-24?

I’m zeroed in on the first part, saying he wants to get faster. This makes me wonder if he does indeed want to keep Head Coach John Hynes for another season, because if so, that probably wouldn’t match up well with wanting to get faster and Hynes’ system of dumping the puck and looking to be more physical.

Good news for Trotz is if he wants to get faster, we saw that unfold to a degree down the stretch with the younger players getting playing time. Tommy Novak showcased his speed and talent to move the puck to generate chances for his linemates.

Cody Glass isn’t blazing down the ice, but he certainly shows more of a speed element to his game that that of a Ryan Johansen, which we’ll get to on the next slide.

Philip Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, Egor Afanasyev and even Juuso Parssinen fit into this speed element as well. When you get younger, you can get more aggressive with how you attack offensively.

One thing is certain; for the Nashville Predators to catch up with the rest of the NHL’s top teams, many of whom are in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs currently, they have to adopt a more offensively aggressive approach built on speed and taking some chances.

You have some pieces already here, but you’re going to need to find at least one free agent over the summer to boost this area even more if possible. This is probably a more long-term goal that can’t be immediately obtained this summer.

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