Trotz talks making Predators contender in Q&A with NHL.com

BUFFALO -- Barry Trotz wants to bring glitz to a city known for embracing it.

In the 24-year history of the Nashville Predators, no player has ever registered a 100-point season nor scored 50 goals in a single season. Only twice has a player scored 40-plus goals. The team record for points in a season (96) is held by a defenseman, Roman Josi, in 2021-22.

"This team has been known for goalies and defense in its history," the Predators general manager told NHL.com at the recent NHL Scouting Combine. "You think about the likes of Pekka Rinne in goal, Shea Weber, Josi on the back end. We've had a lot of good forwards.

"But now we're looking at getting difference makers up front. I mean, we're Nashville. We're in the entertainment industry, right? We play in a town known for it.

"I've said it publicly: I want our scouts to swing for the fences. I want them to take a chance on players who have the potential to bring fans out of their seats. Sure, you can find third-line players in the first round. That's not what we're looking for."

The Predators will host the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 28-29. They will be very active over the two days with 13 picks, including two in the first round, two in the second and three in the third.

"With that many picks, it should be entertaining for the fans, that's for sure," Trotz said.

The Predators announced Feb. 27 that Trotz would become the second general manager in their history, replacing David Poile on July 1. The 60-year-old was originally hired by Poile as the Predators first coach on Aug. 6, 1997, and accrued a 557-479-(60)-100 record in 1,196 games. He went on to coach with the Washington Capitals from 2014-18, guiding them to a Stanley Cup championship in his final season there, and the New York Islanders from 2018-22.

Now, less than four months since returning to Nashville, Trotz sat down for a 1-on-1 to discuss his new role, some of the tough decisions it's already entailed and his vision for the team moving forward.

While David isn't officially leaving until the end of the month, you've essentially been calling the shots for the past 14 weeks. How has a lifelong coach like you grown into this new role? What have you learned about the position?

"Well, I have a new appreciation for all the work that David has done over the years. Obviously, I'm trying to change a lot of things and I'm creating my own work, I think. But I spent really the first 90 days of getting to know everybody's job, doing an evaluation on every aspect of the of the business, be it the team, the scouting department, just everything or you know, organizationally, how everything runs, and making some changes that I see get us up to speed and in some areas where maybe we weren't up to speed, in my eyes anyways. And then obviously, you know, being part of some real hard decisions for the trade deadline. I came in right before the trade deadline and was asked my opinion. Obviously, the trade deadline, you saw what we did. We moved four or five pretty big pieces including Mattias Ekholm, Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund. We decided to reach our goal, we had to take a step back if we want to win a Stanley Cup. It's hard to win if you're in the mushy middle and that's where we were."

Mushy middle? Good term.

"Right? Like I said, our eyes are on the Stanley Cup. That's our goal, like every team. And we may have to take a step back for a year or two, just to take a bunch of steps forward. So, I thought we did a really good job at the trade deadline, getting a lot of draft capital for moving a lot of money. So now we have draft capital, we get seven picks in the first 83 picks this year. And it's a similar situation next year. And so we've got [NHL Salary] Cap space, which is very, very valuable, as you know."

How do you obtain that fragile balance of 'having patience' versus 'winning soon?' After all, you don't want to end up in the mushy middle again.

"We're aligned to take steps forward fairly quickly, but at the same time, you have to know the human element. We're drafting 18-year-old kids. We have to remember that. I really think that players really take off in the ages of 22 to 24. And when they take off, I'm trying to build a roster where they all hit that window, you know, 22 to 26, where they have three years of really good picks where our kids are developing, training. Obviously, we want to do it with our farm team in Milwaukee (of the American Hockey League) as much as we can. We may have as many as six first rounders playing in Milwaukee next year, which is unheard of these days. And then, hopefully, we've developed some kids on the fly as well, which is a little harder to do. But I think when you're a young team, it might be a little easier."

With so much draft capital at your disposal, how much consideration would you give to the prospect of trading up?

"All that being said, yes, we could always trade up. It's a little harder to trade up but, either way, we have changed the philosophy. Like I said, I challenged our scouts. I told them we need four top-end guys in the next two drafts. Again, like I said, swing for the fences."

You recently replaced John Hynes with Andrew Brunette as coach. Does that have anything to do with the so-called change of philosophy you made reference to?

"One of the reasons we hired Andrew Brunette is that he has a little more offensive mindset. And we're trying to change the Nashville mindset or, at least, the perception of the way we play. I still believe in defense, but I believe in balance and we're drafting more high-end guys. I like a model of having a top nine that can hurt you."

As a former coach, how difficult was it that one of your first decisions was to make a coaching change?

"Look, they did a fine job under trying circumstances. We traded a lot of key pieces at the deadline and they still had us contending for a playoff spot up to the final week. I just thought it was time we needed some freshness in the organization. So, I told the coaching staff I was going to look at everything. I went to the ownership. I went to the fans. I went to the players. And then I said if I find the right guy, if the right guy is there, and I feel it's the right guy, then there may be changes. The good thing is, all that staff had a year left in their contracts. I've been in that position. And I know it might have been a lot different if they didn't have another year left. Sometimes you never want to be left hanging to wonder if you're going to be back. But I said to them, and I said to anybody I've talked to, and I'm telling you right now, if I didn't find the right guy, I was more than comfortable with John Hynes because he's a very good coach. I just felt that, you know, when I made the change, I was asking for a different mindset. And I just felt that this was the guy. I've known Andrew for a long time. I know how he relates to players, especially skilled players. And did my research. In the end, I felt that the changes were necessary. And I think the freshness will be there in Nashville."

Finally, what are you most looking forward to when Nashville hosts the draft later this month?

"The sendoff for David Poile. He deserves all the accolades he gets, and it'll be a great way for him to go out. This franchise would not be anything without him."