The Nashville Predators Hope a Faster Start Will Keep Their Coach and GM Off the Hot Seat This Year
The Nashville Predators are hoping to turn things around after a very disappointing season a year ago. And Keml of Lockon Predators is here to talk about what it’ll take to get that done. All that and more next on today’s Locked On NHL podcast. You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network. your team every day. Gil Martin here and welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Locked On NHL podcast. We are part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked on NHL your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. It is my pleasure to welcome back to the show the co-host of Locked On Predators, Anne Kimmel and Ann, a fresh start in Nashville after a disappointing year last year and a lot of the buzz I’m hearing coming out of Nashville. This team needs to get off to a faster start this year than they did a year ago. Absolutely. I think that is key for this team. Last year, of course, they had a lot of high expectations and then came out of the gate 0 and5 friends. That is something that they absolutely cannot repeat this season. And it’s definitely been a focus for the team. It’s been a focus and a conversation piece among the coaching staff as well. We need to hit the ice and we need to get some wins right away. And I think it’s not just about points in a very competitive central division. I think that this is the mental game for the Nashville Predators. They limped through the end of last season. It was such a disappointment individually and collectively. And this is a team that really needs to hit this new season with some energy, some wins, and to get that confidence back. There are veteran leaders on this team. This is not a particularly young inexperienced team. Uh who has to step up leadership wise to help manufacture that faster start? Yeah, leadership has been a big discussion among the team in the off season because one of the struggles last year when you brought in a Steven Stamos, when you brought in a Jonathan Marcheso is there is sort of this reshuffleling of leadership in the locker room. Barry Truss referred to it in the offseason as leadership paralysis where Steven Stamos wasn’t sure how much do I speak up and how much do I sit back and learn. I think there were a lot of very difficult but very honest conversations among the leadership group of the Nashville Predators with Barry Trotz with Andrew Brunette and I think each of them individually understands not only does my performance on the ice have to be different but I need to be a voice in the locker room that’s going to speak up and get comfortable. And I think because these leaders know each other a little bit better. there’s less of that feeling out and tentiveness of calling out themselves, other players, bringing up hard topics. So, I think that that dynamic for the Predators is just naturally going to be a little bit better. When it comes to on ice performance, there’s really not a leader except for Philip Forsber, who doesn’t need to have a better season. This was a really disappointing season last year across the board for Nashville, especially for Stamos and Marcheso. So, those are two players who really are looking at hitting the ice early and really finding their groove early, which is something they both struggled with last season. What are some of the other keys to success this season for this team? What else do they have to do? I think it starts really with the defense. Last year, Jussi Soros had statistically one of his worst seasons of his career. And of course, he is kicking off a long-term contract for the Predators. So, that was a hot topic in the offseason. is Jussi Sorrowos going to be able to bounce back. A lot of that will have to do with the defense playing in front of him and Andrew Bernett asks a lot in his system of the defense and so they have come into camp and they have made some changes to the defensive system. Now they won’t elaborate on much but they spent a lot of time uh working on zone exits and things like that. So I think a lot of the success for Nashville is going to come down to defense and it’s an interesting predicament they’re in. They went out and they got Nick Perix and Nick Hey to come in the lineup. Nick Hey was the air apparent to playing topline minutes with Roman Yosi. He is out with an upper body injury for two to three weeks. Adam Wilsby who played 26 games last year in the NHL is probably going to start on the top the top pairing with Roman Yosi. And so that’s a big ask. But he is also someone who has come in and had a great camp. So, I think if the defense can get some confidence, can understand what Bruno needs them to do, and if they can stop some of this this goal scoring, if they can really kind of halt some of the action that Nashville was just tortured by last season, I think the defense being better is going to give this team a chance to win some more close games. How about special teams? How important is that? Both power play and penalty kill. It’s big. Nashville was not terrible on special teams and friends, we had to look really hard to find the not terrible last year. They were seventh on the penalty kill. They were middle of the pack on the power play. But that’s one area where you know if Steven