THN Archive: Working In Concert

The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.

Subscribe now to view the full THN Archives here

Visit freshyourfeel.com for more information.

Also, go to thn.com/free to subscribe.

Working In Concert—Sept. 9, 2024—Ken Campbell

ALITTLE MORE THAN a month after he burned through more than $180 million of his employer’s money in one day, Barry Trotz could be found slinging the nectar of the gods on the night shift in the beer shack at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in his hometown of Dauphin, Man.

And, really, isn’t that just the most Barry Trotz thing ever? Trotz’s 86-year-old father had his voice box surgically removed over the summer as part of his treatment for throat cancer, and the festival was seeking volunteers. Trotz was getting kicked out of the hospital every night at 8 p.m. anyway, so he figured he’d step in for some family members who were away at a wedding in Brandon and couldn’t make their shifts.

It turns out Trotz is really proud of his Ukrainian roots. When he brought the Stanley Cup to Dauphin in 2018 after winning it with the Washington Capitals, his parade was accompanied by a traditional vintage Ukrainian honor guard, complete with members of Canada’s National Riding and Dancing Cossacks. If it were any more Eastern European, Yosh and Stan Shmenge would’ve shown up. (Google it, kids.) When Trotz is asked about his heritage, his response is, “You can’t tell by this round face?”

Doubtless, there were several patrons who did a double-take when they realized who their bartender was. Then again, in a town of about 8,000, maybe not. But there were more than a few who congratulated him on his fine work on free-agent day, when Trotz made Nashville as desirable a destination for big-time hockey stars as it is for bachelorette parties.

Steven Stamkos, man, that was a big get. So were Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Preventing defenseman Alexandre Carrier – signed to a three-year deal worth $3.75 million per season – from hitting the open market was also a tidy bit of business. And hey, if you’re in for a bazillion, you might as well extend goalie Juuse Saros – who, for months, seemed on his way out of town – to an eight-year contract extension that’s worth $7.7 million per season and kicks in next fall.

But it was the acquisition of Stamkos that generated most of the excitement and best represented the Predators’ reversal of fortunes. A year ago, with Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot and Mikael Granlund all dealt within a week of the 2023 trade deadline, neither Trotz nor the Predators were pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes. “I was very transparent with everybody when I took the job,” Trotz said. “We tried to burn it down.”

But now, just months after overachieving in the regular season and then again in the playoffs, Nashville has pivoted and is accumulating the assets to be a legitimate contender in both the short and long term.

It all kind of started in late May when blueliner Ryan McDonagh asked for a trade back to Tampa Bay – something the Lightning were only too happy to make happen, even without Nashville retaining any salary. That’s when Trotz began tapping his fingers together. “I tried to do (McDonagh) a solid,” Trotz said. “But I didn’t think it was happening, because I thought, ‘If they can’t fit Stamkos in, I don’t know how they’re going to fit him in.’ But (Tampa Bay GM) Julien (BriseBois) said, ‘Yeah, I want Ryan McDonagh back, and I’ll figure it out.’ ”

However it all went down, there is no doubt that Trotz swung for the fences. Even though Stamkos was the biggest name to land in Smashville, Trotz emphasized that his most important off-season task was to replace the departed McDonagh. And he did so by offering Skjei a seven-year deal worth $49 million ($7-million AAV). In case you hadn’t noticed, Skjei put up the best point total of his career last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. And don’t let the premature grey fool you, he’s five years younger than McDonagh, costs only $250,000 more per season and has far fewer miles on him.

In Marchessault, the Predators are getting a man who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2023. He went from misfit to star, an undersized guy who was never drafted. And given that he was seemingly cast aside by the Vegas Golden Knights, the Preds are also getting someone who will likely come into Smashville with a chip on his shoulder. After signing with Nashville, Marchessault was asked where things went sideways in Vegas, particularly when it seemed for a long time as though he was going to re-sign there. “I don’t think it was close,” Marchessault said. “I think it was intriguing, the concept they were offering, but it wasn’t close. I don’t think I was interested in something like that. I was definitely really upset the day before July 1.”

