Rob Blake's hiring is a story known all too well for Predators fans

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland announced Friday that Rob Blake was hired as the team's Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.

Blake's hiring is MacFarland's first move made as a part of Predators management. He will join MacFarland in managing the team's coaching staff, roster situation, scouting and drafting.

He served as the Los Angeles Kings VP of Hockey Ops. and General Manager from the 2017-18 to 2024-25 seasons. Blake won a Stanley Cup with the club as assistant general manager in 2014. He countless years of management experience and winning qualities to the Predators organization.

"He brings a wealth of knowledge in management," MacFarland said, "and I will rely on him to assist me in many areas across the department as we look to build a winning team in Smashville. I couldn’t think of a better person to join me and the organization on this journey."

Nashville Predators Press Release

His hiring sparks the conversation of whether or not the Predators are heading down the same path they were on under the management of Barry Trotz.

Blake helped LA get their footing...

As GM of the Kings, Blake was responsible for a selection of franchise-shaping moves.

One of his more memorable moves was trading for former Preds winger Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild. It evolved into a win-win trade for both teams. Fiala ultimately was a top-line winger for them, scoring a career-high 35 goals in his third season with LA. Defenseman Brock Faber turned into a staple blueline for the Wild and the included pick turned into Liam Öhgren, a promising forward.

He was also responsible for drafting franchise pieces Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke. Byfield is a consistent 20-goal scorer for LA and Clarke is a developing offensive defenseman who scored 40 points this season.

Blake was handed a pretty bland prospect system at the beginning of his tenure, and he quickly turned that around. He reeled in Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson and Alex Turcotte just to name a few, all of which have become reliable pieces for LA all over the lineup.

...but the team never saw results

While he did construct a promising roster, Blake's team never saw true success. Sure, the Kings made the playoffs for five-straight seasons, but they never advanced to the second round in any of them. This is an all too familiar tale for Predators fans as the team hasn't advanced past the first round since 2018.

In some cases, the lack of playoff success isn't just because of domination by the Edmonton Oilers; sometimes Blake just made questionable moves. Arguably the worst move Blake made in his Kings tenure was trading for Pierre-Luc Dubois. The trade came at a heavy cost, dealing Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a second-round pick. Immediately after trading for him, he signed Dubois to an eight-year, $68 million contract.

Dubios failed to reach anywhere near team expectations, only scoring 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games. Blake dumped his contract in the offseason, sending him to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper. To add onto the damage, Vilardi broke out with the Jets, becoming a top-six staple.

If Blake's anything like this with the Predators, they may be in trouble. They can't afford another 2024 free agency move again. Regardless of what happens, all Preds fans can do is hope that MacFarland can find a way to squeeze the best of him in his Smashville era.

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