Are bigger changes on the horizon for the retooling Nashville Predators?

The Nashville Predators are in a tough spot.

On their way to finishing 10th in the Western Conference during the 2022–23 regular season, the Predators top-selled Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter to build a strong asset base for new general manager Barry Trotz .

Now, it remains to be seen whether Trotz will opt to keep departing head coach John Hynes or replace him with a figure of his choice. But beyond that, the Predators will soon have to make a decision on star guard Juuse Saros, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

Daily face-to-faceFrank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk took a closer look at the situation in Nashville on Monday’s edition of Daily face-to-face live.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk a bit about the Nashville Predators. This is the first summer with Barry Trotz at the helm as GM and man, the number of picks they have in this upcoming NHL Draft is unbelievable, Frank. In the next two drafts, really, they have a lot of things they could do some damage with. Two firsts this year, two seconds, three thirds and three quarters. Do you think they’ll take the approach of, hey, let’s flip some of these picks and get immediate help, or is the smartest game here for Barry Trotz is to get prospects and start stockpiling the closet here in Nashville?

Frank Seravalli: I think that’s the biggest question I have about Preds in general is, what are they trying to accomplish here? Are they trying to rebuild? Are they trying to do it on the fly and become a competitive team again? As I see the Predators and their current roster right now, I’d say they’re good enough to finish anywhere between, say, eighth and 14th in the West, which isn’t really any where you want to be. Could they sneak into the Stanley Cup Playoffs again on the back of Juuse Saros? Probably. But there’s also a question to be asked about Saros and his future in Nashville, given that they’ll eventually have to restock him at some point and pay him off again.

Watch the full episode here: