Clay Brewer: Is Management Finally Letting Go of Their Nostalgia?

More roster changes at some level coming but even if Preds were to stand pat, I feel they are already a better team than they were at the start of the nutty 20/21 season.

Right or wrong, great analysis. Appreciate the work and for putting it out there for all to read and think about.

Is management finally letting go of Nostalgia? I'm going to say no... At least not entirely. As long as David Poile is still in the GM seat, this franchise can never truly move on. Poile has a grip over this team that feels like a Mafia Don ruling over his territory sometimes. He's as untouchable as any GM in sports and it's really hard to justify the reasoning behind it anymore. I get it on some level I really do. He was the perfect GM for the team during the expansion years, as he did a masterful job managing a team on a garage sale budget while keeping them somewhat competitive. He helped hold the team together after the sale, even after being forced to severely cut costs, and essentially brought a halt to all the momentum the franchise had started to build up in previous years. Of course, he oversaw the two best season in franchise history. I understand that's earned him a lot of goodwill, but goodwill should only take you so far. Poile has made just as many missteps along the way, and in recent years those mistakes have really started to pile up. Bad trades, decent trades where he overpaid, bad free agent signings, lusting after and overvaluing certain players to degrees that don't make sense. You can count the number of impact forwards he's drafted high on one hand.

I truly think Poile believes every other GM in the league views the game and particular players the exact same way he does, when in reality, DP is the only GM in the league who looks at the game the way he does. What other GM would only protect three forwards during an expansion draft and one of the three be Tanner Jeannot? No offense to Tanner, but he was in no danger of being selected, and Seattle did Poile a service by taking Jarnkrok anyway. I've made my feelings on Poile these past few pretty clear... I felt like he was potentially sabotaging the teams future for the sake of putting a Stanley Cup on his own resumé, and willing to leave scorched earth behind to do it. So yeah... Until Poile finally moves on, resting on the laurels of the past will still bleed into the present.

Clay Brewer: Is Management Finally Letting Go of Their Nostalgia?
- Clay Brewer

And as for Hynes, outside of missing the excitement of Laviolette's visual offensive feast, I have seen nothing to make me dislike him. I like Hyne's demeanor and style - he's smart and it shows when he speaks. (Yes, I realize that demeanor and smarts do not necessarily translate to a team's success.)

The Devils were bad long before Hynes got there and were bad after he left. They remain less than good, although a successful start to this off-season may be changing that.

Most of us loved Trotz, right? Hynes has talent as a coach in my opinion. Maybe he'll be successful. As a Preds fan, I hope so.

Is management finally letting go of Nostalgia? I'm going to say no... At least not entirely. As long as David Poile is still in the GM seat, this franchise can never truly move on. Poile has a grip over this team that feels like a Mafia Don ruling over his territory sometimes. He's as untouchable as any GM in sports and it's really hard to justify the reasoning behind it anymore. I get it on some level I really do. He was the perfect GM for the team during the expansion years, as he did a masterful job managing a team on a garage sale budget while keeping them somewhat competitive. He helped hold the team together after the sale, even after being forced to severely cut costs, and essentially brought a halt to all the momentum the franchise had started to build up in previous years. Of course, he oversaw the two best season in franchise history. I understand that's earned him a lot of goodwill, but goodwill should only take you so far. Poile has made just as many missteps along the way, and in recent years those mistakes have really started to pile up. Bad trades, decent trades where he overpaid, bad free agent signings, lusting after and overvaluing certain players to degrees that don't make sense. You can count the number of impact forwards he's drafted high on one hand.

I truly think Poile believes every other GM in the league views the game and particular players the exact same way he does, when in reality, DP is the only GM in the league who looks at the game the way he does. What other GM would only protect three forwards during an expansion draft and one of the three be Tanner Jeannot? No offense to Tanner, but he was in no danger of being selected, and Seattle did Poile a service by taking Jarnkrok anyway. I've made my feelings on Poile these past few pretty clear... I felt like he was potentially sabotaging the teams future for the sake of putting a Stanley Cup on his own resumé, and willing to leave scorched earth behind to do it. So yeah... Until Poile finally moves on, resting on the laurels of the past will still bleed into the present.
- Squatchy

I'm on the fence with Poile but not nearly as down on him as you are. There is much to like about him and not all of that is due past accomplishments (even taking into account the mistakes). No GM is without blame for errors. But you're right in that something has to give at some point. Either Poile succeeds or he needs to go.

It's obvious to me that the majority of the owners must feel the same way since no changes appear to be on the horizon. I feel certain that they fear the unknown of a new GM more than standing pat with David Poile. It's their call.

