The Nashville Predators season is continuing to unravel and reach lower and lower points, there is nothing about this team that is getting any better. Obviously, the expectations were for the team to decisively make the playoffs and go on a deep run, so to be at this point is completely disastrous for the organization.
As such, everyone is wondering what needs to change, and nobody has caught more heat for the Predators' woes than head coach Andrew Brunette. It makes sense to want a fresh start, as sometimes when a team is continually getting worse, they just need a new voice, and there is a valid argument that this team should not delay the inevitable when it comes to his job security.
But at the same time, there are issues plaguing the Predators that are way deeper than coaching, and I refuse to believe than another coach is going to come in and turn this team around just like that. In this piece, I will look at some of the biggest indictments on Brunette's coaching this year, which will tell us just how much blame he deserves for the Predators being as terrible as they are.
Firing Brunette might not fix the problems like people think
Let me begin this section by saying that it is not right to say that Andrew Brunette is "not the problem" on this team. When a team is as bad as the Predators are, almost nobody should be absolved of blame, and as I am about to say, there are several things that Brunette could do better with this team.
But of all the things that can be pointed to him, the only thing I really put on him and only him is the too many men on the ice penalties. Those are bench minors, and when they happen repeatedly, sometimes that might be on players not being fully engaged during fast-paced moments, but ultimately, that falls on general on-ice organization and ultimately the head coach.
Now, the same thing happened in the early part of last year and got better, and my personal hunch is that might be due in part to how much skating is involved in Brunette's system and takes time to sort out. Either way, that is only a hunch and the buck still stops with him in that area, so in no way am I arguing that what happened last year makes him look any better right now.
One of the other things Brunette has been criticized for is the development of the younger players, and most notably at this time, Dante Fabbro and Philip Tomasino. Both were oftentimes and mysteriously healthy scratched while on the Predators, and now are immediately thriving with their new teams.
That is a horrible look for the franchise and the vitriol on Brunette in that aspect is well warranted. People have especially been mad that players like Fabbro and Tomasino were and are held to different standards than the established veterans, which is obviously not fair.
But it is clear that Barry Trotz has agreed with Brunette on the assessment of those players, with both words and actions. So yes, it is true that Brunette has been part of that problem, it is also true that it is a huge philosophical problem with the organization that needs to be fixed, but it is also true that the problem is deeper than and above Brunette himself, and firing him alone will not fix that.
Another indictment against Brunette this year has been the powerplay, as the Predators currently rank 20th in the NHL at an 18.8% success rate. The team made moves this offseason, specifically Steven Stamkos, to fix exactly that, so to be where they are is unacceptable.
However, I would argue that the powerplay's deficiencies more so point to another issue I have talked about at great length: personnel and players underperforming. When it comes to the former, everyone knows that refers to the absolute graveyard on this roster that is the center position, and the lack of speed.
Despite all the individually talented players on the roster and on the top powerplay unit, they obviously have no elite playmaker in the middle of the ice. The lack speed also hampers them because they are never forcing the opposition to chase them or keep heads turning with the puck being moved effectively and dynamically, which all of the best powerplay units in the league have.
We also see that they oftentimes have trouble with even zone entries on the man advantage, and having no speedy puck carrier on the roster is a huge reason for that. It seems like we might have overestimated what the powerplay should have been capable of this year, but it still should be better than what it has been.
Brunette of course is not just off the hook for that, but at some point, you also have to blame the players for not being good enough. And in the context of the powerplay, we are not talking about younger players and their development being mismanaged, we are talking about veterans in this league such as Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg, and Roman Josi.
Great players are supposed to be your best players shine no matter the circumstances around them, and the players mentioned were signed to be like that. Sometimes they just do need to be better, coaches can only babysit these guys so much, and we need to see more from the dudes on the ice.
The last thing I will mention with Brunette is the constant changing of the lines, as doing so makes it extremely hard for players to find chemistry and get in a rhythm. Marchessault talked about it the other day and how hard it has been on him, which is more than understandable.
At the same time, that speaks to the much bigger issue that is the personnel, the fact of the matter is that the Predators do not have a good enough roster to roll the same lines night in and night out.
Could Brunette do better and not change them as often as he does? Sure, but every head coach in the league would frequently be trying different combinations with the players available. Of all the things to blame him for, I definitely would not hold this one against him nearly as much.
So when it comes down to it, there is a multitude of issues with this Predators team that no one move will fix, including firing the head coach. If they are going to start anywhere, hopefully it is fixing the glaring roster holes that are plaguing this team from a roster standpoint.
And as mentioned, Brunette and Trotz will have to do some collective soul searching when it comes to the deployment of these young players and the standards they are held to. Watching those guys suddenly find their grooves elsewhere shows that the Predators are missing something with what they are doing, and if that is not a wakeup call to make adjustments, I do not know what is.
Once again, I get it if the Predators fire Brunette, sometimes a change is just needed when a team is falling apart, and this team is in that situation right now. But I would be shocked if doing only that changes the outlook of this team, almost every coach would struggle given how they are constructed.