Something is going to change with all the losing by the Predators.
There have now been three head coaches fired this season with the bench change in Chicago, so naturally we have to once again take a look at the 31st ranked team and think something major has to change soon.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who just fired their head coach Luke Richardson, are 32nd in the league with a record of 8-16-2, but their expectations coming into the season weren't nearly as high as that of the Nashville Predators, who are 7-14-6.
There is really nothing more Andrew Brunette can do for the Predators other than hold some of the top player accountable. It's not necessarily a lack of buying into the system by the entire team as the Predators bought in last season, it's a complete lack of offense. Nashville has the best penalty kill in the league and an amazing goalie that's standing on his head most nights. At the other end of the ice, the team is last in the NHL in goals per game.
At a certain point, and I think the blame is already mainly laid here, the players who have been known to score and the players who were brought in to do so, need to start producing. Brunette can't go out on the ice and score himself, veterans like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and others have to finish plays.
Despite all of that, it is a "what have you done for me lately" type of league as we've seen from Jim Montgomery's firing from the Boston Bruins despite a stellar overall record, a very short run behind the bench by Drew Bannister for the St. Louis Blues, and a failure to take the next step by the Blackhawks with Richardson behind the bench.
Barry Trotz made the moves to assemble this team, not Brunette. The Predators' head coach did a lot more last season for the team with a lot less.
It is on Trotz to shake things up even further than he has, and until that happens, I believe Brunette's job should be safe. But that isn't always the way things go in the NHL nowadays. It's more difficult to make trades than fire a coach and at a certain point, after so much losing, Brunette might be the scapegoat for the season even though not many think it's his doing.
Expect a major shakeup soon and before Brunette loses his job, but it's already ugly in Nashville and something has to change right now.
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