Everyone was eager to hear from General Manager Barry Trotz after the trade deadline passed with very little to get fans optimistic about the future of the Nashville Predators.
Trotz has enormous respect around the NHL and from fans alike regarding his head coaching legacy, most notably as the original head coach of the Nashville Predators. He led them to be a perennial playoff team before moving on and winning a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Washington Capitals in 2018.
However, in his first general manager gig for the Predators, he is getting the reputation of being in way over his head and not pulling off effective hockey trades.
Trotz told the media after the trade deadline passed that the "path is in pencil", which I take as it's constantly changing. Not exactly encouraging if you ask me. Sure, things happen that you don't expect and you have to adapt, but it tells me that Trotz is taking the "fly by the seat of your pants" approach to this whole GM thing.
"“This is a good test for our culture. We haven't had the season that we wanted, and we've been way too inconsistent. I want to see us start forming an identity that we can carry forward next year.""Barry Trotz, Preds Official Website
So let's try to dissect Trotz's comments and what his pathway is now, and thankfully we have the eraser at the end of the pencil if it changes next week.
Trotz moves on from Nyquist, Novak and Schenn
The Predators' opening night starting lineup is pretty much gone with the exception of the handful of veterans and Luke Evangelista. A lot of roster turnover within the season way before the trade deadline even got close. Some due to injuries, and some due to moving on from Dante Fabbro and Alexandre Carrier earlier in the season.
Nyquist was a given to be traded, and the best things that happened surrounding this trade deadline. They got a second-round pick in 2026 for an aging veteran that will never match what he did in 2023-24 for the Predators. So you can totally live with that return.
Every other trade deadline deal is odd at best and makes the "pathway" hard to understand. You deal Tommy Novak, who I admit didn't live up to 2nd line expectations, but is still within the prime of his career. Trotz said in his comments that Novak's price tag was too high and he wants to spend that money elsewhere.
Luke Schenn was also included in this trade with the Penguins, and Trotz is taking so much heat for this deal in particular. Schenn gets flipped by Pittsburgh for a second-round pick in 2026.
So essentially the Penguins turned their trade with the Predators into Novak, a second-round pick and only for Michael Bunting. A Trotz "culture guy" who works hard by the net, but is highly unlikely to move the needle towards being a deep playoff contender anytime soon.
Trotz may flip Bunting next season, but it's way too soon to know that for sure.
A couple waiver claims of Jakub Vrana and Jordan Oesterle, who already made their Predators debuts over the weekend in a win over the Blackhawks, aren't terrible moves at all. Vrana might actually work out to be decent depth piece, and Oesterle is just filling a roster spot on a depleted defensive corps at this point.
Trotz keeps some key guys who were trade chips
Choosing to hold onto Colton Sissons is the most interesting one. Many, including myself, thought he was definitely gone. I was going to definitely miss the guy, but thought he should've been traded. Especially with this seller's market.
Sissons sticks around and will be included in Trotz's attempt to stay relevant into 2025-26. Trotz isn't going to go full-on rebuild and deal with being really bad for a couple years. He'd rather try to reload and keep his core veterans around. Core veterans like Sissons.
Ryan O'Reilly got a lot of interest leading up to the trade deadline, but ultimately loyalty won out. O'Reilly apparently really wants to be in Nashville, and it would've been kind of a bad look to blindside him against his wishes. He's captain-like material and he can be part of the mentorship that's needed moving forward.
I thought a few depth guys could've been traded, most notably Michael McCarron. These players aren't expensive so it really doesn't matter too much either way.
While it was always a small possibility, trading any of the no-move clause guys wasn't going to happen. Especially considering that Trotz has the belief that the team can bounce back in 2025-26.
Trotz has to cling onto the hope that Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei raise their levels of play down the stretch of this season and into 2025-26. They're signed for the foreseeable future, most notably Skjei at six more years, so we're stuck with hoping they get better as time goes on.
Trotz's Pathway in Pencil for Nashville Predators
So my final thoughts on this is Trotz is reloading, rather than rebuilding. He's not ready to admit that this team needs a deep rebuild. He's I guess hoping that Bunting can make a top-six impact, which most are saying is crazy. We'll see how Bunting fits in the last few games of the regular season, but the real test will be how 2025-26 opens and where Bunting truly fits.
Trotz is really banking on his young core to show significant progress in these final 20 games. That first seems to start with Fedor Svechkov, who Trotz said is "going to be the guy".
Svechkov got way more NHL playing time that initially intended for this season. When the season went off the rails, Svechkov got his extended opportunity to start. That's something I can get on board with.
Luke Evangelista has been around longer, but is still just as important to show growth throughout the rest of this season. His offense, like the entire Predators roster aside from Filip Forsberg, has taken a major dip. He needs to finish strong and instill confidence in 2025-26 to be a top-six potential scoring winger.
Zachary L'Heureux has missed a lot of time with injury lately, but hopefully he can get back in and show the same confidence and tenacity he was showing before. Another young player who Trotz desperately needs to work out.
It really comes down to the prospects and young players on whether the Predators end up "reloading" or effectively have no choice but to "rebuild". So treat these last 20 games as auditioning for the young players, and chemistry building for the veterans who have grossly underperformed in 2024-25.
Trotz's pathway equals "RELOAD" for 2025-26.