Tag: David Poile

Retiring Predators GM David Poile got the coolest send-off at the 2023 NHL Draft

Retiring Predators GM David Poile got the coolest send-off during Wednesday’s 2023 NHL Draft.

Retiring Nashville Predators general manager David Poile got plenty of love during this week’s 2023 NHL Draft.

As the draft was being held in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, Poile went through his very last draft process with the Predators before he retires at the end of the month.

Former Nashville coach Barry Trotz is taking Poile’s place as the team’s general manager.

Known for pulling off quite a trade, Poile’s final trade with Nashville wound up being an incredibly special one.

In the draft’s seventh round, Poile swapped picks with New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, who was Nashville’s very first captain.

With the pick, Poile selected right winger Aiden Fink out of Brooks (AJHL).

After the pick, Poile got a very well-deserved standing ovation from everyone in attendance at Wednesday’s draft rounds.

It’d be a moment for a lifetime in the building Poile helped bring hockey to, and he’ll undoubtedly go down as one of the most important figures in Predators (and NHL) history.

Predators legend Pekka Rinne received a beautiful statue tribue outside of Nashville’s arena

The Nashville Predators unveiled a beautiful statue for former goalie Pekka Rinne on Saturday.

A monument to the greatest Nashville Predator of all time will forever live outside the team’s arena.

On Saturday, the organization revealed a statue honoring former Predators goalie Pekka Rinne right in front of Bridgestone Arena.

The goalie led the franchise to its lone Western Conference title and Stanley Cup appearance in 2017.

After retiring in 2021, Rinne’s No. 35 was retired by the team in 2022 and was hoisted to Bridgestone Arena’s rafters along with the franchise’s other banners.

A big crowd of Predators fans gathered outside of the arena ahead of Nashville’s afternoon tilt against the Seattle Kraken as the statue was unveiled.

Retiring Predators general manager David Poile spoke ahead of the unveiling, thanking the goalie for all he had done for the franchise.

As for Rinne, he maintained his patented sense of humor while taking in the special Saturday festivities.

It’s not often NHL goalies get a statue unveiled for them outside of where they used to play, but that’s just how much Rinne meant and continues to mean to the Predators franchise. It’s a fitting tribute to a team legend.

Nashville’s sky-high trade haul from Tampa Bay for Tanner Jeannot stunned the NHL world

This was A LOT for an unproven player.

With the NHL trade deadline on the way, the Nashville Predators are raking in the draft picks after sending young forward Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Check out Mary Clarke’s comprehensive tracker on many of the deals coming through.)

With the Lightning trying to fortify its offense in a treacherous Eastern Conference, the team was willing to send the Preds a king’s ransom for adding Jeannot to the rotation.

After a standout rookie season in 2021-22, Jeannot had cooled a bit for Nashville leading up to his trade. He’s played in 56 games so far this season, notching five goals and nine assists. Jeannot has also posted a 5.7 percent shooting rate lately.

In exchange for Jeannot, Tampa Bay sent retiring general manager David Poile and Nashville a 2025 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick, a 2023 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and young defenseman Cal Foote.

Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois defended the trade for Jeannot by assessing the risk of draft picks compared to the promise of a young player with experience.

While BriseBois has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt after leading his franchise to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, the hefty haul for Jeannot still earned some dropped jaws for NHL fans and beyond.

Although, if Tampa Bay pushes ahead in the Eastern Conference and Jeannot plays a big role, nobody will be doubting the price then.

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.

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