Tag: Barry Trotz

The Predators buying out Matt Duchene furthers their dramatic roster revamp

Barry Trotz is already making his presence known in his return to the Predators.

The Nashville Predators had already taken a sledgehammer to their roster this year, but Friday’s latest blow might’ve been the most shocking.

Rather than let him play out more of his expensive contract, the team placed center Matt Duchene on unconditional waivers with the intent to buy out the remainder of his deal.

The Predators will reportedly eat $19 million over the next six years for Duchene’s buyout, another sign of just how determined the team is to clean house and start fresh under new general manager (and former coach) Barry Trotz.

Duchene will enter NHL free agency as one of its most desirable prospects, and the Predators will have about $24 million to spend once the market opens on Saturday (fourth-best in the NHL).

Duchene is just the latest in Nashville’s roster purge, as the team traded Ryan Johansen to the Colorado Avalanche earlier this month.

Along with Johansen and Duchene, the Predators parted ways with guys like Mattias Ekholm, Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter and Tanner Jeannot ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline this past winter.

That’s not even mentioning the in-season waiving of Eeli Tolvanen, who landed (and blossomed) with the Seattle Kraken, or the firing of head coach John Hynes this summer for former Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette.

It’s an eye-opening amount of players that have been jettisoned from Music City, as last year’s starting Nashville lineup is largely gone.

Trotz will officially take over as general manager for the retiring David Poile on Saturday, and it looks increasingly like he’ll continue to rework Nashville’s roster in a major retooling.

The revamp has been so dramatic in Nashville that the team reportedly pondered trading elite goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov to move into the 2023 NHL Draft’s top few picks this week.

It genuinely feels like anything is possible for Nashville going ahead, making them one of the NHL’s most unpredictable teams this offseason.

Could the team keep Askarov and trade one of the NHL’s best goalies in Juuse Saros to land a top-six scoring option? Does the team have a veteran Tyson Barrie in its plans after acquiring him from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline? What about another vet like Ryan McDonagh?

Only team captain Roman Josi and longtime offensive stalwart Filip Forsberg feel safe in terms of veteran players on Nashville’s roster.

With plenty more moves to come, Trotz looks like he’s going to shape the team in his image as he finds a way to get Nashville back to the Stanley Cup Finals. It’ll be fascinating to see if his aggressive strategy is exactly what the Predators need to really get back in contention, or if it’s a bridge too far.

Here’s why the Predators might’ve traded for a player that could be gone in a week

The Predators traded for a player that will be a free agent in a week. Why might it make sense?

The Nashville Predators made a fascinating trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, acquiring a player they may lose in a week.

The Predators announced that longtime center Ryan Johansen had been traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for veteran forward Alex Galchenyuk.

At first glance, that just seems like a player-for-player swap between a team trying to get back to playoff contention (Nashville) and a team trying to win another Stanley Cup (Colorado).

However, the deal becomes a bit confusing once you realize that Galchenyuk’s contract expires on July 1, the start of NHL free agency.

What gives? Why would Nashville trade a veteran starter like Johansen for the rights to a player that might not sign with the Predators?

As the old saying goes, follow the money.

The Predators are entering a new era under Barry Trotz, the team’s former coach who is now its general manager.

Trotz’s first big move of his tenure looks like it’s a very peculiar salary dump, one that still sees the Predators taking on half of Johansen’s contract for the next two seasons. It’ll save Nashville $8 million over the next two years while Colorado pays the other $8 million.

Teams rarely just trade a player to a team without any return, as that would just be a gift. From 2013-19, Galchenyuk scored double-digit goals a season before tapering off during the 2019-20 season.

Galchenyuk only played in 11 games for the Avalanche in 2022-23 with no goals or points to show for it. However, he did score 16 goals in 42 regular season games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles last season.

If the Predators want to re-sign Galchenyuk, they’ll have first dibs as they hold his rights for the next week. However, if they let him walk, this is the rare case where a team traded a player to dump his salary without anything in return but salary cap space. It’d basically just be a very elaborate release.

There has to be some sort of return on an NHL trade, and a player’s rights for one week’s time does technically count.

Could the Predators have at least gotten a prospect? It’s fair to wonder. Could Galchenyuk wind up signing with Nashville and working on his comeback effort? It’s very possible.

At the very least, Galchenyuk walking just means the Preds saved some cap space and got Johansen to a contender with the trade. It could be a show of goodwill for a veteran player like Johansen that could reverberate positively in the locker room for other Nashville players as Trotz gets going in his new role.

For now, this is the most curious of NHL trades, one that nets the Avalanche a reliable offensive veteran and the Preds some salary cap space for possible moves in the future… and a player that might be gone in a week.