I almost forgot, the Saros contract situation is very interesting... I have mixed feelings on it. 6 for 6... Hard pass on that for now, I don't think he's earned that type of contract yet... If you sign him for that type of term and money now, and he doesn't pan out, you're potentially looking at an expensive backup or possibly even another costly buyout down the road... If Poile tries going for a short term bridge contract, 1 or 2 years, and Saros goes on an absolute tare, well then he just got a lot more expensive.

f I were Poile, I'd try to get him for 3-4 years around 4.5... Whether Saros is wiling to go for that is another story.

I almost forgot, the Saros contract situation is very interesting... I have mixed feelings on it. 6 for 6... Hard pass on that for now, I don't think he's earned that type of contract yet... If you sign him for that type of term and money now, and he doesn't pan out, you're potentially looking at an expensive backup or possibly even another costly buyout down the road... If Poile tries going for a short term bridge contract, 1 or 2 years, and Saros goes on an absolute tare, well then he just got a lot more expensive.

f I were Poile, I'd try to get him for 3-4 years around 4.5... Whether Saros is wiling to go for that is another story.
- Squatchy

And therein lies an excellent example of the dilemma, the risk and the unknowns facing a GM and his team. And don't forget that the player and his agent have a significant say in the matter. Then there's the risk of pissing off said player or other players on the team or the franchise's fans or its owners or whatever and whomever wants to be triggered if the proceedings are seen as wrongheaded, unfair, manipulative, badly structured, etc.

I'm on the fence with Poile but not nearly as down on him as you are. There is much to like about him and not all of that is due past accomplishments (even taking into account the mistakes). No GM is without blame for errors. But you're right in that something has to give at some point. Either Poile succeeds or he needs to go.

It's obvious to me that the majority of the owners must feel the same way since no changes appear to be on the horizon. I feel certain that they fear the unknown of a new GM more than standing pat with David Poile. It's their call.
- blueline

That sentiment on my part didn't build overnight trust me, it took years to form. From Poile's perspective specifically, Glass, Jeannot, Tomasino, and to a lesser extent ,Myers are key next season. Poile NEEDS these players to be successful to both justify some of his recent moves, and to win back some of the credibility he's lost. Tomasino because Poile desperately needs one of his first round forward picks to hit... There's been a buzz around Tomasino like we don't usually get with offensive prospects here in Nashville, which gives me hope this may be the one to finally hit. Glass, because he's one of those weird type of trades Poile likes to make and he really needs this one to hit. Kunin was another one, but the jury is still out on him. Jeannot because well... He's one of those guys Poile is clearly crushing on, and he needs Tanner to justify that affection. I haven't seen nearly enough of Jeannot to judge him yet, twenty games is too small a sample size, but I'm worried he's being set up to be one of those guys Poile falls in love with just to watch him wind up crapping the bed. At least this one's only on a two year contract but still... If these moves work out, it'll go a long way to renewing some of my faith in him.

Great write up! Poile is the GM until he chooses to retire, for better or for worse. Preds could not compete with Florida or Carolina or Tampa last year. Outplayed every night counting on 45 saves from Saros to get to OT. All for some changes. Interesting team did not improve until injuries forced Poile’s hand and the young guys played. I’m looking forward to seeing the young players take over more and more of the key minutes. Hopefully they hit on Glass.

Great job of understanding a team !! My you can figure out Buffalo?

Greetings my long list peeps...
I just had to come in and comment on a great article. I'm a little forlorn about losing the players we've lost and I'm eager to see what the pipeline has in store for us this next season... but there are still some names out there that could help in the off season like Galchenyuk and Tatar.
Just my $.02

Is management finally letting go of Nostalgia? I'm going to say no... At least not entirely. As long as David Poile is still in the GM seat, this franchise can never truly move on. Poile has a grip over this team that feels like a Mafia Don ruling over his territory sometimes. He's as untouchable as any GM in sports and it's really hard to justify the reasoning behind it anymore. I get it on some level I really do. He was the perfect GM for the team during the expansion years, as he did a masterful job managing a team on a garage sale budget while keeping them somewhat competitive. He helped hold the team together after the sale, even after being forced to severely cut costs, and essentially brought a halt to all the momentum the franchise had started to build up in previous years. Of course, he oversaw the two best season in franchise history. I understand that's earned him a lot of goodwill, but goodwill should only take you so far. Poile has made just as many missteps along the way, and in recent years those mistakes have really started to pile up. Bad trades, decent trades where he overpaid, bad free agent signings, lusting after and overvaluing certain players to degrees that don't make sense. You can count the number of impact forwards he's drafted high on one hand.

