David Poile Stepping Down As Predators GM, Barry Trotz Named Replacement

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David Poile. Photo: Courtesy of the Nashville Predators

After spending 25 years with the Nashville Predators, David Poile, the only General Manager in the history of the franchise, has announced that he will be retiring from the position, as well as his role of President of Hockey Operations, on June 30, 2023.

Poile will remain affiliated with the organization as an advisor, serving the team’s ownership, its Business Operations leadership group, and the Hockey Operations department. Barry Trotz will take over as General Manager, effective July 1, 2023.

“This is a decision that is best for me personally and best for the Nashville Predators,” Poile says. “For the Predators, I believe it is time for a new voice and a new direction. I am proud of the foundation we have put in place in our hockey operations, investing in and improving every area of the department. This is the right time for someone else to move our franchise forward.”

Trotz, the franchise’s first-ever Head Coach, will take over as General Manager and will manage all facets of the Predators’ Hockey Operations department, including the coaching and scouting staffs, player procurement and development, as well as minor league affiliations and operations. Trotz will work as an advisor for Poile and his management team over the next four months, ensuring a smooth, stable and efficient transition as he enters the role following the 2023 NHL Draft, which will take place at Bridgestone Arena on June 28-29.

“As I prepare to move on from my day-to-day role with the Predators, I can’t think of a better choice to lead us in the future than Barry Trotz,” Poile says. “We started working together 40 years ago, and I believe he has prepared himself to become one of the league’s great General Managers. I don’t know if anyone in the game today is more respected than Barry, and we are thrilled he has elected to become our next GM. I will help him in any way that I can, happily cheering him on as he drives our club toward the Stanley Cup.”

Poile joined the Predators on July 9, 1997, hired after working as General Manager of the Washington Capitals by then Owner and Chairman Craig Leipold to build the Hockey Operations department with a long-term vision for sustained success. He has guided the Predators to 15 postseason appearances in the club’s 25 years, including the past eight consecutive seasons, the second-longest active streak in the NHL. Poile was named the NHL’s General Manager of the Year in 2017 after the Predators advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history, ultimately falling to Pittsburgh in six games.

“As we celebrate David for 25 incredible years as our General Manager, it is my privilege to, at the same time, welcome home Barry Trotz,” Predators President & CEO Sean Henry says. “These two men have done more to forge the identity of the Nashville Predators and our relationship with Smashville than anyone else in our organization’s history. I don’t know if there are words that can adequately describe all that David has done in his time with the organization, taking the team from ground zero with no fanbase to where it is today – 15 postseason appearances, including eight straight, to help create what is recognized as an unparalleled Smashville experience for our fans. Barry, obviously, had a big part in that development too, and we couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him home as the second General Manager in team history. Throughout that history, we have taken pride in orderly, efficient leadership transitions, and I am pleased to affirm we are doing so again today. We are looking forward to a great future with Barry Trotz as our General Manager.”

Poile is completing his 41st consecutive year as an NHL General Manager, more than anyone else in the history of the game. In addition to serving as GM of the Predators, Poile held the same position with the Capitals for 15 years from 1982-97. He is the only General Manager in NHL history to lead two different clubs for more than 1,000 games and 500 wins, and on March 1, 2018 at Edmonton, Poile won his 1,320th game, making him the all-time winningest GM in the League’s record books. Poile began his professional career with the Atlanta Flames in 1972, spending 10 years with the franchise before being named GM of the Capitals in 1982.

Trotz became the first coach in the history of the Predators on Aug. 6, 1997, hired by Poile to help lead the team that would play its first NHL games a little more than one year later. He coached the team for 1,196 games across 15 seasons, compiling 557 wins and reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times.

“My heart has been in Nashville since that first season in 1998-99,” Trotz says. “I believe our team and our fanbase has developed a relationship that is very unique in sports today, and I am excited to be returning home to the organization and the city where I held my first head coaching job in the NHL. I can’t thank David enough, not only for turning over the job to me, but for teaching me so much over the past 40 years. I believe I am prepared to succeed as an NHL General Manager, and I have David to thank for that. I will work hard as a member of David’s team for the next four months, and when I become GM on July 1, I pledge to do everything I can in leading our franchise to its first-ever Stanley Cup.”

Trotz first worked in the NHL in 1982, serving as a scout for the Capitals while Poile was the team’s General Manager. He was named Head Coach of Washington’s minor league affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, in 1992 before returning to the Capitals as Head Coach in 2014. He spent four seasons as Head Coach for Washington, winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, and four more in the same position for the New York Islanders from 2018-22. With an all-time record of 914-670-(60)-168, Trotz is the third-winningest Head Coach in NHL history; his 1,812 games behind the bench as Head Coach are the second-most in the League’s record books.

“I am incredibly proud of everything the Predators organization has accomplished in my time here – all the wins, our appearance in the Stanley Cup Final and winning the Presidents’ Trophy, but I am most proud of helping develop Smashville into one of the best hockey markets in the National Hockey League,” says Poile. “And, while I will always be fiercely proud of those accomplishments, I will remain committed in my new role to help us achieve our ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

“I would like to thank all the players, coaches, trainers and scouts I have had the pleasure of working with; all of the employees in the organization’s history; Craig Leipold, Tom Cigarran, Herb Fritch, Sean Henry; and all of our owners. Their dedication and commitment to the Predators and the growth of the game in Middle Tennessee has been unparalleled. Most of all, I want to thank our fans for making the Predators a piece of the fabric of Nashville, transforming our city into Smashville. I appreciate all the passion and support over the last 25 years.”

Trotz and Poile will immediately begin working closely together on all areas of the organization’s hockey operations, allowing Trotz to have a complete grasp of the department before he assumes control on July 1. He is expected to have a seat at the team’s draft table in June. The 2023 NHL Draft will take place at Bridgestone Arena, 20 years after the Predators first hosted the event on June 21-22, 2003.

Steven Boero
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