PBR Roundtable: Crunch Time in Nashville
Musings from the Penalty Box Radio staff on the Olympics and the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline
The NHL’s Olympic break has come and gone with Team USA taking home gold medal in both the men’s and women’s hockey tournaments. And now the hockey world’s collective attention turns to the week and a half speed run to the NHL trade deadline. Between the events of the past month and the expected activity ahead there is plenty to review, analyze and speculate upon. So here we are with a PBR Roundtable to break it all down.
What are your main takeaways from the Olympic hockey tournaments (men’s and/or women’s)?
Ann: If these Olympic hockey games haven’t made you fall in love with hockey all over again, you may be a little dead inside. You could not have scripted a better Olympics competition for the men’s and women’s tournaments. There is such parity in the talent pool, and these games will mark a very impactful uptick in youth hockey.
When it comes to a Predators perspective, even the loudest Saros haters have to admit he had one heck of a tournament after a shaky first game. Perhaps the bigger surprise is the role Erik Haula played for Team Finland. Being in Nashville on a one year deal and assumed to be a trade piece at the deadline has relegated Haula to the periphery for some Preds fans, but he had a great tournament. Forsberg being the 13th forward in Team Sweden’s first game remains mystifying, and there is nothing worse than seeing Roman Josi disappointed. Here’s hoping the players return energized and not exhausted. Let’s see how the entire Predators team plays after this break.
Boyd: Simply put, there really is no replacement for best on best hockey. Over two days in the medal rounds 4 of the 6 games across the women’s tournament went to overtime. Both gold medal games were decided in overtime. The inclusion of NHL players and the growth of the PWHL brings more talent to the global stage and raises the drama even higher. It was all so much fun and ensuring best on best going forward should be a constant priority.
Tim: NHL players are definitely here to stay. It’s hard to believe we missed out on two consecutive Winter Olympics without as the show they put on is the highlight of the event. Both the women’s and men’s tournaments showed the best of their leagues and ending each gold medal games with overtime capped off an incredible two weeks of hockey.
How aggressive do you expect Barry Trotz to be at the Trade Deadline?
Ann: Barry Trotz knows how nice it is to come in to a neat GM office and a pocketful of draft picks, so I expect he will do what he can to leave his successor in the best spot possible. Trotz will obviously entertain every realistic offer that comes his way on players from Cole Smith to Ryan O’Reilly, but I don’t expect him to clean house on his way out. If fans are expecting to see every UFA traded, Marchessault and Skjei contracts moved, and a first round pick and top prospect welcomed in the fold for ROR, they’ll be disappointed. As nice as it may sound, I don’t see the kickoff of a “soft rebuild” materializing at this deadline.
Boyd: Barry Trotz’s legacy as Predators GM will be tied into what happens from this deadline leading up to the draft and free agency. As such, I think he will be quite aggressive in terms of talking to teams about what moves are available. The Predators are deep in “playoff types” that contending teams always covet ahead of a postseason run. While Trotz may not use all of them, he should have plenty of opportunities to maximize the returns that he is able to generate. The real question is how aggressive he will become with moving any veterans with trade protection (actual or narrative). More so than a trade with someone like Michael Bunting, trading a Ryan O’Reilly or Steven Stamkos has to come with a significant return that tangibly enhances the roster build.
Tim: While this will be Barry Trotz’s last trade deadline as Nashville’s GM, I don’t expect him to be overly aggressive. Trading one of the bigger contracts feels almost necessary, and moving a few expiring UFAs seems like the most realistic outcome for the Predators. I expect it to be more of a “take what you can get” type of deadline, rather than the start of a full roster sell-off or major retool.
What would constitute a successful Trade Deadline?
Ann: If Trotz can move one bigger contract - most likely it would be Marchessault’s - and get a mid round pick or an overlooked but intriguing prospect for a few UFAs, I’d call that a success. If Trotz moves a UFA for a fair return and then re-signs him in the offseason with a reasonable, short term contract to bridge a talent gap (looking at you, Bunting and/or McCarron), I would buy him a Bridgestone Arena grilled cheese and throw him a nice retirement party. To be honest, I’m not sure Trotz will - or should - lower his asking price on O’Reilly. I don’t know if teams in the mix would realistically be willing to pay that much to go all in for two more seasons on ROR’s contract. Sometimes a team’s most valuable trade piece is also their most valuable player on and off the ice.
