Trotz Reviews Preds Season, Discusses Solutions, Improvements for 2025-26 Campaign

Barry Trotz had plenty to review from the 2024-25 Nashville Predators season that was, and he did just that on Monday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville’s general manager spoke for an hour to the gathered media as he looked back on what went wrong, how to fix it and where to find optimism as the organization moves forward from a campaign that didn’t go the way anyone would have anticipated.

“Unfortunately, the season did not live up to our expectations, either our own internal expectations or external expectations,” Trotz said in his opening statement. “I think I was the one that said, ’It’s fantasy hockey until you become a good team.’ I think I was correct a little bit on that, because we didn't become a good team, unfortunately. [We] wanted to thread the needle, if you will - bring in accomplished veterans that we could mix in with the younger talent. We worked really hard to acquire those players, and that plan still is in place… The path has changed, but our plan hasn’t.”

That plan will include Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette at the helm, a question Trotz addressed as he confirmed his support for Nashville’s bench boss.

“Andrew Brunette, to me, is a good, young coach,” Trotz said. “That's why I hired him. He's a good, young coach. He had a tough situation this year in terms of our team, or maybe our makeup, how we came together, or didn't come together, right at the start of the year, and he needs to add a lot of tools to his tool belt.

“When you believe in [someone], just like a good, young player, you stick with them. And Andrew Brunette is just like a young player. We could have done the easy thing - make a change and see if we can get a bump up or whatever. I didn't do that. I believe in developing people. I believe he's a good, young coach. He's a good, young hockey mind, and Andrew is going to work hard to find the solution. He's a solution-based guy, as well as myself. We will find that solution.”

The solution, Trotz says, comes with a number of different elements, including improved 5-on-5 play, buy-in from everyone in the organization and improved production from young players and veterans alike.

And make no mistake - Trotz wasn’t pleased with how his club fared this season, but he also knows it’s not all doom and gloom with the group he’s assembled.

“All that said, we accomplished a couple things through the year,” Trotz said. “I always looked for the positives. We added some young veterans to our group. We added draft assets and cap space, which are valuable quantities to have, and we added opportunity and a path for young players… We haven't had too many high draft choices. It's time, and we're trying to thread the needle.”

Those draft choices will come frequently over the next few years, starting in the 2025 NHL Draft with the Preds owning three first-round picks, including one that will come in the Top 5. Couple that with the young, promising players the Predators already have in their system, and Trotz sees continued reason for optimism despite the most recent on-ice results.

“We’ve got to look forward,” Trotz said. “Looking forward is all we can do. Last season is done. We learn from it as much as we can, build from it as much as we can, and [now we have] to get excited about the future. The future is bright here. I mean, we've got a great fan base. We've got good, young kids coming… We’re going to do our best to put our best team out there, but at the same time, we have to create a young core so that we can be one of those teams with our young core, the guys that we draft [are] the guys who are leading their team.”

Regardless of who the Predators select in the Draft, there are plenty of young players who will soon - if not already - continue to make notable impacts. Forward Luke Evangelista, who had a strong finish to the season, is a restricted free agent, but Trotz says he’s already had discussions with Evangelista’s agent and plans on getting the winger signed “sooner than later.”

Additionally, Trotz said he expects defenseman Tanner Molendyk and forward Matthew Wood, the latter of whom appeared in Nashville’s final seven games of the regular season, to compete for roster spots next season. Trotz also made mention of a number of top prospects - defensemen Andrew Gibson and Ryan Ufko, as well as forwards Egor Surin, Aiden Fink, Joakim Kemell, David Edstrom, Reid Schaefer, Teddy Stiga and Cole O’Hara - as names who could be in the mix in the years ahead.

Then, there are rookies like Fedor Svechkov and Zach L’Heureux who not only made their NHL debuts last season but then became regulars in the lineup. At least a few of those younger pieces, coupled with the established veterans on the Nashville roster, will be expected to improve on the promise they showed at times last season, especially down the stretch.

“We'll need to get some results early, no question, but I believe we will, and I believe we have good people,” Trotz said. “I believe we have some good, young people. We have some veteran people who will have better years, and we should come out of the blocks a little bit better.”

The Predators now have plenty of time - individually and collectively - to find that improvement over a long offseason before training camp arrives in September, where that buy-in will be necessitated once more.

But as Trotz stated, the season is done. All that’s left to do now is learn from it and improve - and that’s exactly what the Preds intend on doing as the spring turns into summer before a fresh start arrives for the taking.

“All these guys want to be back in the playoffs, so we're going to put our best foot forward and try to make the playoffs,” Trotz said. “That’s our goal. Every year, our goal is to make the playoffs, and then get in the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup. That doesn't change. But there's certain things in this business that you have to be patient for… I think the young guys will give us enthusiasm. I think our older players, our veteran players, they will give us direction. They will give us impact. And that the mix of the two should be really good.”

And as far as the attitude Trotz expects his team to return with? The Preds will have plenty to prove, and that might just play into their favor when all is said and done.

“The group has a chip on its shoulder, which isn't a bad thing,” Trotz said. “When you go into the year with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder, I think [we’ll] get a team that hopefully will respond in the right way.”