In mid-November the Nashville Predators were 6-12-4 and coming off an embarrassing 8-3 home thumping at the hands of the Florida Panthers and Head Coach Andrew Brunette looked like his days were numbered as head coach.
Then a winning stretch happened that carried over deep into January and a couple things happened that really got people talking positively about this team again.
First and foremost, winning always cures all. Sometimes it's a quick, but only temporary fix if the team eventually just reverts back to old habits. It still remains to be seen if that's going to happen to the Predators in this stretch of 30 games to close out the regular season.
Steven Stamkos went on an absolute heater to pile up the goals and make the Predators an entertaining product for the average hockey fan again. Ryan O'Reilly, another fan-favorite around the NHL, was turning back the clock just like Stamkos.
Then you have the murky wildcard bubble in the Wesern Conference where no one seems to want to seperate themselves from the pack. The Predators are five points back with nine games left before the trade deadline, with still the likely intention to sell some key assets.
But this isn't a discussion about the trade deadline possibilities. There is already plenty of recent content on that on Predlines that you can check out. This is about how much has Brunette saved his job security?
Nashville Predators Head Coaches All-Time Win/Loss/Points % Records
1. Peter Laviolette (2015-2020)
248 Wins, 143 Losses, 60 OT Losses, .616 PTS%, 32 Playoff Wins
2. John Hynes (2020-2023)
134 Wins, 96 Losses, 18 OT Losses, .577 PTS%, 3 Playoff Wins
3. Barry Trotz (1999-2014)
557 Wins, 479 Losses, 100 OT Losses, 60 Ties, .533 PTS%, 19 Playoff Wins
4. Andrew Brunette (2024-Present)
101 Wins, 97 Losses, 19 OT Losses, .509 PTS %, 2 Playoff Wins
Brunette is just the fourth head coach in Nashville Predators franchise history, and also currently has the lowest points percentage among the short list of coaches above. He's basically a .500 head coach with Nashville while currently in Year 3.
Year 1 saw an 18-game point streak that surged the Predators into the playoffs, and could've actually beaten the Vancouver Canucks in the first round if not for completely falling apart in Game 4, allowing two goals in under 3 minutes and then losing in overtime. Then later in the series they failed to score even one goal on home ice in the series clincher for Vancouver.
Then there's last season, which was nearly the worst season in franchise history with 68 points despite Trotz stocking the cupboard in free agency to go on a run that year.
Brunette got extra time from Trotz to turn the ship around, but how much time did it actually buy him?
The angry townspeople of Smashville did everything they could to run Brunette out of town early in the season when the train was derailing, but GM Barry Trotz stood by Brunette. Then the winning started to happen, and fans put the pitch forks away. Don't worry, they don't have to go far to pull them back out of storage before this season ends.
I think it's safe to say that Brunette is going to make it through another offseason and be the head coach going into 2026-27. If Trotz didn't pull the plug on the Brunette tenure back in November, then why would he do it now?
The only reason I can see Trotz firing Brunette before this season ends is if he wants a completely new overhaul with a roster that is about to be flipped. If Trotz is intent on being a heavy seller in the next month, then maybe he wants a whole new vision at head coach as well.
My more realistic scenario is that Trotz treats next season as Brunette's final chance to prove he's the long-term answer for what could possibly be a lengthy rebuild. If Trotz really is loyal to Brunette and believes in him, then he probably wants to see what this guy can do as head coach of a younger team once some of these veterans move on.
If that ends up being the case, then Trotz will probably show some grace when it comes to winning consistently, and will grade Brunette more so on the growth and development of his young core player like Luke Evangelista, Matthew Wood, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Reid Schaefer, Zachary L'Heureux and Adam Wilsby.
Eventually you'll also see prospects like Joakim Kemell, Tanner Molendyk and Brady Martin get their call-ups. Then there's Fedor Svechkov, who has recently been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals after having a rough go of it this season as a full-time NHL player.
I don't see Brunette making through 2026-27 if the team doesn't rally around Brunette. It will be pretty apparent that Brunette isn't the right head coach for this rebuild if there is no growth from the youth. That will force Trotz's hand to find a new head coach that can navigate this franchise through some losing years and growing pains, something this franchise has pushed off for over a decade.
So to answer this question of Brunette's job security, he is safe for now with his real opportunity coming post trade deadline. Let's say this team miraculously makes the playoffs even after Trotz sells some key pieces? Well that would be a testament to Brunette's coaching and this team's fortitude to not quit despite being sellers.
Let's say also that a younger and inexperienced Predators squad goes into 2026-27 with a brand of speed and uptempo offense and some newcomers make this team fun to watch? Maybe they don't win consistently enough with the lack of veteran leadership at first, but at least they show promise. That will also be a good mark in the column for Brunette.
This has me thinking that Brunette is safe into 2026-27, with the only caveat being that this team doesn't just completely quit on him after the trade deadline. That would be an awful sign that Brunette can't lead this franchise through some dark times ahead.
They have to finish strong, even if that means missing the playoffs narrowly, to show that Brunette can keep a locker room together. To his credit, he has already kind of shown that in the last two months when this team decided not to throw in the towel and instead entered this playoff chase.