Boyd: First and foremost, make the obvious moves. I don’t think that has to be a veritable clearing of the house but Michael Bunting and Erik Haula are having strong seasons and are built for playoff hockey. They should each garner mid to high round picks and/or plus-level prospects. If another GM makes a strong offer for any of the pending UFA’s in McCarron, Smith or Blankenburg then it should be entertained. Personally, since this group is unlikely to return first round picks then I would probably lean in on acquiring prospects who are change of scenery candidates over mid-round draft picks. Once the asset management work gets done if a trade becomes available involving one of the star players then Barry Trotz can pull the trigger to get the bigger return but those could just as easily be done in the offseason when big dollar trades are easier.
Tim: Anything where freeing up cap space and getting value, whether it being draft picks or young prospects would garner a success from me. He certainty needs to give whoever the next GM some room to work from day one and standing pat or one to two UFA trades aren’t going to do that. While Trotz’s current team does sit only four points out of a playoff spot, this year is still building for the future and I believe that, if that is not made clear at the deadline, it will not graded successfully.
What result from the general manager search would make you confident in the Predators’ future?
Ann: Confidence in the outcome will come from confidence in the process, and for me that means giving serious consideration to outside candidates. It’s tempting to say that the next GM must come from outside the organization, but the reality is that Nashville’s AGMs have resumes any other NHL teams would seriously consider. Culture is big at Bridgestone, but the next GM must be a jack of all front office trades and a master of basically all of them if this organization wants to host a parade down Broadway. (Ask all the hard questions in the interviews, Nick Saban!)
Boyd: For me, confidence in the future will result from a clear direction coming out of the GM search. The specific setup of the front office (president plus younger GM or more experienced single role) is less important than the plan to move the team forward. This starts with the search yielding a variety of candidates who bring a new perspective for how to build, develop and maximize the Predators roster. There is value to the culture the Predators have built over the years so having a front office who can take those values and evolve the team forward is paramount.
Tim: The next GM, for me, needs to come from outside the organization and have success in their background. They should come from a team that has made a deep postseason run and have been a significant part of why they got there. The next GM needs to show they understand where the state of play is heading and already is: young and fast. Trotz showed, more often than not, that he would bring in older veterans instead of opting for younger, faster players, which is something the next GM should be taking note of.
What player currently on the Predators roster or in the system has the most to prove over the rest of the season?
Ann: Fedor Svechkov. Svechkov has spent his Olympic break in Milwaukee getting plenty of ice time for the Admirals. In his six AHL games, he’s scored two goals and one assist and has looked good, but his place needs to be in Nashville for the rest of this season. Part of that is because Nashville lacks center depth and with McCarron and Haula on expiring contracts and teams sniffing around O’Reilly, that may only get worse after the deadline. Part of that is because if this team isn’t in “go for it” mode, Svechkov deserves a chance to play NHL minutes to finish out the season and find some consistency in his game.
Boyd: I wrote before the season that the most pressure was on Fedor Svechkov to show improvement and that hasn’t changed. But since Ann said him first I’ll go with Brady Martin. Martin had a bit of an up and down season following his short stint in Nashville leading up to the World Juniors where he was excellent before sustaining an injury. Now that he is back and healthy it will be important to remind everyone why he was the number 5 pick in the draft by dominating at the junior level. A strong close to the season and into the CHL playoffs will also a long way into setting the stage for a full-time NHL roster spot in 2026-27.
Tim: While I wrote about Reid Schaefer over a month ago, his production has slowed down, so I’ll be writing about him again. He’s bounced from Milwaukee back to Nashville multiple times over the last month but was not called back up after the Olympic roster freeze ended. Schaefer has evenly split his time this year, playing 27 games for each team. In the AHL, he has 22 points and has been a scoring machine there as of late, but in the big leagues, he has just six points and hasn’t scored a goal since December. If he keeps up his play with the Admirals, he should find himself back with the Predators and will have to show he belongs and can be part of the franchise’s future.
