With the news of Jay Woodcroft’s firing, Jason Chen and Michael Amato discuss its impact on the Edmonton Oilers. Frank Vatrano and Trevor Zegras [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTkzNTkwODY3ODg0MjU0NzA0/usatsi_19343059.jpg] Frank Vatrano and Trevor Zegras Welcome back to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we take a few hockey topics and analyze them in a handful of paragraphs. Let’s get straight to it: JUUSE SAROS AND THE PREDATORS The Nashville Predators were a work in progress when longtime franchise mainstay Barry Trotz returned to the organization this summer as their new GM. Trotz made his mark quickly by cutting veterans Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene, but rather than going all the way with a full-rebuild, Trotz added veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist to show fans he still saw them as playoff contenders. Well, the Preds have played 14 games this season, and they’re one of the worst teams in the NHL, with a 5-9-0 record that has put them dead-last in the Central Division, behind even Arizona and Chicago. And star goaltender Juuse Saros has not been able to carry them, as he’s posted a .894 save percentage and 3.24 goals-against average. At age 28, Saros is still in his prime, and he’s under contract for one more season after this one. He also doesn’t have any no-trade or no-move clauses in his current deal, so Trotz could ship him out to a team – like, say, the Edmonton Oilers – and bring back a heft haul in return. Trotz has to know this Predators group is not an elite bunch, and on a better team, Saros would post better individual numbers. Moving Saros would be a step backwards in some regards, but who’s kidding who – they’ve already taken a step backwards even with Saros on the roster this season. The goalie market is a seller’s market, and Nashville could land a number of young prospects and draft picks in a deal for Saros. There’s every reason to expect the Preds will continue to struggle this season, and if Trotz can convince a trade partner to send him a slew of assets for Saros, it makes all the sense in the world to trade him. WILL THE COYOTES STAY IN ARIZONA? NHL Players Association executive director Marty Walsh made headlines this week when he discussed the future of the Coyotes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/arizona-coyotes/news/nhlpa-executive-director-voices-concern-o%20ver-coyotes-arena] and didn’t speak delicately about the state of the franchise. “I think there are lots of rumors about two expansion teams coming,” Walsh told the PrimeTime Sports Management Conference on Monday. “I would say three expansion teams – the first one, really, is Arizona.” Ouch. That had to sting long-suffering Coyotes fans. But Walsh continued to question the decisions that have been made to keep Arizona in the NHL. “(The Coyotes) are playing right now in a college arena, 5,100 fans that go to those games, and they don’t sell out...Those (Coyotes) players are National Hockey League players. They deserve to play in a National Hockey League rink...you can’t have 31 teams playing in a full arena, and then one playing in a college arena.” Walsh discussed Arizona’s issues when we talked to him this past summer [https://thehockeynews.com/news/marty-walsh-q-a-new-nhlpa-boss-on-growing-hockey-coyotes-%20and-more], but his frustration with the Coyotes is ramping up, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman needs to address the players’ concerns. The Mullett Arena is no solution whatsoever, and whether or not the Coyotes relocate to a place like Houston or Salt Lake City, the NHLPA needs to be part of the solution. If we’re to take Bettman’s word that the owners are 50/50 partners with the players, we need to see both parties work together to bring this ongoing soap opera to a close. The status quo is only going to look worse with every passing day, and the team owners have to be realistic about Arizona as an NHL market. Right now, the ‘Yotes' are a minor-league operation pretending to be a major-league team, and the sooner they make some sort of move to become a big-league team again, the better. VATRANO SHINES IN ANAHEIM Finally, let’s talk about Anaheim veteran winger Frank Vatrano, who has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Ducks thus far this season. With 11 goals in 14 games, Vatrano has nearly double the amount of goals as the next-most-productive Anaheim player – and he already has exactly half of the 22 goals he generated for the Ducks in 82 games last season. At a salary cap hit of $ 3.65 million for this season and next year, the 29-year-old Vatrano is a notable bargain, and he’s one of the key drivers of Anaheim’s early-season success. Vatrano is playing like he has nothing to lose, and Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has to be thrilled to see Vatrano thriving the way he has this season. He’s a top-six talent up front, and he’s being paid like a middle-six forward. That’s what NHL teams need from some of their veterans, and Vatrano’s three-year contract makes him extremely valuable for Anaheim as they try to climb up the Pacific Division standings. To be honest, the Ducks will be only as good in the long term as their young players make them, but as they establish a foothold in the Pacific, they’ll need to rely on veterans as well. Vatrano gives them more scoring prowess, and he’s going to be a notable factor for them both this season and next year.
