Trotz ready for 'challenge' of replacing Poile as Predators GM

NASHVILLE -- Barry Trotz said he had opportunities to return to coaching in the NHL this season, but the more he reflected on what was next, the more he believed it was time for a change.

He'll get a sizeable one in Nashville, where on July 1 the 60-year-old
will become the Nashville Predators general manager
, replacing David Poile, who has served as the only GM since the franchise's inception in 1997.
"At the end of the day, I really sat down and really thought about what I wanted to do next," Trotz said during a press conference at Bridgestone Arena on Monday. "I could have done really well in coaching because that's an aspect I know pretty well.
"But I think just like anything you're always up for another challenge. I think anybody's who's done that … It invigorates you. It's not the same. It's a challenge. I know I won't be perfect. You're not a perfect coach. So don't expect a perfect general manager. But I think I have enough tools in my toolbox where I can be successful in this."
One of those tools is the experience Trotz gained in 1997, when Poile hired him as the Predators' first coach. Nashville didn't play its first game until the 1998-99 season, allowing Trotz and his first assistant coach, Paul Gardner, to spend a year working like NHL scouts.
"When David hired me that year in '97, I got to learn the business, the hockey 101 business," Trotz said. "Now it's [26] years later, but some of those principles are still there. That will never go away. That was the best year I could ever have, because I looked at the game a lot different."
Added Poile: "I think that was a fantastic experience for Barry, to go into every rink, to meet managers, coaches, talk to these guys, and it just took him up another notch. Then the way I ran things here, [Trotz] was in lots of meetings, pro and amateur. So probably subliminally, I was training him for this job in his 15 years or so with us."

Trotz has a record of 914-670-168 with 60 ties in 1,812 regular-season games in 15 seasons as coach of the Predators and four each with the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. He won the Stanley Cup in Washington in 2017-18. His 914 wins are third-most among NHL coaches.
He was fired by the Islanders on May 9, 2022. Weeks later, with rumors swirling of him possibly coaching his hometown Winnipeg Jets, Trotz told NHL.com on June 24, he would not coach this season.
"I didn't feel… if I'd said I'll take the job, I think I would have done any team a little bit of a disservice and myself a disservice because to be a coach in the NHL," Trotz said. "It is demanding, and it requires your all. It just does, emotionally it just does, mentally it just does. So I couldn't go down that path."
Trotz will spend the next four months as an adviser to Poile and the management team before taking over, allowing him even more opportunity to learn the front-office business.
In stints with Nashville and the Washington Capitals, Poile has won more games (1,519) than any general manager in NHL history.
"I'm going to be able to stand on the shoulders of the great work this man has done for 25 years, so I can't thank him enough," Trotz said. "The one thing about David is that he is a mentor. He has mentored so many people in this game, not only with this franchise, but other franchises. I'm hoping that as the next GM, I can perform the duties with the dignities and the class and the professionalism that David has for so many years."
Trotz will be taking over a team that appears to be in transition.
The Predators reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, captured the Presidents' Trophy in 2018 and have earned eight straight playoff berths. But Nashville is six points behind the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, and the Predators traded away two key players in recent days, forwards Nino Niederreiter, 30, and Tanner Jeannot, 25. In return, Nashville collected six picks over the next three NHL drafts, including the 2023 NHL Draft, which will be held in Nashville.
"I know the two young men are people you'd love to hang on to forever because they're great people and good players and all that," Trotz said. "But it's part of the business where you've got to acquire assets, and it seems like it's the time. Other teams want your best assets, especially this time of year.
"Those are tough decisions for sure. But if you look at the return, that's a pretty massive return. That could [mean] drafting players, and that takes time. But also, those assets can be used to move the process along as well."
Trotz said he plans to evaluate Predators coach John Hynes before offering any input on his future. Hynes has a 121-86-16 record in four seasons in Nashville. The Predators have not won a playoff series in three years under Hynes.
"I've been in coaching a long time, so I know when a team is well-coached," Trotz said. "John is a really good coach.
"My assessment now would be unfair because … you don't know until you own it. I'm going to get an opportunity that not too many general managers coming in get, to sort of evaluate and see from the inside. Before I can make any judgements on anybody, be it players, coaching staff, any part of our organization, I have to be a part of it."
Photos courtesy of: Nashville Predators team photographer John Russell