Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette Still Getting to Know His Players
Nashville's new head coach is still learning about the Nashville Predators players and how to best construct forward lines — especially that top line — with the roster he has.
Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette Still Getting to Know His PlayersJust twelve games into his tenure as the new head coach of the Nashville Predators, and Andrew Brunette is still getting to know his team.
On the Robby and Rexrode Show on 102.5 The Game this morning, Brunette shared that he is still learning about his roster.
"I'm still, day to day, getting to know them a little better," Brunette said when asked what he's learned about the team so far this season.
"Where do they fit? How do they fit? Who do they play good with? I'm still trying to learn a little bit of what I've got."
That reminder may be good for Predators fans who are starting to feel restless with what they perceive to be another Nashville coach who turns to the "line blender" too quickly. In past seasons under previous coaches Peter Laviolette and John Hynes, it seemed that players who underperformed in a game or two were quickly switched to a different line instead of allowing them to work through rough patches with familiar line mates.
It's a tricky decision to navigate. On one hand, a coach doesn't want to leave a struggling player on a top line game after game hoping the player gets his groove back while keeping another player from a potential opportunity. The flip side to that is possibly interrupting chemistry by cycling in too many different players on a line.
Nashville's top line has been a recent roster discussion. Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly are staples when it comes to top line minutes, but who that third forward should be is still up in the air. Young Juuso Pärssinen played several games with Forsberg and O'Reilly, but he has struggled recently and on this road trip, Brunette has slotted Gus Nyquist in to play top line minutes with the duo.
Predators fans love Pärssinen and hate the "line blender" so the recent rumblings had us talking on the Locked On Predators Podcast about giving grace to Brunette as he gets to know his roster.
As Brunette said today, he is still getting to know the roster he has to work with. Training camp and twelves games aren't a lot of time to piece together a lineup of veterans and youth and two recent waiver additions. Patience may be the key as Brunette continues to observe and learn his players.