Predators’ Barry Trotz to step down as GM
There’s going to be a massive change in management in Smashville.
As first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Barry Trotz is set to step down as general manager of the Nashville Predators.
The Predators are holding a press conference at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, with the expectation that Trotz’s resignation will become official.
The news comes just days before the Olympic break, with Nashville managing to bounce back from a rough start to the 2025-26 season, now competing for a playoff spot.
Trotz’s tenure as GM in the Music City has been tumultuous. He took over for David Poile on July 1, 2023, assuming a role as a front office executive for the first time in his career and becoming just the second GM in the team’s history. Nasvhille made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his first season in charge, pushing the Pacific Division-winning Vancouver Canucks to six games before bowing out in the first round.
The following offseason, the Winnipeg native took some massive swings to improve the roster, signing Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to long-term contracts. However, early returns proved futile. The Preds struggled for the entire 2024-25 season, finishing seventh in the Central Division and 14th in the Western Conference.
Things were looking rough early on this year for the team, but it has trended upwards in recent weeks. Thanks to picking up points in seven of their last 10 games, the Predators (25-23-6) have moved up to fifth in the Central, and are just four points back of the last Wild Card spot in the West.
With Trotz in charge, the Predators posted a record of 102-97-19. His ties to the franchise date back to the team’s first season in the NHL, as Trotz was the team’s head coach from 1998 to 2014. He guided the team to the playoffs seven times.
From there, Trotz coached the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, winning the Jack Adams in 2015-16 and 2018-19, and guiding the Caps to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018.
The Preds have three more games before the league-wide pause, facing the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Capitals over the next four days.