Predators fan survey results: Belief in Barry Trotz, Andrew Brunette and trading Juuse Saros (2024)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Predators returned to the postseason in 2024 after a one-year hiatus. But losing in six games to the Vancouver Canucks, they also extended their playoff success drought. The last series win was in the first round in 2018 against the young Colorado Avalanche.

So 2023-24 could be viewed as continued residence for the Preds in a place no franchise in this league wants to be for long: the midsection.

It can also be viewed as a promising start for first-year general manager Barry Trotz and first-year coach Andrew Brunette. Based on the responses of hundreds of Preds fans in our 10-question survey, it’s a heavy lean toward the latter.

Here are the results, which are striking in how they contrast in some ways with the survey results from 2022, when David Poile was GM and John Hynes was coach.

1. Which choice best describes your feelings about the current state of the Predators?

So that’s about 90 percent with some level of optimism, and that immediately brings the same question from 2022 to mind — when 13 percent identified as “optimistic.” In that survey, 78.2 percent went with either “skeptical,” “frustrated” or “pessimistic.” Professed apathy — the word sports franchises fear most — also was down by 8.5 percent this year from two years ago. That’s an enormous shift after a season that exceeded expectations but still didn’t qualify as great.

It’s important to note, of course, that Poile finally became a seller on his way out the door, loading the Preds up with draft capital, and that Trotz made effective veteran adds in his first summer as GM. Throw in a Brunette debut season that earned him a Jack Adams finalist nod and you’ve got a positive trajectory.

Chase R. wrote: “Brunette was great considering what he had to work with. I’m content with his progress.”

2. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how confident are you that general manager Barry Trotz can build a Stanley Cup contender?

So the top two categories of confidence combined for 79.4 percent of the responses, while no one went with the lowest and just 0.8 percent of respondents went with the second-lowest. This is truly the honeymoon period for Trotz, strengthened by a positive start. And it’s an enormous difference from the responses on Poile — the only GM this franchise had before Trotz, and the guy who brought Trotz in as the first coach — from two years ago.

Preds fans back then were at 12.7 percent in the highest two categories and 61.1 percent in the lowest two, with one calling Poile a “washed-up magician.”

3. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how confident are you that Andrew Brunette is a coach who can guide a team to a Stanley Cup?

Brunette crushed in this category, with 86.7 percent of the responses in the top two categories of confidence. No one chose the lowest category and 0.4 percent went with the second-lowest. This could be seen as more confidence in Brunette than in Trotz, but it also may reflect the reality of their two jobs. Brunette can be a coach who is good enough to guide a team to a Stanley Cup and not get it done because he never gets a good enough roster. Trotz has the tougher gig.

Brunette’s popularity with Preds fans is likely higher than Hynes’ ever was, and that’s certainly true of Hynes two years ago after he got a two-year contract extension. Preds fans who took the 2022 survey, asked about the extension, were 29.3 percent “against it” and 41.3 percent “indifferent.”

4. How would you like to see the Preds address their goaltending future?

This inspired most of the activity in the comments section, and here’s one clear takeaway: Preds fans do not enjoy the idea of a future without Yaroslav Askarov, a top prospect who is going through a rough patch, having been benched during AHL Milwaukee’s playoff run. That benching and an obvious need to mature aside, Askarov remains a strong contender to be a top NHL goalie for a long time.

But Juuse Saros is great right now. But Askarov brings price control. But the best players on the Preds’ roster aren’t getting any younger, and a step back to let Askarov develop isn’t ideal. But paying Saros in the range of $8 million a year for seven or eight years also isn’t ideal.

Based on Trotz’s most recent comments, that’s the plan as Saros approaches the last year of his contract, and if the two sides can come together, the next question would be: Keep your prized goalie prospect around as a backup and see what happens, or try to get some assets back for him in the short term?

“If we move Saros, then I would suggest a full-out fire sale,” Rob C. wrote. “If they keep him, let’s find one or two offensive players with high skill level.”

