Creative Artists Agency, hired to help search for the Nashville Predators new general manager, informed the team Feb. 6 that it will no longer be involved.

On Feb. 2, the Predators announced they would be working with CAA to help replace Barry Trotz, who announced his retirement from the post.

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But on Feb. 4, reports emerged that the National Hockey League Players’ Association was “reviewing” the Predators’ connection with CAA as a possible violation of the league’s regulations around certified agents.

At issue was the NHLPA’s concerns of a potential conflict of interest.

The Predators released a statement Feb. 7 regarding the matter:

“CAA leadership informed us yesterday that they believed it would be in everyone’s best interest to recuse the company at this time from our search for a General Manager. CAA has been working hard up until this point and we appreciate all the work put into the search, but we understand and respectively accept the decision. We will continue to move forward with a comprehensive search process to find the next hockey operations leader for the Nashville Predators, making sure we identify and interview all of the best candidates.”

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CAA is one of the world’s largest talent agencies, serving the entertainment and sports worlds alike. Several Predators players, including forwards Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault, are represented by CAA agents. Newest minority owner Nick Saban is represented by Jimmy Sexton, an agent with CAA.

A representative with the team told The Tennessean that the general manager search would be conducted internally from this point.

Trotz, in his surprise retirement announcement, cited a desire to spend more time with his family amid the demands of the team’s front office duties. He will assist in the search for his replacement and stay on in an advisory role through the end of his contract in 2026-27.

Majority owner Bill Haslam has set June 30 as a target date for hiring a new general manager.

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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.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Agency Predators hired to find next GM no longer working with Nashville