I truly think Poile believes every other GM in the league views the game and particular players the exact same way he does, when in reality, DP is the only GM in the league who looks at the game the way he does. What other GM would only protect three forwards during an expansion draft and one of the three be Tanner Jeannot? No offense to Tanner, but he was in no danger of being selected, and Seattle did Poile a service by taking Jarnkrok anyway. I've made my feelings on Poile these past few pretty clear... I felt like he was potentially sabotaging the teams future for the sake of putting a Stanley Cup on his own resumé, and willing to leave scorched earth behind to do it. So yeah... Until Poile finally moves on, resting on the laurels of the past will still bleed into the present.
- Squatchy

Interesting take and I agree with your premise of Poile staying until he chooses to leave. Ownership stays on the sidelines for the most part it seems and simply let hockey ops do their thing. The main problem in my view is that many moves have been made in order to achieve short term, expedited results. Missing the forest for the trees if you will. I honestly do not have a deep dissatisfaction with this due to imaging if it had all worked, then we would have said the moves were brilliant, well somewhat at least. It may be a terrible take, so feel free to push back, but I for one would sabotage a decade for a Stanley Cup to be won in this city. Obviously from a business perspective it is much more “profitable” to have ten straight playoff appearances with no Cup than 1 Cup and 10 straight seasons missing the playoffs. But from a hockey perspective, I would gladly make that trade even if it meant boosting Poile’s personal resume while we’re at it. I do not blame him for making this push. Can we look back and say the moves made etc were troublesome? For sure. But I’m curious to see how things may have changed if, for example, Poile was fired after 2018. Would it have really played out much differently? Perhaps. But I stand by my views in this article in that this is the last stand and I feel a sense of realignment of purpose and vision. One last shot so let’s go all in, all in once we get pocket Aces though, not with a pair of 4s.

Cautious optimism is the name of the game here. As for me, I’ll wager my money on the man who wants a Cup more than anything. For better or worse, it’s the hand we’ve drawn.

The thing that I don’t understand is the Ryan Ellis trade. It seems that the Preds see something in Myers that no one else sees or they know something about Ellis that no one else knows.

The Preds have been kind of a gold standard for selecting and developing D men so maybe they see upside for Myers but my gut tells me the trade had more to do with Ellis. I’m just not buying it was all about cap.

I didn’t watch Ellis this year so my knowledge is limited. Was it about his durability or a decline in play? Something else?

The thing that I don’t understand is the Ryan Ellis trade. It seems that the Preds see something in Myers that no one else sees or they know something about Ellis that no one else knows.

The Preds have been kind of a gold standard for selecting and developing D men so maybe they see upside for Myers but my gut tells me the trade had more to do with Ellis. I’m just not buying it was all about cap.

I didn’t watch Ellis this year so my knowledge is limited. Was it about his durability or a decline in play? Something else?
- Minnyhock

I think they were looking at a contract that would not age well. They broke the Josi Ellis pairing up that was a staple for years. Carrier stepped in and looked like a top 4 Dman down the stretch. Preds PP has been so bad for so long. Ellis no longer played well enough to be a factor there. He was exposed a bit by the bigger Carolina forwards in the playoffs. No coincidence that the smaller core of Ellis and Arvy moved as team looks to be bigger. I think they wanted to get rid of the Contract and bring in 2 players in Glass and Myers that will be in their prime the next time the Preds have a legitimately good team. I also wonder if they have been mandated to cut Payroll, wonder what their internal Cap is???

The thing that I don’t understand is the Ryan Ellis trade. It seems that the Preds see something in Myers that no one else sees or they know something about Ellis that no one else knows.

The Preds have been kind of a gold standard for selecting and developing D men so maybe they see upside for Myers but my gut tells me the trade had more to do with Ellis. I’m just not buying it was all about cap.

I didn’t watch Ellis this year so my knowledge is limited. Was it about his durability or a decline in play? Something else?
- Minnyhock

There's a lot behind the Ellis trade. Declining play, mounting injuries, the change in system. Ellis just wasn't worth the money he was being paid anymore, and unlike Joey and Duche, he was moveable. Much like with Weber a few years ago, this trade was more of Poile moving on from Ellis a year or two early while he still had value, rather than waiting until the wheels completely blew off and the Preds were stuck with him.

Myers is more of a younger cheaper replacement than anything else. Poile needed a D to replace Ellis, and he wanted someone with more size, and Myers was a guy Philly was willing to part with. I don't think Poile targeted him specifically because he saw a future star or anything. Poile does have a fetish for strange players though, so it possible he does view him more highly than I think.

Oh, and yes, the Preds do know something about Ellis others don't... That's one advantage of being in a market most of the NHL only pays attention to in passing... The media still thinks this is the same Ryan Ellis from 2017... He hasn't been that guy for a while now.