“If you could beef up the second line to be a legit threat along with the first line, I don’t see how you can pass that up,” Andy P. wrote. “Maybe you get burnt by Askarov not being ready, but I think the greater risk is running it back with the same team, which, although was promising and lots of fun to root for, still got bounced in the first round.”

“The money saved by not signing Saros should be invested in free-agent forwards,” John D. wrote. “Looking at the playoffs in the East, all of the teams have superior forward lines compared to the Preds.”

Mark/Nicole K. were in the camp of another mentor/protege situation, though this situation and the previous one would be vastly different. They wrote: “The only thing Juuse should be traded for is a true No. 1 center. Otherwise let’s have Askarov come up under Juuse like Juuse did under Pekka.”

5. Which of these Predators forward prospects are you most confident in becoming a good NHL player?

This represents a healthy amount of confidence in two prospects who have been back and forth between the NHL and AHL and have lost shine in some eyes: Juuso Parssinen and Philip Tomasino combined for 39.1 percent of the vote. Parssinen did get called up late in the Vancouver series, but Brunette challenged Tomasino publicly after the season was over to bring his game to a new level. The Preds need Joakim Kemell to be their next Luke Evangelista, a fast-rising forward with top-six trajectory. Zach L’Heureux, who has been tearing it up in the AHL playoffs, might actually be a full-time Pred before Kemell is.

6. Which of these Predators defenseman prospects are you most confident in becoming a good NHL player?

This was a landslide and not surprising, considering Tanner Molendyk was one of last year’s two first-round picks (No. 24) and showed promise during his first Preds training camp. The Athletic’s prospect expert Scott Wheeler ranked Molendyk the organization’s No. 3 prospect, behind Askarov and last year’s other first-round pick, forward Matthew Wood (No. 15).

7. Other than figuring out goaltender, how would you like Trotz and Brunette to approach this offseason and next season?

It’s almost 2 to 1 on the idea of taking this season’s success and trying to build immediately on it with impact additions — though as Trotz has pointed out, the Preds will be limited to some extent by more than $11.8 million in dead money. It’s expensive to pay Matt duch*ene, Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris to not play for you anymore. This is also an interesting result because splash additions and “going for it” right now would seem to suggest a preference for committing to Saros. Yet 57.3 percent want to trade him.

8. Would you support a full-scale rebuild if it meant drafting No. 1 at least once?

This is an exact question that was asked two years ago, and the results have exactly flipped. In 2022, respondents went 62 percent yes and 38 percent no. Clearly, there’s more appetite to push forward with the bulk of the current group and see where it can go, even though the Preds aren’t a Cup contender as constructed and don’t have a clear path to that level of roster. Of course, there’s no shortage of full-scale rebuild horror stories in this league, and recent generational draft picks Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews aren’t exactly collecting Cups.

“In order to be a contender, the secondary scoring needs to be vastly improved,” John D. wrote.

9. How satisfied are you with the Predators’ in-game experience?

10. What aspect of the Predators’ in-game experience would you eliminate?

This is a solid endorsem*nt of the in-game experience at Bridgestone Arena, with 78.5 percent of respondents in the top two categories of satisfaction and just 8.4 percent in the bottom two. For those who want “I Like It, I Love It” gone, you shouldn’t hold your breath. Also, have you considered how annoying that song is for opponents who just gave up a goal?

For those of you who didn’t vote for “Glorious Domination” to be banned in all corners of the arena, what’s wrong with your ears? Rebecca L. brings this home with perfection, writing: “Please send ‘Glorious Domination’ to its grave. It had its place, but that place is now 6 feet under.”

(Photo of Juuse Saros: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)

Joe Rexrode is a senior staff writer for The Athletic covering all things Nashville and some things outside Nashville. He previously worked at The Tennessean, the Detroit Free Press and the Lansing State Journal, spending the past three years as sports columnist at The Tennessean. Follow Joe on Twitter @joerexrode