Who is in the race for Predators’ GM position?

After the big news that Barry Trotz is going to be stepping down as general manager of the Nashville Predators, many are curious to see what direction the team goes in.

The team noted that Trotz will remain at the helm while the organization seeks a full-time replacement. That leads to some questions about who might be the right guy to lead the Predators into the future.

While the Preds had a rough 2024-25 campaign, they’re back competing for a playoff spot and have the players that keep the team in a competitive state for years to come.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, David Pagnotta joined Jonny Lazarus and Carter Hutton to discuss who the Predators might tab as their next GM.

David Pagnotta: I think they’re going to look externally. They’ve commissioned CAA to help with the search…Trotz will be involved in some capacity. … It’s a tricky time of year because we’re midseason. Some other teams don’t necessarily want some other guys getting plucked away midseason, even if it’s that jump to the GM role. So, this may be something that happens summer or right before or after the draft.

There are some names out there already that I think are going to be given consideration that I’m serving here. Guys like Rich Peverly and Mark Yannetti, Chris Pronger. I think there are a couple others. … I think we’re going to start to hear a few more names in that respect regarding the vacancy for the GM role in Nashville, but this probably is something that gets addressed, at least after the trade deadline, because it certainly appears Trotz is going to handle that.

The other thing I’m curious about is, do they go the president and GM group? Because Brendan Shanahan’s name is one…I don’t think he’s interested in the GM or AGM role. I think he’s more interested in where he was in Toronto, president of the club, and then he’d bring in somebody handling the hockey ops. But I think he’s thrown his hat in there, and actually made it known to the Preds earlier on in the season that if they do go in this direction, he would like to have a discussion about it.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…