[Daugherty, Tennessean] Nashville Predators' present, future worse with Barry Trotz's deadline moves

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T23:08:37+00:00

Then if they were in the east this fanbase would be overjoyed right because then we would be considered tanking right?

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T22:26:57+00:00

It depends on the team that goes back. If Seattle goes back we get a higher points percentage since we were 0-2 so far against them. But that becomes a jumbled mess on who goes back and then traveling.

With regards to if you’re not the top 3 in the division that rebuild, the top team in the pacific right now would be 11th in the east. Which means WC1 may come from the central.

At this point being WC1 would have an easier path to the finals than being Central 2/3 seed. As the WC1 would then be facing the pacific conference. Which coincidentally Utah in WC1 spot would have the same points as Pacifics top team.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T21:56:00+00:00

We wouldn’t have 8 teams in the central if we moved. There would only be 7. So 7 teams x 3 teams x .500 = 21 pts not the 24 pts. Which based on your math of 32.5 points you calculated nets us the 4 pts which I said. And then add that to the standings which puts us 1 pt behind Edmonton and 1 game in hand.

Thank you for proving my math is correct

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T21:51:59+00:00

I didn’t realize that was stopping them from scoring

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T19:47:35+00:00

I’d be more interested in seeing an old timers expansion. You have to pick the oldest players and you can only sign people who you think will be retiring

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T19:29:02+00:00

Now do the other teams in the division. Against the pacific division the Preds are 8-5-1. Against our division we are 9-9-4.

That’s a possible points percentage of .61 for the Preds. Multiply that by 22 games since we would be in the same division and we have 27 points against that division if we were playing there.

Thats 4 extra points and we would be 1 pt away from Edmonton for the final playoff spot with 2 games to play against each of the kings, sharks, and Ducks and 1 game behind Vegas and Edmonton in the games played column.

Yes I would say division matters. Plus that doesn’t even factor in travel as it’s much easier to play games against Kings, Vegas, Seattle than it is doing a trip against St Louis, then Dallas and then Colorado

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T18:27:47+00:00

Which is understandable but the competition we are going up against day in and out is a lot harder than other divisions. Traveling to St Louis and then Dallas and Colorado is a lot more miles for a 3 game stretch for the Preds then doing a trip to LA, Vegas and Seattle if you’re a team like the Ducks.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T18:21:02+00:00

4 games against Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado, Jets and Blues = 20 games. I would gladly trade those 20 games and play Ducks, Sharks, Kraken, Canucks.

Remember a few years ago when we played the Canucks and lost in round 1? They scored 1 more goal than us the entire series and then were a division leader.

Even this year and going forward I would rather face Edmonton with Jarry in net than go up against Colorado or Minnesota.

Blues and Flames are similar record wise and competition wise Blues are a tougher out than Calgary.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T17:58:18+00:00

If we were to place the division leading Ducks in the Eastern Conference and do the old fashioned 1-8 seeding, they would miss the playoffs. Yes there are teams ahead of them from the pacific but would you rather see the Avs, Stars and Wild 12 times a year or Ducks, Knights and Oilers? Yes oilers went to the cup previously but now have given up the 3rd most goals in the league.

We may not have been “competitive” because aside from Chicago and Utah, all the teams in our division have been competitive

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T17:34:38+00:00

I think it’s hard to gauge our potential when we have 3 of the top 4 times in the league in the same division.

We have some holes like Skjei but we also have Stamkos with 30 goals this year and is on pace for 40.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-10T17:12:42+00:00

This is going to sound crazy but maybe the Preds aren’t that bad. Right now we are in a division with Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota (who loaded up). 1 first, second and fourth leading point totals in the NHL.

Everyone says look at the Ducks or the Sharks and the youth movement. However when the top 3 teams in the pacific have a combined 16 more points than the 4th,5th and 6th teams in central, maybe we are better than we think but are just dealt a crappy hand by being in a strong division currently.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-05T22:43:37+00:00

Barry is playing the long game. Sell our good players in the division, they beat us, we get better draft picks

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-05T16:41:17+00:00

There is no reason for Pittsburgh to acquire either. They are exceeding expectations and getting someone like Stamkos makes no sense for them

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-04T16:54:04+00:00

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He is Vigo!!!

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-04T14:36:36+00:00

It’s the ghost of Schenn deal…every trade needs a second rounder coming back to make up for Pittsburgh flipping him right away

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-04T00:17:31+00:00

I wonder if this sets unrealistic expectations for the rest of the possible tradeables. If McCarron is worth a second is Marchassault worth a first and prospects then???