Stamco gets up to speed that power play is automatically going to improve. So I do think that there is some focus on that. Again, this is something in practice that they’re trying some new things on the power play. Uh, I think special teams is going to be important, but Nash Nashville really struggled last year. Their real failure was at five on five. And so that’s where if you want this team to have a significantly better season, it’s got to be at five on five. Last year, obviously, a big disappointment. It was the first year for Barry Trotz. How hot is the hot seat for either Andrew Bernett andor Barry Trotz? And if the seats get hot, whose seat gets hot first? That’s a great question. If you look at the oddsmakers, I believe Andrew Brunette is top of the list when it comes to coach most likely to be fired in the NHL. I don’t know that that is true. And I think part of that is because Barry Trotz is the general manager and Barry Trotz has been a head coach. So, even during the end of last season when really the the talk was heating up about Andrew Brunette needs to go, Barry Trotz held very firm and he came out postseason and was very clear he is my coach. This is who it’s going to be. Now, they also worked a lot in the offseason together, Barry Trotz and Andrew Brunette. Andrew Brunette has come in and said, “Look, I know there are some things that I’ve got to do differently.” The vibes are good when it comes to Andrew Brunette and the team. the team has been honest about. We had some really hard conversations with Andrew Brunette and vice versa about what we need from him, what we need to be better from him. So, I’m not sure that the oddsmakers understand how much grace Barry Trotz is going to have for a head coach. Now, I will say this, Barry Trotz’s seat is getting a little toasty if you ask around the league as well. Not just because of the failure of last season after those big free agency signings, but also there have been a couple of players that have slipped through Nashville’s hands. You think about uh Dante Fabro put on waiverss. He’s now a top pairing defenseman for the Blue Jackets. You know, you’ve seen some of these young players leave the organization. You’ve seen him sign contracts and then trade players. Of course, we just resolved the ongoing Luca Evangelista contract dispute which landed exactly where we thought the contract was going to be back in May. So, it’s been rough optics for Barry Trotz as a general manager lately. And so, I think that this is something that we need to keep an eye on. I do think if the predators struggle out of the gate, I think that people are going to be as concerned about the general manager in the front office as they are about who sits behind the bench. Do you know what some of the things that Barry Trotz and Andrew brunette said they had to work on were specifically or uh I mean what what is it that they were working on? They didn’t go into any detail. Barry Trotz did say that he gave Andrew Brunette some assignments to do over the summer and then they sat down together and revisited. Another interesting tidbit that we’ve gotten from the players is Jonathan Marcho came forward and said, “Look, I told Andrew Brunette I need him to hold me more accountable.” Barry Trotz said last year Andrew Brunette was too nice with some of the veterans. So, I do think that there’s going to be an element of more accountability from the front, you know, from the front office, but certainly from Andrew Brunette when it comes to these veterans who you just sort of assume are going to self-correct. And, uh, I know that’s one thing that we have heard that, okay, you need to speak up as the head coach. You need to call these guys out, you need to hold everybody accountable. So, I think that’s going to be a really interesting dynamic to watch as this team kicks off this next season. Yeah, something definitely to keep an eye on. And why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you and your co-host on social media? You can find the podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts on any podcasting platform. Of course, we are on YouTube as well. You can find us on social media, lore predators. You can find me on social media k_mama on ice. You can find my amazing co-host Emma Lingan at Emma Lingan on social media as well. and thank you so much. Today’s episode is brought to you by your friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer that you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. That’s right. Pick a bet. Put down five bucks and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. I’ve built same game parlays to increase my odds. I’ve tried player props and even followed the live lines during games. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. So whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Place your first $5 bet. 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The Nashville Predators look to reverse last year’s slow start and disappointing season but do they have what it takes to turn things around this season?
Ann Kimmel of Locked On Predators joins us to discuss that and how hot the seat is for GM Barry Trotz and head coach Andrew Brunette if the team doesn’t improve?
All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.
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