Nashville Predators Talk - 2024/2025 Season

[drwpreds]

Just want to repeat something that someone mentioned in the game thread last night. We were on the power play for THIRTEEN minutes last night. We were basically on a power play for almost 1/4 of the entire game- and still managed only 21 shots on goal with 46 allowed. A minus 25 shots differential. Moneypuck had the game at 94% Devils and we had an expected goals of 1.08, which is pathetic anytime but even more so with so much power play time.

That is just so mind numbingly awful it almost is impossible to pull off. In 40+ years of watching hockey I honestly am not sure I have ever pulled for a more boring, lifeless team as this one.

Just completely depressing.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I just don't really see why I should bother watching this team at this point. We suck and we aren't giving significant ice time to anyone that might be a core piece of this team in the future. It's like the worst kind of tank imaginable.

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

I just don't really see why I should bother watching this team at this point. We suck and we aren't giving significant ice time to anyone that might be a core piece of this team in the future. It's like the worst kind of tank imaginable.

The people that post here aren't a fair sample of "normal" fans, but I still think this logic holds - most fans would be ok watching a young, fun, sucky team tank. There are ways to generate excitement besides just winning. I worry Trotz and Co will see dipping interest and assume that means we want a desperate move to contend, but everyone here is very aligned that we need to burn it down. Moving old guys so we could have watched a ZLH-Svechkov-Tomasino (RIP) second line get 18 mins a night would have made me WAY more likely to watch games and buy tickets.

 

[glenngineer]

The people that post here aren't a fair sample of "normal" fans, but I still think this logic holds - most fans would be ok watching a young, fun, sucky team tank. There are ways to generate excitement besides just winning. I worry Trotz and Co will see dipping interest and assume that means we want a desperate move to contend, but everyone here is very aligned that we need to burn it down. Moving old guys so we could have watched a ZLH-Svechkov-Tomasino (RIP) second line get 18 mins a night would have made me WAY more likely to watch games and buy tickets.

The time to do that was when Trotz took over. Now that he’s fumbled the bag he was given, I don’t think fans will be so receptive to this. I’ll be honest, I’m torn on it considering we’ve moved on from certain players. Barry has lost all good will from me as a fan. He and Bruno will get my very direct and honest feedback moving forward.

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

The time to do that was when Trotz took over. Now that he’s fumbled the bag he was given, I don’t think fans will be so receptive to this. I’ll be honest, I’m torn on it considering we’ve moved on from certain players. Barry has lost all good will from me as a fan. He and Bruno will get my very direct and honest feedback moving forward.

For me, the turning point was the Forsberg extension. If we had moved him for a massive haul instead, we probably do the same with Saros, then don't bring in ROR/Stamkos/March on such massive contracts. Once he was locked in, it felt like our leadership group decided we can and should still contend when we absolute could not hang with the truly elite teams.

 

[Predsanddead24]

The people that post here aren't a fair sample of "normal" fans, but I still think this logic holds - most fans would be ok watching a young, fun, sucky team tank. There are ways to generate excitement besides just winning. I worry Trotz and Co will see dipping interest and assume that means we want a desperate move to contend, but everyone here is very aligned that we need to burn it down. Moving old guys so we could have watched a ZLH-Svechkov-Tomasino (RIP) second line get 18 mins a night would have made me WAY more likely to watch games and buy tickets.

I don't even think a young team even needs to be that fun or exciting to watch. When we brought all the kids up at the tail end of 22-23 we really weren't all that exciting, but it was at least interesting to see the kids grow and their struggles actually felt like they might be a means to an end. I just have no desire to watch a bunch of guys who are past their primes and only getting worse with time struggle to do anything.

 

[herzausstein]

Hmmm

Weve tried pressboxing various young players (Parssinen, Evangalista, fabbro, Tomasino)
Weve tried losing Fabbro to waivers
Weve tried trading Tomasino for scraps

And yesterday was one of the more pathetic games we have played.

 

[glenngineer]

For me, the turning point was the Forsberg extension. If we had moved him for a massive haul instead, we probably do the same with Saros, then don't bring in ROR/Stamkos/March on such massive contracts. Once he was locked in, it felt like our leadership group decided we can and should still contend when we absolute could not hang with the truly elite teams.

Probably would've gotten a haul for Fil. Not so much for Saros as goalies aren't going to get you what you think they're worth. The only way that would've happened if you had a contending team who was desperate to upgrade, then you might've gotten an A prospect.

 

[hockey diva]

I am watching an organization that I was proud to support and was respected around the league turn into a laughing stock worse than the Yotes playing in Mullet Arena.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I am watching an organization that I was proud to support and was respected around the league turn into a laughing stock worse than the Yotes playing in Mullet Arena.

I mean, it's not THAT bad yet. But there is definitely a rarified space these days for teams which are not explicitly TANKING actually ending up with a top-5 pick. You don't see that happening very often.

