Chris Johnston, Michael Russo, and Sean Gentille of The Athletic teamed up to bring the hockey world the second edition of Front Office Rankings. In this article, general managers, assistant general managers, senior advisors, and scouting directors were anonymously surveyed on which teams have the best-run front offices.
So, where did the Nashville Predators rank? Well, they didn't this year. After receiving one vote in last season's edition, the Preds seemingly lost the confidence of that voter, as this year they finished with zero votes.
After the terrible season Nashville played last year, it's hard to blame them.
Nashville Predators front office receives zero votes from fellow general managers and other front office employees, per The Athletic
Barry Trotz and his front office received a fourth-place vote in last year's article from a senior advisor to the GM. This was because the Advisor believed "(Trotz) is accruing assets for a quasi rebuild while going out and getting big names".
Big names indeed. Referring to the signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei, the advisor likely saw the same vision as Trotz and many Preds fans. Sadly, as is well documented, things didn't go to plan.
Due to this fact, this advisor and all others surveyed didn't cast a vote in Nashville's direction. After making only a couple of newsworthy offseason moves, no confidence has been regained by Barry Trotz yet. Until last year's free agent class starts living up to the hype and the price tag they carry, it's likely no votes come next year either.
Marchessault was showing signs of improvement, starting the season hot with 4 points in 5 games while appearing on a new line with Erik Haula and Michael Bunting. The three have looked great together and continuously set the tone and pace for the team. Unfortunately, Marchessault was announced injured and is listed as day-to-day. Hopefully he can get back soon, as the Preds have now lost their last four games and desperately need to turn it around.
Steven Stamkos continues to struggle with the Preds. With only 2 points in 7 games, he has been moved around with multiple combinations of players to try and get his game going. Currently he has been skating on a line with Fedor Svechkov and Luke Evangelista. Luke has shown to be a sneakily good distributor at times, and head coach Andrew Brunette likely hopes this can help jumpstart the goal scorer.
The Brady Skjei struggles also continues, and is probably the worst of the three. He has 2 points in 7 games, like Stamkos, but the lapses in his game are most noticeable in the defensive zone.
He is minus-6 in his last 4 games, after being on the ice for three even-strength goals against while playing the Anaheim Ducks.
Roman Josi won't be the force he is forever, at least at his current level, so it's important for the Preds that a strong number two guy steps up for them. With his pricetag, that player has to be Skjei.
After going into free agency and making a huge splash, Trotz and the Preds' front office may have some regrets. Until the players they brought in start performing, the team's struggles will likely continue. If that is the case, something has to change, whether it be the personnel on the ice or behind the bench.
It'll take some bold and successful moves for other executives around the league to start regaining faith in this GM's vision. After a few rocky games, however, Trotz may have to worry about the faith the fans have first.