How Barry Trotz And The Predators' Next GM Can Create A Better Path For The Team

Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz made the surprising announcement that he'll step down from his role before retiring at the end of 2026-27.

Once the Preds find a new GM, Trotz will become an advisor and remain in that role until he retires.

Given that Trotz was only the GM since taking over for the well-respected David Poile in 2023, it felt like he'd stay in that role for quite some time. But Trotz – a thoroughly decent family man who cited having more personal time as the reason for stepping down – also addressed the Predators' direction moving forward.

"When asked, where are we, I said I've got to listen to everything," Trotz told media Monday afternoon. "We're not in the playoffs right now…I'm going to look at (the situation) from a 'now' (perspective), and I'm going to look at it from a futures (perspective). Everything is on the table."

Those bold words should be exactly what Predators fans want to hear. For too long, the Predators have occupied the "mushy middle" of the NHL – not good enough to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender but not bad enough to land a top draft pick and select a generational talent to carry them through a competitive cycle. 

But now that the Preds will find a new GM before the 2026 NHL draft, it will be important for Nashville's braintrust to come away with a direction that puts the organization at the top of the NHL's pecking order. And there's going to be an opportunity for Trotz to set up his predecessor with more long-term talent if he makes some trades by or before the March 6 trade deadline. 

That almost certainly means Trotz is going to trade some veterans who could yield prospects and draft picks. Whether it's veteran center Ryan O'Reilly or wingers Michael Bunting and Michael McCarron, the Preds have the kind of gritty players legitimate playoff contenders highly value.

O'Reilly has another season left on his contract at $4.5 million per season, so he's more than a rental. And considering that teams are going to bid on the Predators' leading scorer as a cost-certain asset, Trotz should get what he's looking for, if not more.

Bunting and McCarron, meanwhile, are pending UFAs this summer, so they are pure rentals. McCarron's $900,000 salary makes him very affordable for any team, but Bunting is a different story at a salary of $4.5 million. That said, the Predators still have one slot with which to retain salary, so for the right price, Nashville can eat some of Bunting's salary. That would drive up Bunting's trade value. 

The Predators have about $16.7 million in salary cap space, so they can take back lots of money in any trade. But being aggressive in moving out pieces is absolutely the best way forward for this organization.

Whoever replaces Trotz will have a clean slate to work with, and that means they'll have the landing strip to embark on a longer-term rebuild – the kind of thing that the franchise has historically avoided.

At Trotz's press conference, Preds owner Bill Hasman shot down the notion of a basement-to-ceiling rebuild, but the challenge of Trotz's successor is to prove to Hasman that a longer rebuild is the surest way to acquire generational talent. Trotz does have all three of his first-round draft picks in the next three drafts, as well as four second-rounders and six third-rounders. But ideally, you'd want to see this Nashville team with a slew of first-rounders in the next few drafts. And you're not going to get those unless you trade away players of real value.

Of course, there's no guaranteed way to come away with foundational elite talent. A shorter rebuild has real risk, as does a full rebuild. But you only need to look at teams that have come away with a first- or second-overall pick to understand that the most proven route to adding players like Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon, San Jose Sharks prodigy Macklin Celebrini and Chicago Blackhawks budding icon Connor Bedard is to understand that you can't acquire that talent with a mid-first-round pick or lower.

You often have to go through significant pain to come away with a top pick. The New York Islanders are arguably an exception to that rule when they won the draft lottery with 3.5 percent odds and drafted Matthew Schaefer, just to rebound in the standings next season. So you can see why the Preds would prefer not to suffer through lean years. But we've been consistent in our preferred team-building philosophy, and that's by going through full rebuilds that take a few years to endure. 

Trotz's looming departure opens up an opportunity for his replacement to reset the competitive clock on this franchise. The rebuilding process will begin with Trotz potentially trading O'Reilly, Bunting and McCarron, but he shouldn't stop there. If the Predators want to give their fans true elite talent to cheer for, they're going to need to take a step or two back to get there.

With the right amount of patience and development, the Preds in their post-Trotz Era could at long last have the type of talent that can deliver this organization its first Cup.

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