 

[glenngineer]

The makeup of the team is odd in the sense that very few of the top players outside of Gus and ROR play in all situations. On top of that, neither is outstanding on the PK or PP.

I look at guys like Hischier, Kopitar, Bergeron, even Fisher when he was here and the top guys are able to play in all situations, which means you have better players on the ice more often than not.

We like to draft or have guys that are either good offensively/PP or defensively/PK but it's rare that we find guys that can do all three well and then we complain that guys don't play enough D or don't produce enough offensively. Well, you can't complain about guys not being good if these are the players you're selecting or going after via FA. It makes no sense.

At the same time, these guys are hard to find but if you have a couple of them up front, it sure makes the team better overall.

And thinking back to the Cup run, weren't all of JOFA playing the PK in some way? I know Fisher and Sissons were playing the PK but I believe all of these guys were out there too.

What this allows is your best players always being in the flow of the game rather than sitting for minutes on end waiting for the PK to be over and then getting a shift with linemates who aren't usually their linemate.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

For me, the turning point was the Forsberg extension. If we had moved him for a massive haul instead, we probably do the same with Saros, then don't bring in ROR/Stamkos/March on such massive contracts. Once he was locked in, it felt like our leadership group decided we can and should still contend when we absolute could not hang with the truly elite teams.

I think we would have been "fine" bringing back basically the same roster, with a few extra roster spots (losing Trenin, Sherwood, etc...) and trying to add a middle 6 center and a depth d-man. We might have been a playoff team, might have been a top 10 pick, but we had flexibility to be semi-competitive while turning more chances to the young players.

Sure, mushy middle, but it was at least with some design/end goal--pretty much Preds style. I think he could have held off the Saros extension and given both goalies a fair run this season. If Saros gets upset about no extension and wants to walk, the decision is made for you. If Forsberg doesn't want a rebuild, then he can waive his NMC. But to mishandle the goalie situation, then blow that much on forwards we didn't really need to acquire (and are poor fits and have been generally awful), and now we are on a very inflexible path with a much bleaker outlook than 6 months ago.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Since the GDT is closed, Devils' fans being ass hats re:ZLH and getting a stick to the mouth being deserved. f***ing gross. f*** those guys.

 

[bdub24]

I mean, it's not THAT bad yet. But there is definitely a rarified space these days for teams which are not explicitly TANKING actually ending up with a top-5 pick. You don't see that happening very often.

Ooooo - I think its exactly that bad. The only question is - will it go on as long as it did in PHX

 

[herzausstein]

Since the GDT is closed, Devils' fans being ass hats re:ZLH and getting a stick to the mouth being deserved. f***ing gross. f*** those guys.

Get used to it. Until we trade him or he is lost to waivers, that is the kind of reaction he is gonna draw from opposing fanbases.

 

[originalpredfan]

I think we would have been "fine" bringing back basically the same roster, with a few extra roster spots (losing Trenin, Sherwood, etc...) and trying to add a middle 6 center and a depth d-man. We might have been a playoff team, might have been a top 10 pick, but we had flexibility to be semi-competitive while turning more chances to the young players.

Sure, mushy middle, but it was at least with some design/end goal--pretty much Preds style. I think he could have held off the Saros extension and given both goalies a fair run this season. If Saros gets upset about no extension and wants to walk, the decision is made for you. If Forsberg doesn't want a rebuild, then he can waive his NMC. But to mishandle the goalie situation, then blow that much on forwards we didn't really need to acquire (and are poor fits and have been generally awful), and now we are on a very inflexible path with a much bleaker outlook than 6 months ago.

Spot on. Trotz has managed to put us in a hole for at least the foreseeable future. I imagine none of us have a clue to his line of thinking for his actions. Poile and Trotz gave us Hockey and I'm thankful for that. However, I really do believe that the Hockey operation side of this organization needs to be completely revamped with people who are in tune with how the game has evolved.

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

The only thing that kept the hole from being truly terrifying is we've kept our picks and added others on top of it. Late 1st and 2nds, true, but the cupboard isn't bare....yet

 

[101st_fan]

 

[Scoresberg]

The people that post here aren't a fair sample of "normal" fans, but I still think this logic holds - most fans would be ok watching a young, fun, sucky team tank. There are ways to generate excitement besides just winning. I worry Trotz and Co will see dipping interest and assume that means we want a desperate move to contend, but everyone here is very aligned that we need to burn it down. Moving old guys so we could have watched a ZLH-Svechkov-Tomasino (RIP) second line get 18 mins a night would have made me WAY more likely to watch games and buy tickets.

I have started to agree with the reasoning of not ever burning the whole village down and starting the rebuild from scratch. That's why a team like Anaheim has been miserable to watch for the last, what, 6-7 years? And they're still a bad team. Buffalo hasn't been there in 12 years. You need to have SOME veteran players on the roster.

For me, I would've been fine with seeing a few youngsters (ZLH, Pärssinen, Vange and some defenseman) on the roster actually being utilized properly and MENTORED by the veteran players I was fine that we kept around (Forsberg mainly, I also liked and still like the ROR signing). We would've been able to see their growth and the eventual takeover of the veteran players as the next core. Now, we're essentially wasting away the LITTLE amount of young talent on our roster. They might get a shot in the top-six lines with some veterans but it's usually a period-long experiment.

But instead, they thought that it was a good idea to throw ALL the youngsters out of the roster and go with the retirement home mentality. We're an ass team AND the oldest team in the league. I mean, how's that even possible??

 

[GoldOnGold]

I have started to agree with the reasoning of not ever burning the whole village down and starting the rebuild from scratch. That's why a team like Anaheim has been miserable to watch for the last, what, 6-7 years? And they're still a bad team. Buffalo hasn't been there in 12 years. You need to have SOME veteran players on the roster.

For me, I would've been fine with seeing a few youngsters (ZLH, Pärssinen, Vange and some defenseman) on the roster actually being utilized properly and MENTORED by the veteran players I was fine that we kept around (Forsberg mainly, I also liked and still like the ROR signing). We would've been able to see their growth and the eventual takeover of the veteran players as the next core. Now, we're essentially wasting away the LITTLE amount of young talent on our roster. They might get a shot in the top-six lines with some veterans but it's usually a period-long experiment.

But instead, they thought that it was a good idea to throw ALL the youngsters out of the roster and go with the retirement home mentality. We're an ass team AND the oldest team in the league. I mean, how's that even possible??

Very much agree with needing veteran players to go along with youngsters, and we were heading in that direction when we traded Nino/Ekholm, bought out Duchene, and made those other changes when we missed the playoffs.

One thing that Bruno has constantly done is put all of the young players on one line together, which has been an awful decision in practice. Since that line is almost always the 3rd at best, it means the young players are getting less icetime, and any young player makes a mistake, all three will end up being punished/benched (since they have no room for mistakes). It also means they never get opportunities to play on a top line with our best players (remember when Tomasino had a great year playing with McCarron? I would have thought he would have gotten a chance at a higher line at that point), which means they lose out on great developmental opportunities/time.

Compare us to Dallas, who has done a good job creating stable lines with both veteran players and prospects. They've managed to actually develop Thomas Harley, Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertston, etc.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Get used to it. Until we trade him or he is lost to waivers, that is the kind of reaction he is gonna draw from opposing fanbases.

I'm here for it. Loved what Tootoo did for the team, and I'm hoping ZLH is a far superior version of that.

 

[Kat Predator]

And thinking back to the Cup run, weren't all of JOFA playing the PK in some way? I know Fisher and Sissons were playing the PK but I believe all of these guys were out there too.

Joey and Arvy played PK together. Fil wasn't a regular on the PK, so he's the only one.

We absolutely did have a very balanced team overall, with many Swiss Army knife type of players up and down the lineup. And arguably the best top 4 defensively in the league.

 

[herzausstein]

I'm here for it. Loved what Tootoo did for the team, and I'm hoping ZLH is a far superior version of that.

To some extent, i think he feeds off of getting that kind of response from players/fans. Not so much the stick in the mush but his agitation did yield a 5 min major powerplay for the team. We did all f**k all with it but it is the thought that counts

 

[nine_inch_fang]

The theme of this season that should be put on hats.

It's The Thought That Counts

Do any of them still wear the Relentless hats?

 

[Viqsi]

I have started to agree with the reasoning of not ever burning the whole village down and starting the rebuild from scratch. That's why a team like Anaheim has been miserable to watch for the last, what, 6-7 years? And they're still a bad team. Buffalo hasn't been there in 12 years. You need to have SOME veteran players on the roster.

For me, I would've been fine with seeing a few youngsters (ZLH, Pärssinen, Vange and some defenseman) on the roster actually being utilized properly and MENTORED by the veteran players I was fine that we kept around (Forsberg mainly, I also liked and still like the ROR signing). We would've been able to see their growth and the eventual takeover of the veteran players as the next core. Now, we're essentially wasting away the LITTLE amount of young talent on our roster. They might get a shot in the top-six lines with some veterans but it's usually a period-long experiment.

But instead, they thought that it was a good idea to throw ALL the youngsters out of the roster and go with the retirement home mentality. We're an ass team AND the oldest team in the league. I mean, how's that even possible??

Truthfully, I thought that was partly what Trotz was going for with all the newcomers. I fully expected a bunch of depth guys to be spending more and more time in the press box and more kids learning alongside the likes of Stamkos and Marchessault.

Instead, those guys are being asked to carry the team by themselves and the kids are seemingly an afterthought. I really don't like it.