NHL investigating Nashville Predators for rule violation amid GM search originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Barry Trotz shocked the NHL world on Monday when he announced he would be stepping down as general manager of the Nashville Predators and retiring at the end of the 2025 season.

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The news comes nearly two-and-a-half years after he replaced Hockey Hall of Famer David Poile, who was named GM of the expansion Predators back in 1998.

Trotz admitted to reporters during a press conference on Monday that he approached majority owner Bill Haslam back in December and informed him of his plans to step away to spend more time with his family.

The team is expected to begin looking for Trotz’s replacement immediately, and it announced it was enlisting the help of Creative Arts Agency (CAA) — a firm that brands itself as “the nexus of talent, content, brands, technology, sports, and live events”— to help lead its search.

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However, there’s just one problem — doing so may be a violation of NHL rules, which is why the NHL is investigating whether or not the Predators are operating above board, according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli.

“The @NHLPA is reviewing #Preds hiring of @CAA_Sports to conduct GM search for potential conflict of interest violation of the certified agent regulations,” Seravalli wrote on X. “Regulations stipulate that any agency which represents #NHL players may not also have a role in front office or coaching personnel hiring processes – even if it is being conducted by a different arm of the agency.”

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To Seravalli’s point, CAA represents more than 150 NHL players, including two Predators — forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Andreas Englund — creating the clear conflict of interest.

Per the NHLPA’s agent certification rules, an agency’s sole purpose is to fight for the best interests of players in all negotiations. If that agency starts serving the other side of those negotiations, I.e. team ownership groups, then they are less incentivized to serve the best interests of the players.

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