In Stamkos, the Predators are getting quite simply the most prolific offensive player they’ve had in franchise history. He’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer, a 500-goal scorer, a two-time Stanley Cup winner and someone who can seemingly score 30 goals while falling out of bed in the morning. And all he has to do is play the games, so that’s a relief. After all, the Predators are paying him 32 million big ones ($8-million AAV) over the next four years to do just that.

Ross Colton Speaks To Media For First Time Since Being Acquired By Predators Nashville Predators' newly acquired forward Ross Colton met the media for the first time today, and what he said should have the fan base very excited.

Well, OK, scoring a bunch, providing veteran leadership, goosing a power play that couldn’t shoot straight in the playoffs and drawing on his championship pedigree to lead the way are all part of the job description as well. But it’s fair to say that Stamkos’ major contributions in Nashville will largely be restricted to what he does on the ice. “We shouldn’t be afraid to be a little bold and say, ‘Listen, we believe we can be a contending team,’ ” Stamkos said. “On paper, it looks that way. When I see the roster, I think we can be a contender.”

We’re not exactly sure what the Predators will turn out to be with Stamkos and Co., but they will be must-see TV. However, thanks in part to the free-agent additions Trotz has made the past two summers, the real action will be in the family room before and after games and between periods. For starters, Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly both have four kids. Stamkos, Luke Schenn and Gustav Nyquist each have three. Nashville staple Roman Josi has two, and fellow pillar Filip Forsberg became a father for the first time a week after the Predators lost Game 6 to fall to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round last spring. Except for Marchessault’s 10-year-old son, the other children are all under eight. “You wouldn’t want to be babysitting all those kids while the game is going on,” Stamkos said. “They’ve just got to build a little rink for the kids and let them go at it.”

WE SHOULDN’T BE AFRAID TO BE A LITTLE BOLD AND SAY, ‘LISTEN, WE BELIEVE WE CAN BE A CONTENDING TEAM’– STEVEN STAMKOS

But there’s a little more to all of this. By and large, the Predators’ core is made up of players who are now either in their late 20s or early 30s. Some have reached the pinnacle in terms of both individual and team success (Stamkos, O’Reilly and Marchessault), and others have had their share of personal triumph (Josi and Forsberg) and either have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win or know the formula unequivocally. They still all look to have at least a few more years of productivity, barring injury. And they’ll be focused on two tasks: winning hockey games and caring for their families. There’s not much chance you’ll find any of them howling at the moon outside a honky-tonk on Lower Broadway.

For Stamkos, he quickly realized what possibilities might await this group, but there was still pain and disappointment that came with the rejection from the Bolts.

When you’re in the same place for 16 years, you don’t have to find new schools and hockey teams for your kids. If anything comes up at home, you have somebody who can take care of it. And you’re comfortable in the community. Stamkos has been very open about how challenging it has been to leave Tampa Bay, particularly since he made it clear he wanted to end his career there. As he and his family packed their belongings for the move to Nashville, the remnants of Hurricane Debby were making their way through Tampa, which was perhaps a little fitting.

In Nashville, Stamkos will only have to worry about the odd tornado, but it didn’t take long for him to realize the southern hospitality the area offers will play well for him and his family. “I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t difficult,” Stamkos said. “Because it was. It was extremely difficult. When you’re making a decision that impacts your young family, there’s a little more at stake there than just my feelings and what I want. That’s what I struggled with. As a human, you’re allowed to have that process, and then you start to get excited. You start thinking of reasons and telling yourself why you made the right decision, not questioning the decision. And that has been our mindset ever since we got to Nashville.”

On the ice, Stamkos is no longer a front-runner for the Rocket Richard Trophy, but is it possible we’ve taken for granted just what an elite goal-scorer he still is at 34? On the power play last season, only Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl scored more than Stamkos’ 19 PP goals, and only seven players eclipsed his 39 power-play points. The Preds had a middling power play in 2023-24, but it went dry in the playoffs with just two goals on 22 attempts. In their final game of the post-season, Game 6 against the Canucks, Nashville went 0-for-3 in a 1-0 loss.

“Going into last season, I thought we were going to be near the bottom of the league in scoring goals, but we finished 10th, and that was a credit to the players and (coach) Andrew (Brunette),” Trotz said. “And we saw in the Vancouver series that we were right with them 5-on-5. It was on the special teams that they beat us. So I said, ‘We’ve got to get that part of our game closer.’ So, all of a sudden, we now have a power play with O’Reilly in the middle and Marchessault at the net, Stamkos on one flank and Forsberg on the other and Josi up top.”

