This is the start for general manager Barry Trotz leading the Nashville Predators and he’s proud of the immaculate effort from the team he constructed this season.
Head coach Andrew Brunette finished his first season and took a lot out of being a communicator in the 23-24 campaign. He learned more about himself every day on the job of leading this team behind the bench.
“For myself, there are goals I can be better at. I’m going to strive to be a better communicator, I still think I have another level there, and I can be a better listener,” Brunette said. “There’s things while decompressing this week I think I can do better.
“What I learned about myself is that I love this group. I was very fortunate and grateful to coach them. That was my why––for why I do this––you don’t always win, but it’s the people you get to do it with, and I’m very grateful for the group I had this year. It was a joy for me to come to the rink every day, it was a joy for me to watch them play. More importantly, it was a joy to see how close they got and that’s my why.”
Part of what stood out about the team this season to Brunette was the contagious energy he felt. There may not have been results earlier to kick things off in the season but Nashville found ways to persevere.
“The leadership and the players decided how it was going to go,” Brunette said. “That seemed to build momentum and a bond in them. For me it was one of the most special times I’ve had with a team, to go through for myself playing and coaching. They had energy and joy, and what they did was remarkable. There’s a lot of hurt today because when you’re with a close group like that you don’t want to stop playing hockey.”
Nashville carries that emotion and in Brunette’s mind, he felt that if this team had forced a Game 7 against Vancouver things would be different.
“I’m a big believer in the best of seven the best team wins and I’ve left almost all of them where I believed that and I don’t feel that this time, and there’s only one other time I felt we deserved a little better,” Brunette said. “It didn’t happen and to be part of this group––to be part of that energy––was really special in my career.”
Trotz echoed he’d felt that way before. It was the year before he ended up leading the Washington Capitals to their Stanley Cup win in 2018.
As the offseason begins Trotz said he plans to speak to all of the pending free agents in his organization as the Predators are also concluding their final exit interviews.
“We’ll have some cap restraints this year so the numbers will all fit this year. To ask who is going to be back I can’t answer that because the numbers will have to fit,” Trotz said. “I would like to have every one of those young men back and try to add more pieces.”
Trotz said once he wraps up the in-house interviews he will evaluate the organization and go through every department.
Next week, the Predators scouts will collaborate with Trotz to create next season’s roster, and planning to sign players will be part of it.
“A couple of goals going forward, we’re going to be a little bit younger, and I want to be a little bit faster and build the top nine,” Trotz said. “We have a lot of good pieces and have great leadership. It’s going to be a journey and it’s not always a straight line becasue we’re all human and life isn’t perfect.”
Trotz still feels that Nashville is a destination team for players and hopes to find the right balance of a well-structured team.
“There’s different ways of doing it, but we have some draft capital that will allow us to be flexible and use those assets to acquire and that’s what we’re going to have to do,” Trotz said.
One major asset to manage this summer is considering the future of goaltender Juuse Saros. He can sign an extension as early as July 1 since he becomes a free agent after next season.
Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is what Trotz will consider in part of this process, however, depending on who is interested Kevin Lankinen may be a security blanket for the Predators.
“I’m sure it’s not going to be a July 1 announcement. I think it’s going to be a process with his representatives,” Trotz said. “I do know [Saros] wants to be here, he’s been a big part of it and I’d like him to be here. We’re going to work hard at getting something done with him.”
Down the pipeline, a player Brunette wants to see more from is Philip Tomasino. He was sent down to Milwaukee and Trotz said he handled it maturely. Now it’s about him fitting into the system and executing at a higher level.
“For me, I think he needs to grab a little bit of our identity here what we’ve created and he has to have a little more of that in him,” Brunette said. “If he puts the work in and is relentless then his skill will take over. At different times this year, he wanted the skill first without the work, I’m not sure he has a chance to play for us next year.”
Only time will tell in terms of what Trotz has up his sleeve in his second full season as GM. Nashville goes into the summer with nine draft picks and prospects to make decisions on.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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