The Nashville Predators are no longer the Stanley Cup contenders like they were in the mid-to-late 2010s.
Entering Monday, the Predators are 6-11-4 on the season for a total of 16 points, which is good enough for dead last in the Central Division. Given yet another slow start to the season when they had high expectations, fans are wondering if there will be a domino to fall to try and change the direction of the organization.
Lest we forget, it's only been two summers since Nashville brought in the likes of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, both former Stanley Cup champions, to try and compete.
The accountability seems to be one-sided, though. On Monday, Predators general manager Barry Trotz backed head coach Andrew Brunette and revealed he had no desire to make changes to the coaching staff. Instead, he placed blame on the players for not performing up to standard.
"I'm watching the game systematically," Trotz said. "I know who makes mistakes. When the puck is on someone's stick and they pass it right to (the other team), that's not (Brunette's) fault."
Barry Trotz backs his coach by throwing the players under the bus
The logic behind Trotz's thinking is that firing the coach doesn't automatically mean that it will get players performing better. In fact, he said doing so could get players to feel they are safe.
"Over the next few weeks, across the league, someone's getting fired. You're going to see it, it's just going to happen," Trotz said. "And what you're going to hear out of every (expletive) player is, 'Oh man, we just underperformed, he was a really good coach, we've just got to be better.' And it takes everybody off the hook. They go, 'Well, it was him, not us.'"
Interesting.
Maybe he just needs to cancel another team trip to The Sphere in Las Vegas, like he did a few years ago. That strategy did pay dividends, as the Predators went on a hot streak, going 18 consecutive games earning a point. It's something that helped the team clinch a playoff spot.
But for Trotz, he is hoping that this team can finally turn things around for the better. There is still a lot of hockey left to be played, and Nashville certainly has its work cut out.
The Central Division is pretty loaded in terms of potential playoff contenders. The Colorado Avalanche lead the way by a considerable margin with 37 points. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Utah Mammoth, and Chicago Blackhawks are all between 24–30 points so far this season entering Monday. So they'll need to do some climbing.
The Predators are the worst scoring team in the NHL, as they average just 2.29 goals per game. That's pretty insane considering this is a team that boasts Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Stamkos. Defensively, they allow an average of 3.48 goals per game, ranking sixth highest in hockey. They'll really need to step up their all-around game for a run to the playoffs becomes even a feasible thought.