If change is coming for the Nashville Predators it appears it will not include a new head coach.
Predators general manager Barry Trotz said Monday that he is not considering firing head coach Andrew Brunette despite the team’s last-place record.
“I do believe in Bruno. That’s why I’ve been firm on that,” Trotz told ESPN. “I’m not worried about what people think. I think sometimes it’s easy to fire the coach because it’s the easy thing to do.”
Trotz’s comments came prior to Nashville’s 8-3 blowout loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday, which dropped their record to 6-12-4.
With the Predators sitting last in the NHL on track to miss the playoffs again, Trotz admitted he has started speaking to agents of players on the team to get a feel on their potential interest in moving if the team can’t find their form.
“You hear this from a lot of teams: ‘We’re looking for a top-six [forward].’ You know, I have a couple of top sixes,” Trotz said. “I’ve talked to their agents. I just want to get a feel for [things]. If we get this turned around, it’ll be fine. If we don’t, then maybe they want to say, ‘Hey, I’m getting a little older, I want another crack at it. Can we do something?’”
Trotz said the next seven or eight games would serve as a clear indication of the Predators direction moving forward. It would appear Monday’s loss did little to provide optimism.
“It’s just a horrible game,” captain Roman Josi said of the defeat. “Right from the first period, we just played poorly. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. We have a good effort against Colorado and we come back with that. I wish I knew why, but it’s not acceptable. We can’t play like that and think we can win.”
“It’s a very urgent situation we’re in,” veteran winger Filip Forsberg added. “I thought we played really good two nights ago against [the Colorado Avalanche], but then we show up like we did in the first. They could’ve probably even scored a couple more even though it was 4-2.”
Prized 2024 free-agent additions Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault both finished minus-3 in the loss and saw less than 13 minutes of ice time. Both have been mentioned in trade rumours as they continue to struggle to produce in Nashville.
Stamkos, signed at an $8 million cap hit through 2027-28, has just four goals and one assist in 22 games this season. Marchessault, inked through 2028-29 at a $5.5 million cap hit, has four goals and six points in 19 games.
Brunette is in his third season as Predators head coach. The team showed promise in 2023-24, reaching the playoffs, but took a significant step backwards last year despite adding Stamkos, Marchessault and Brady Skjei in free agency.