Barry Trotz becoming the Predators’ new GM makes the head coaching market scarce

Barry Trotz is set to take over David Poile’s job as Predators’ GM in late June.

Barry Trotz is taking himself off the NHL head coaching market as early as this summer.

On Sunday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke quite the news amidst a hectic trade deadline. David Poile is set to retire from his position as general manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Nashville Predators, handing over the GM reins to Trotz on June 30 before the start of free agency.

Trotz famously got his coaching start in Nashville in 1998-99, where he coached over 1,000 games and ended his time there with a 557-479-60-100 record. The Predators made the playoffs seven times under Trotz’s guidence.

The news is big for a few reasons. First, Poile has been general manager of the Predators since the team’s inception in 1997, with his retirement ending 26 years of work in Nashville.

Not only that, Trotz has been highly sought after as a head coaching candidate after being fired from the New York Islanders in May 2022. With Trotz’s departure from the field, the NHL head coaching market is looking quite thin for big-name talent ahead of the 2023-24 season.

It’s no surprise to see Trotz become the Predators new general manager considering his history with the team. It seems as if Nashville’s future is in good hands.

[mm-video type=video id=01gt70yraf4xs1bbx15z playlist_id=none player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gt70yraf4xs1bbx15z/01gt70yraf4xs1bbx15z-879d527182e284b75cb30072b2decf8e.jpg]

Tracking every available major NHL head coach during the 2022 offseason

The NHL coaching market is a deep one this year.

The NHL head coaching market is going to be a wild one for the 2022 offseason.

While the Stanley Cup playoffs are still ongoing, one of the biggest stories in hockey at the moment is the gargantuan list of head coaches on the market and the team vacancies available. Normally, there are a handful of teams and only a few major names available for coaching positions, but the 2022 offseason will have some surprisingly good coaches looking for jobs.

With Tuesday’s report from NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes that Bruce Cassidy is headed to the Golden Knights, there are now five teams in the market for a head coach. Those teams include:

  1. Philadelphia Flyers
  2. Boston Bruins
  3. Dallas Stars
  4. Winnipeg Jets
  5. Detroit Red Wings

It’s quite likely that list will grow in the weeks to come too. Honestly, the NHL’s head coaching carousel is probably going to be an even bigger watch than the upcoming free agent class, which is saying something.

Here are 11 major NHL head coach candidates to look out for during the 2022 offseason.

New York Islanders at Washington Capitals odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s New York Islanders at Washington Capitals sports betting odds and lines, with NHL betting picks, tips and best bets.

The New York Islanders (31-16-6) and Washington Capitals (36-14-5) drop the puck at Capital One Arena at 7 p.m. ET Monday. We analyze the Islanders-Capitals sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.

Islanders at Capitals: Projected starting goalies

Semyon Varlamov vs. Ilya Samsonov

Varlamov is 16-9-4 with a 2.58 goals against average and .915 save percentage. The veteran has actually been heads and tails better on the road than at home, posting a 2.90 GAA and .906 SV% at home, and a sparkling 2.18 GAA and .926 SV% mark on the road. He is 1-2-0 with a 3.39 GAA and .896 SV% in three starts against the Caps this season.

The rookie Samsonov is expected to get the nod after Braden Holtby was tuned up and pulled from his last start against the Flyers over the weekend. Samsonov has a tremendous 16-3-1 record, 2.19 GAA and .923 SV% through his 18 starts and four relief appearances. He has faced the Isles twice, including one start, posting a 2-0-0 record, 0.75 GAA and .970 save percentage.

Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.

Islanders at Capitals: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 7:20 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Capitals 4, Islanders 1

Moneyline (ML)

The Islanders (+155) are a tempting play at this price level, but Varlamov and head coach Barry Trotz’s bunch have struggled against the Capitals (-189). Look for the home side to win, although they’re a risky play with this kind of chalk. AVOID and look to the puck line.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Islanders to win returns a profit of $15.50, while a $10 wager on the Capitals results in a profit of $5.30.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The CAPITALS (-1.5, +145) are a great play at home with a moderate return. If it were Holtby in the crease, it would be much riskier, but they’re a better play with Samsonov in net. Plus, Washington took it on the chin last time out by a 7-2 score, so you know they’ll be champing at the bit. Look for Washington to get off to a fast start in this one.

Over/Under (O/U)

UNDER 5.5 (+115) is a value play at plus-money. While the Over is 3-1-1 in the Isles’ past five games overall, the Under is 24-9-3 in their past 36 as a road underdog and 35-17-4 in their past 56 on the road. The Under is also 5-2 in the past seven meetings in this series, too.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=2059]