Ever since the 2017-18 Presidents Trophy season came crashing down after a second-round loss to the Winnipeg Jets, this franchise has been gradually heading the wrong direction and avoiding the writing on the wall.
While putting up plenty of regular season success, the Predators in their 25-year history has only made it to one Western Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final. Every other postseason has ended prematurely, and ironically the one season they did go deep, no one was expecting the magical run that began with sweeping the mighty Chicago Blackhawks at the time.
With the 2025 trade deadline now just a month away, the Predators are in a precarious situation. They clearly need to be heavy sellers, but they also don't have a lot of highly sought after commodities. You can argue aside from their untouchable players that their best assets aren't even players, but draft picks.
Is Trotz ready to admit a rebuild is needed, and are fans ready to be patient for some painful years to come?
If General Manager Barry Trotz is about to finally commit to a serious rebuild, then his draft picks are his best assets that he should hold onto tightly. However, it's the aging veterans and players that clearly have no long-term future with this franchise that need to be dealt. Even if it's for minimal returns.
That's why I've been so adamant about shopping Ryan O'Reilly, but O'Reilly wants to stay and Trotz wants to treat O'Reilly like he has a no-move clause even though he technically doesn't. I understand both sides, but I would still rather make the difficult choice to cash in on O'Reily.
Since that doesn't appear to be happening, the Predators are left with virtually very little when it comes to prized players to trade at this year's deadline. It's going to make the impending rebuild last even longer. Forget the term "retool". That's not happening. Trotz is trapped with this roster and now his best option is to turn to upcoming prospects and hope that a couple of them really pop off quick in the NHL.
Joakim Kemell is expected to make his NHL debut tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. He'll join what has already been a lot of prospects who have gotten early playing time for the Predators, and I suspect those minutes will keep growing after the trade deadline.
You have to make some easy trades first at this year's deadline; trade away pending UFA Nyquist, find a buyer for Colton Sissons, and trade away any other depth players that just aren't cutting it. Waive them if you have to if the trade deadline passes and there's no one who wants them.
Your veterans with No Move clauses, like Forsberg, Josi, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. They're going to be nearly impossible to move, so if you have to keep them into the rebuild, at least showing a concerted effort to revamp the depth of the roster with up-and-coming prospects.
Now the question is how patient are fans ready to be? A large portion of the fans I interact with daily on social media are more frustrated by the failed free agency moves that haven't worked, and if anything sent this franchise backwards even more.
More fans would at least be understanding if Trotz came to grips with reality and committed to rebuilding. If done the right way and if the Predators are successful in their upcoming draft classes in the next few years then the Predators can hopefully be back into contention in three or four years, but that's being very optimistic.
Trotz may try to push it off another season and try again next year with mostly the same group
The windows of elite hockey for Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi are also closing fast. They're still dynamic players to build around for at least a few more years, but by the time the rebuild is starting to show positive results and progress, Forsberg and Josi will be nearing the end. Especially Josi. Forsberg has much more time to remain an upper-tier playmaker.
It just looks so grim when you break down the Predators current roster. Trotz really did go for broke in the offseason free agency, and he ended up striking out. Do we really think this same core of veterans will be able to suddenly reverse course to a positive direction in 205-26? Well, it's no impossible, but also seems very unlikely.
We'll have a better assessment one month from today on just how much Trotz is committed to shaking up the core of this roster. If he stays mostly on the sidelines then it will signal he's looking to run it back and try again next season with mostly the same players.
With the exception of Gustav Nyquist, Trotz can choose this route and hope for the best next season. This will undoubtedly push most fans even farther towards the ledge, that is if they haven't already jumped off.
What would really shake this franchise into a full-on rebuild is if Trotz traded Juuse Saros. I see that probability being very low, but also not necessarily zero, either. Saros' upcoming eight-year deal that kicks in next season might be viewed by several general managers as a potential bargain down the road, so there would be high interest in Saros.
If a huge overhaul does happen and Trotz admits a rebuild is happening, then you unequivocally have to move on from Head Coach Andrew Brunette. You have to bring in a fresh face behind the bench that can lead this charge, and give that new head coach at least a couple years lead the new era of Predators hockey.
It will be difficult at first because Predators fans have been so accustomed to having regular season success over the years, but if Trotz takes a committed effort to revamping this team from the bottom up, fans will eventually come around and appreciate the process.
If you're forcing me to predict which route Trotz takes, he's probably going to try to go halfway with it. Trade a few guys, but also look to add another couple of veterans in hopes to quickly return to relevancy in 2025-26. But Trotz is also very unpredictable, so who knows.
One thing is for certain; we have to break away from this viscious cycle of being just good enough in the regular season, but clearly outmatched to go deep in the postseason. Even if Trotz manages to fix some things and get this franchise back to the playoffs in 2026, fans will once again revolt if the same problems persist.
Smashville deserves a Stanley Cup, not this constant cycle if picking the middle of the first round and flopping the postseason because there's not enough elite talent. Trotz needs to fix it through the draft and through wise trades that get this team younger and faster for the future.