Barry Trotz on Andrew Brunette, staff: ‘They are coaching their butts off’
Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz has once again given irrefutable support of Predators coach Andrew Brunette, despite another poor start to the season.
“I believe our coaches have done a really good job,” Trotz said during an interview on 102.5 The Game on Nov. 20. “Our record may not show it, but they are coaching their butts off.”
Nashville (6-10-4, 16 points) and are in eighth place in the Central Division. Most recently, the team lost 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second game of the NHL’s Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden. That loss, their sixth in their last seven games, prompted speculation that Trotz may consider a coaching change.
But apparently he’s more confident than ever in Brunette and his staff.
“I think we’ve been in a lot more games this year than last year, for sure, with a couple of exceptions,” Trotz said “There haven’t been too many games where we haven’t been in the game. I think last year, I could say that a little more often. I think (Brunette) is a good coach. So is (assistant) Luke Richardson, so is (assistant) Darby Hendrickson, so is (assistant) Derek MacKenzie. They’re good coaches. They are looking for answers all the time.”
The answers Trotz refers to are likely around questions about the team’s offense. The Predators are scoring just 2.4 goals per game, which ranks 31st in the league. That’s worse last year’s 2.59 goals per game, which ranked 30th.
But Trotz said that isn’t all on Brunette and the coaches, acknowledging his role in the results. He said the front office didn’t deal the coaching staff the “best hand,” especially when it came to center depth.
“This is a shared responsibility with the players, myself, and the coaching staff,” Trotz said “From a players standpoint, we went out and got some players the last couple of years to add a little bit of offense. And they’ve come up a little bit dry on the front end.”
Trotz, who coached the Predators for franchise’s first 15 years, sees the work Brunette and his staff are putting in to fix the offensive problems. For now, he’s satisfied with their effort.
“If I didn’t think the coaches were coaching and trying to make the players better, and putting in the time and the effort, then I would make a change,” he said.
Barry Trotz still hesitant to put the Nashville Predators in rebuild mode
Another topic of conversation concerned the team’s short and long term direction, with Trotz saying the Predators are in the “same cycle” as other teams at the bottom of the league standings, like the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues.
But despite the bleak outlook for this season, Trotz isn’t committing the team to rebuild and wants to remain as competitive as possible while also bringing young players into the lineup.
“The plan hasn’t changed,” Trotz said. “We are in that cycle right now where we are going to continue adding young players to our lineup….you need time and you need a staff that is supportive of the whole plan. And they have been.”
A complete rebuild, which Trotz has wanted to avoid since he took the job in 2023, could lead to higher draft picks and a better chance at adding offensive talent. But Trotz, citing the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, where the Predators dropped from No. 3 overall to No. 5 overall, doesn’t trust the draft lottery as the Predators’ path to success.
“You saw it this year in the draft lottery, you don’t always get the top pick,” he said.
Trotz also said he doesn’t foresee trading any of the team’s top contracts — Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, Filip Forsberg, or Roman Josi — as a way to build for the future. They are a part of the plan to remain competitive while waiting for prospects to develop.
“There’s a lot of noise out there and lot of it is coming from the media,” he said. “Everything from Andrew Brunette to Filip Forsberg. He’s not going anywhere.”
Nashville hosts the Colorado Avalanche at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 22 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.