Did Barry Trotz Really Put Predators In 'Fantastic Spot' For New GM After Trade Deadline? | Column

The 11th hour is nearing closer and closer for Barry Trotz’s time as Nashville Predators general manager.

In early February, he announced his intention to retire once a replacement was found, with a hoped-for deadline around the NHL Draft. The sudden shift in leadership prompted a handful of questions, including the impending NHL Trade Deadline.

Trotz said he wanted to set up his replacement in a “fantastic spot” when he departed, and the trade deadline was going to be a major part of that.

Now, with March 6 come and gone, it seems like Trotz was aiming for the new general manager to “choose their own adventure” rather than set up the Predators for a straightforward, successful run.

Instead of acquiring good players now, bundling trades and aiming to push the Predators into the 2026 postseason, Trotz opted to sell off role players for draft picks.

Four trades of active roster players brought back four picks and a bottom-six AHL defender, Christoffer Sedoff.

The Predator transaction receipt read almost like a “going out of business” sale, selling off quality pieces for little to nothing. The worst trade: sending Nick Blankenburg to the Colorado Avalanche for a single 2027 fifth-round pick.

Blankenburg had 21 points in 49 games this season with Nashville, averaging 17:57 minutes of ice time a game. The Predators ship off their second-most-productive defenseman for a pick that will likely end up in the minors.

There’s a difference between building for the future and just selling off players to get rid of them. Trotz trading Blankenburg, a decent defenseman in a struggling defensive corps, shows that fixing the defense is going to be a task meant for the next GM.

Nashville’s bottom six was nearly fully gutted, as Michael McCarron was traded to the Wild for a 2028 second-rounder, Cole Smith was traded to the Golden Knights for a 2028 3rd round pick, and Sedoff and Michael Butning were traded to the Stars for a 2026 3rd round pick.

There was also a rumor trending that Erik Haula was going to be traded to Seattle for…more picks. Trotz later confirmed there were “several good offers” on Haula, but the Predators eventually decided to keep him.

Trading for future considerations and not trying to weaponize now, not even a little bit, reads that management has given up on this season’s version of the Predators. Still within striking distance of a Wild Card spot, Trotz left gaping holes in the roster with little intention to fully seal them.

Mar 5, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Erik Haula (56) and center Jonathan Marchessault (81) talk just before the face off against the Boston Bruins during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Four call-ups from Milwaukee were made following the trades, and if the Predators players and coaches had anything to say about management’s transactions, they said it in a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins a day before the deadline.

The transactions made at the deadline make Trotz’s statement about leaving the team in a “fantastic spot” a little vague. The new GM will have a lot of draft picks to work with, but has a current team that was on a playoff bubble that now feels like it’s been popped.

With 19 games left in the regular season, it’s not too late to make the playoffs, but Nashville is doing it without a chunk of the corps that helped them get there.

There’s the other side of the argument that says, “This is just the next step in the rebuild.” The issue with that is the Predators didn’t get much in the draft.

The McCarron trade for a 2028 second-rounder was the biggest victory, but everything else really doesn’t move the needle much for the Predators

Only six of the current Predators were drafted beyond the second round, and half of them weren’t drafted by Nashville.

Selections by the Predators since the 2020 draft, from the third round on, have played a combined 71 games, and that’s between two players: Adam Wilsby (68 games) and Ryan Ufko (3 games).

But maybe I’m being unfair and not giving prospects time to develop. Going back to the 2016 draft, Predators players drafted from Rounds 3 through six have played a combined 535 games.

That sounds a lot better, but breaking down, that’s 49 players with only nine gaining NHL experience. Examining it even more closely, only two of those players are on the current Predators roster, one of whom, Ufko, was just called up.

Depending on what “fantastic” actually means, the new general manager will be faced with filling the gaps Trotz made.

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