.jpg) Barry Trotz is known for working miracles in the regular season. Unfortunately for him, it'll take more than that to convince star defenseman Shea Weber to re-sign after the season.
Until a talented team falls on hard times early in the season – it happens every year – it’s hard to predict which coach will get the axe first. You never know when and where things will go south, only that a few different variables can cause a team to get off to a rotten start.
Based on the summer changes to the NHL landscape, the early favorite to fall on the first axe is Barry Trotz.
Trotz has compiled a prolific regular-season resume in Nashville, leading the team to the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons – including three 100-point seasons – each time with roster that many would consider to be overachieving at best.
The problems have come for Trotz in the playoffs. The Predators have won just 14 games in their six playoff appearances; six of those wins came in 2011. They lost one of their best playoff performers in Joel Ward and a formerly key offensive cog in J-P Dumont (whose production had been declining for a few years).
With Shea Weber’s one-year arbitration deal, the pressure is on Nashville to convince their star D-man to stay with the franchise once he hits unrestricted free agency. With the team sitting near the salary-cap floor, money shouldn't be an issue. Playoff success will be.
Weber wants to play for a team that can contend for the Stanley Cup, a tall order for a franchise/coach that has historically struggled in the playoffs.
The Predators, who didn't address an impotent offense in the off-season, have the potential to stumble at some point during the season. With the possibility of losing its star attraction – the league’s highest-paid defenseman – it stands to reason that general manager David Poile has a more urgent need to win now.
That's why the leash on Trotz has never been shorter.
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