The Nashville Predators were in many headlines after last offseason. After signing three top free agents, NHL circles debated the Predators as far as Stanley Cup contenders.
The next offseason came early for Nashville, however, as general manager Barry Trotz prepares for the draft after his team failed to make the playoffs and are enjoying summer vacation early.
Making headlines again throughout the season, the Predators found themselves the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. After one of the worst historical seasons in franchise history, how does Trotz get this team back on track, and what direction does he think the franchise is headed?
Trotz appeared in front of the media with 102.5 The Game recently, and a few quotes were pretty revealing about what the GM has planned. Let's look at some words and what they could mean for where Trotz is busy or standing idle this offseason.
"Depending on what happens in the lottery will probably dictate what we do in the draft"
The first and most important step in this offseason, will be the draft and that starts at the lottery. The Preds as we now know are picking 5th overall, dropping two spots after the drawing was completed and the New York Islanders walked away with the coveted first overall pick.
It is no secret what the Predators need here: an elite center. At five, many believe they will have a chance to, but does Trotz and his scouts? This quote implies an idea of alternate plans for alternate drawing results, and one might be trading up. Nashville has possession of three total picks in the first round alone. Can a couple or a few of them be packaged to move up?
With two teams picking above them in the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks already having a franchise center picked first overall recently, maybe they can stomach dropping for an extra pick and prospect. It's an inquiry Trotz must make, as his team won't get a chance to select an elite player this early very often.
"There's not a lot out there, as you'll see come July"
When talking about this year's free agent class, Trotz sounded pessimistic. Saying there isn't a lot out there and predicting a quiet free agency day, which is exactly what the Predators need. This team needs adjustment, but not with another expensive splashy off-season. Sounds likely the Preds wont make many headlines chasing the biggest fish of free agency this time around.
After the draft, when free agency hits, Trotz should use this time to adjust the edges of the roster at most. Although the team finds itself with a lot of cap space right now, and that could give Trotz cause to spend, cap space is valuable. Especially when making trades in a salary cap league.
"Im looking for hockey trades all the time"
A hockey trade is a common term now used to describe a trade where both teams appear to get NHL roster players back in a more or less equal swap. As opposed to other deals structured around an aging player, for picks and prospects. This sounds like a likely path Trotz could try to use to fix the roster.
When mentioning hockey trades, Trotz mentioned making moves like the Michael Bunting acquisition with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Justus Annunen trade with the Colorado Avalanche. These trades moved out talented players to bring in players Trotz wanted and the staff wanted.
If there are players they don't feel fit on the roster, perhaps they are swapped out in a hockey trade during or after the draft.
With loads of aforementioned cap space, Trotz could take on some aging veterans on bigger number contracts at a cheaper cost. This was another type of trade he mentioned wanting to make and compared to the Ryan McDonagh acquisition. Often, a player's cap hit can more or less dictate his value, and this would be the best way for Trotz to weaponize what space they have.