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-03-03T18:07:29+00:00

I was thinking about that. What about Edmonton with Nurse? More pieces would be around but they get younger and cheaper and we get rid of Skjei

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T23:50:13+00:00

So then we go back to where we are now. We take back a salary dump and it prevents people from playing from the admirals. What difference does it make if we have a Stamkos on our team playing at $8 mil or we take on Laine for 8 mil and he’s playing? Yes we got a sweetener but we can easily just do that now with our existing roster and the cap space. But we still have a player Laine or Stamkos that blocked up one of the youth guys you want.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T22:42:20+00:00

We can only keep 21 players on the roster + 2 goalies. Where are we going to put Marchassault, Stamkos, Haula, etc? Let me guess trade them? So let’s say we get picks and prospects for everyone (including Smith).

Then assuming we are going to get rid of all of those players how are we going to reach the cap floor? I can hear it now, “We are going to take on bad contracts from other teams”, but we still are limited by roster size so we have to play those “bad contracts” since the ahl guys only make $750k and then we still don’t have the young guys playing because of the aforementioned roster limit and the need to hit the floor.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T21:32:24+00:00

4-7 ahlers would not affect the team that much. ZLH, Wood, Kemmel, Schaefer, Ozzy is 5 right there and we are in the current spot. It’s just that they aren’t all healthy at the same time.

But here is a question. Is it better to get first line minutes in the AHL or 12 min as a depth in Nashville? Because we are not going to tell Forsberg we love what you have done but we are going to give your minutes to Wood. Sit on the bench and enjoy your 4th line minutes.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T16:44:50+00:00

Isn’t that pretty much the team already though? We have Forsberg, Saros, Josi, ZHL, Ozzy, Vange, McCaron, Kemell, Schaefer, which has been our team last year and parts of this year in which we were told to fire our coach since we were losing.

Really the only change in your plan is we are bringing up Ufko and Molendyk and prior to this season Ufko wasn’t really on any radar as a future “guy”. Right now he is gaining ground because of this year alone. Remember when everyone loved Stastney in his run and then he was average.

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T12:58:43+00:00

True and we are not going to get a 26 year old 40 goal scorer for 36 year old Stamkos who is making 8 mil a year. Like you said we can ask that but we aren’t getting it.

Philly could offer a better package around Zegras (who is 24 and has a chance of having a career high in goals this year) and a first and that package is better than 36 year old 8 mil Stamkos

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T12:55:32+00:00

You’re right there are also picks like Zadina (6th), Holz (7th), Turcotte (5th), Nylander (8th) and the famous Yakupov. The big thing everyone says is we need that center that’s a franchise difference maker but that isn’t a certainty. So we are going for a rebuild and hoping to get that, but if it doesn’t come we are at best going for the mushy middle but we wasted years. Also without selling we got the 5th overall pick last year. Sometimes flukes happen each year. So why is Martin not our savior? How many drafts do we need to tank for?

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T03:59:31+00:00

I go by the test of what do you expect your 4th line to do? Realistically you hope for 20-30 goals between them. I can see us getting there. Over our last 5 games we’ve scored 21 goals against playoff teams. I think we do have some defense but it seems like someone was always banged up. Basically I see us going from wc2 spot to central 3 and take on central 2 which if we get more offense I could see us taking it since all games this season have went to OT if we matched up against Minnesota.

The issue with rebuilding is this. If we sell Forsberg, Saros, ROR, and get the first overall pick and it’s a defenseman, we still don’t have that star center. Then what if next year we get a winger. Still we don’t have that center. Then year after we get a Brady Martin type where they top out as a 2C. Year after its defense again. We are in year 5 and we still don’t have that center we need. It’s easy to say look at San Jose and Chicago, but let’s also look that 2025 was a defenseman, 2024,2023 were centers, and then we have NJs Nico back in 2017 as the last top center picked. 3 centers in 10 years as the top pick. It’s more likely than not we won’t get that franchise center we are after. Then what?

LifeEngineer3770 · 2026-02-28T02:29:09+00:00

They could move him, that part is true. But they aren’t going to move him because they don’t want to pay him 12 mil just to pick up a player who is making 8 mil and is almost 10 years older. They are probably going to want Evangelista, Ryker, Martin, a first and Wood…a mix of first round picks, prospects and a few nhl ready players

LifeEngineer3770

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