Mavrik Bourque Has Been Working Toward Opportunity With Nashville PredatorsAfter dominating the AHL and grinding through defensive roles in Dallas, the high-scoring center moves to Nashville to anchor the middle six and justify his new multi-million-dollar commitment.

Last season, Stamkos was downright lethal on the power play. Of the 19 goals he scored with the extra man, all but one came from the left circle, with him shooting on his off wing. The other came about a foot outside it. Opponents had every expectation it was coming, and yet they were powerless to stop it. While Stamkos won’t have reigning scoring champion Nikita Kucherov – who earned eight primary assists and nine secondary helpers on Stamkos’ PP goals last season – feeding him those precise and feathery passes anymore, you get the sense Stamkos will find a way to make it work regardless.

But it might be a little different, because when Stamkos was on the power play with Tampa Bay, there was no doubt who the go-to guy was when it came to putting the puck in the back of the net. Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point are all first-class set-up men, but both Forsberg and Marchessault were 40-goal scorers last season, too. “You look at the talent that’s there, and you have one of the best guys to run a power play in Josi, and it’s pretty similar to what I had in Tampa with Hedman,” Stamkos said. “There’s a lot of potential there. When you bring in guys like Marchessault and myself, you definitely want to put us in positions to succeed. We’re both really good on the power play and putting the puck in the net, and we’re excited about those possibilities.”

IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. WHEN YOU’RE MAKING A DECISION THAT IMPACTS YOUR YOUNG FAMILY, THERE’S A LITTLE MORE AT STAKE– STEVEN STAMKOS

Given the way the top line of O’Reilly between Forsberg and Nyquist played last season, there would be little sense in splitting them up, so that likely leaves a second unit with Tommy Novak between Stamkos and Marchessault. Josi and Skjei can be written down in indelible ink as the No. 1 defense pairing, with the tough-as-nails and sneaky-good Jeremy Lauzon playing with Carrier on the second pair. By any measure, that’s one of the best top-two five-man units you’ll find anywhere in the NHL.

And none of this would have happened if not for a team outing to a U2 concert in Las Vegas being cancelled because the Predators were playing so poorly. The team had lost five of six games before All-Star Weekend, then dropped two of their first three coming out of the respite, including a 9-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on home ice. After that loss, Trotz and Brunette decided to cancel the night at The Sphere, where 40 tickets were waiting for them.

Trotz remembers the Predators could have punished him by showing him just how bad they could really be, or they could regroup. To that point, the Preds had been all over the map in terms of their play, but after the cancellation, they won 16 of 18 games, and the two games they lost were in extra time. That vaulted them from being sellers at the trade deadline and into the playoff race. Had they not turned their game around, Trotz would have continued to burn it down, and everything this summer might have looked different.

The Predators were excited about the young players they had in their system, but they also had the cap space and the opportunity to pick up elite free agents. The off-season overhaul will allow those young guys to develop at a slower pace, and, at the same time, it will accelerate the retool. “We started to say, ‘Why waste years of Roman Josi? Why waste years of our elite players?’ ” Trotz said. “And you might say these guys would be OK with a rebuild, but guys want to win. The elite guys will knock on your door and say, ‘I want to win before my career is done.’ These guys have earned this, so let’s take a shot at it.”

Trotz (and Stamkos for that matter) is quick to point out that the changes are fantasy hockey until the Predators actually hit the ice and start to become what they’re going to be. On paper, this team will certainly be more dangerous.

In Stamkos, Marchessault and O’Reilly, they have players on their roster who have won four of the past six Stanley Cups. They have depth at every position. And they are primed to do under Trotz what they were never able to do when David Poile was running their hockey operations: win the Stanley Cup. “Listen, that’s where it falls on us to get this group that is really intriguing and interesting and fun on paper to play like a team,” Stamkos said. “We want to come in and just fit in seamlessly to the mindset those guys had last year and just keep getting better.”

Predators And Admirals Defenseman Jordan Oesterle Announces Retirement From undrafted free agent to a 409-game NHL veteran, the journeyman blueliner hangs up his skates following a productive 12-year career across six different professional organizations.

Read full story at source