‘I’m a culture guy’: Predators GM Barry Trotz pushes back on idea of tanking
Don’t expect the Nashville Predators to start chasing lottery balls, even as their season of disappointment crawls forward.
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Don’t expect the Nashville Predators to start chasing lottery balls, even as their season of disappointment crawls forward.
With effectively zero chance of making the post-season thanks to a 20-29-7 record thus far, jockeying for draft position might make sense to some. But tanking games away doesn’t appear to be something general manager Barry Trotz is interested in.
“We’re playing some good teams down the stretch and I want us to play well,” the Predators GM said in a conversation with The Tennessean on Tuesday.
Nashville has the third fewest wins in the NHL this season — with just 47 points and 26 games remaining, that means they have a 9.3 per cent chance at “earning” the top pick, per Money Puck. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (15.9) and San Jose Sharks (22.9) have better odds currently.
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But with the ninth-easiest strength of schedule remaining, according to Tankathon, it raises the question of whether or not picking up victories is worth risking a potential top pick in the upcoming draft.
Trotz seems to think so, citing his past experience to explain the importance of establishing the right habits.
“I’m a coach at heart,” the 62-year-old said. “Our team has been built on good culture and good character. I would be disappointed if our players threw in the towel.”
Trotz is in his second year as Nashville’s general manager following 38 years as a bench boss in the NHL. He previously spent 16 years as the Predators head coach from 1998-2014 before four-year stints with the Washington Capitals (2014-18) and New York Islanders (2018-22).
“I want players that want to win,” Trotz added. “I want players that are serial winners. So we should play that way. I’m not really worried about the score. I’m worried about how we play every night, how we compete, and how we are building something for next year.”
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While winning a couple games down the stretch wouldn’t necessarily mean falling out of the draft lottery — each of the bottom 11 teams has a chance to land the No. 1 overall pick — the odds significantly increase for the teams with the five worst records.
And after a summer shopping spree yielded very little — the Predators committed over $111 million to what they thought was going to be a playoff staple — adding a bright young talent could be a worthwhile consolation prize.
Trotz did admit that “of course, from a management or organizational standpoint, you want the best pick,” because “that’s just human nature.” But for him, at least right now, building the right culture matters more than maneuvering the lottery.
“You get to a certain point in the season, most managers would say they want a top pick. But I’m a culture guy, right? I want the whole assessment of our team, our players, our staff to be included if they are committed to winning games.”