Interesting take and I agree with your premise of Poile staying until he chooses to leave. Ownership stays on the sidelines for the most part it seems and simply let hockey ops do their thing. The main problem in my view is that many moves have been made in order to achieve short term, expedited results. Missing the forest for the trees if you will. I honestly do not have a deep dissatisfaction with this due to imaging if it had all worked, then we would have said the moves were brilliant, well somewhat at least. It may be a terrible take, so feel free to push back, but I for one would sabotage a decade for a Stanley Cup to be won in this city. Obviously from a business perspective it is much more “profitable” to have ten straight playoff appearances with no Cup than 1 Cup and 10 straight seasons missing the playoffs. But from a hockey perspective, I would gladly make that trade even if it meant boosting Poile’s personal resume while we’re at it. I do not blame him for making this push. Can we look back and say the moves made etc were troublesome? For sure. But I’m curious to see how things may have changed if, for example, Poile was fired after 2018. Would it have really played out much differently? Perhaps. But I stand by my views in this article in that this is the last stand and I feel a sense of realignment of purpose and vision. One last shot so let’s go all in, all in once we get pocket Aces though, not with a pair of 4s.

Cautious optimism is the name of the game here. As for me, I’ll wager my money on the man who wants a Cup more than anything. For better or worse, it’s the hand we’ve drawn.
- Clay Brewer

I'd gladly trade a few rotten seasons for a Cup myself... I'm just not sure I want my GM putting his own self interests above the long term health of the team, especially when he just couldn't bring himself to accept the window had closed. With Poile getting up there in years, it felt to me like he was desperate to get a Stanley Cup on his resume before he retired, and he was willing to leave scorched earth behind him for his successor to deal with if that's what it took. Keep in mind, I'm not actually saying that's what Poile was doing, but it felt that way sometimes whenever he'd do crap like trading a 1st round pick for Ryan Hartman.

That opinion is all moot now anyway. The Cup never came, and Poile is in the beginning phases of dealing with the mess he made. I can be very forgiving if the team starts winning again, and in a way that doesn't feel like a mirage.

Cautious optimism is the way of life... I agree with that sentiment entirely.

Just looked at Kevin Allen's rather gloomy outlook for this year's Preds.

Regarding David Poile, he turns 72 this coming February. That would seem to be (or already is) a factor in much of what transpires within the Preds' hockey operations.

The thing that I don’t understand is the Ryan Ellis trade. It seems that the Preds see something in Myers that no one else sees or they know something about Ellis that no one else knows.

The Preds have been kind of a gold standard for selecting and developing D men so maybe they see upside for Myers but my gut tells me the trade had more to do with Ellis. I’m just not buying it was all about cap.

I didn’t watch Ellis this year so my knowledge is limited. Was it about his durability or a decline in play? Something else?
- Minnyhock

Ellis, like Arvy, have not been the same since injuries struck them. They both have slowed down and small. In the Case of Ellis, they are going with size. Ellis is on the decline. simple as that.

Ellis, like Arvy, have not been the same since injuries struck them. They both have slowed down and small. In the Case of Ellis, they are going with size. Ellis is on the decline. simple as that.
- PredManDan

This X 10!

[quote=blueline]Just looked at Kevin Allen's rather gloomy outlook for this year's Preds.

I actually welcome it. Simply making the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round is no longer acceptable. Poile’s lousy contract decisions have put them right where they are atm. I’m ready for a new GM.

[quote=blueline]Just looked at Kevin Allen's rather gloomy outlook for this year's Preds.

I actually welcome it. Simply making the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round is no longer acceptable. Poile’s lousy contract decisions have put them right where they are atm. I’m ready for a new GM.
- Polecat

Allen's prediction might be good for removing excessive rose-colored eye-glass dye but other than that, I would never want the Preds to fail just to move out a GM. Potential frying pan into the fire kind of thing that could cascade into a far worse scenario from a viability/stability standpoint. I'll never forget "just chill".

Allen's prediction might be good for removing excessive rose-colored eye-glass dye but other than that, I would never want the Preds to fail just to move out a GM. Potential frying pan into the fire kind of thing that could cascade into a far worse scenario from a viability/stability standpoint. I'll never forget "just chill".
- blueline

I took viability and stability out of the equation. Of course, the extra revenue from playoff games is good for the bottom line financials. Poile has been great for the team, but his time has passed imo

I took viability and stability out of the equation. Of course, the extra revenue from playoff games is good for the bottom line financials. Poile has been great for the team, but his time has passed imo
- Polecat

I think it will be sooner rather than later due to his age if for no other reason.

I think it will be sooner rather than later due to his age if for no other reason.
- blueline

And then you get his son.....

And then you get his son.....
- wrister

Nepotism much? They will do themselves a great disservice if they don’t have honest and open interviews for the position.