There are not many people who spend 25 years with one sports organization, and who not only transcend the team but also the city. When looking at the great sports executives that helped teams to grow and put them on the map, its’s nearly impossible to not see David Poile at the top of the list.

Poile has served as the Nashville Predators only General Manager since the team was founded in 1998, and has turned the team into a legit playoff contender with one of the best home ice advantages in the NHL.

This didn’t happen over night. A lot of work from Poile and his team turned Nashville into a respectable hockey town and in turn, a top-tier sports city. The Preds failed to make the playoffs until their 2003-2004 season and didn’t win their first playoff series until 2011. But through these hard times, Poile was creating a team with an identity that was unique to Nashville.

Barry Trotz, who will be the next GM for Nashville, was the teams’ first ever coach joining in 1998. He became the most winningest coach in franchise history and a pillar for the franchise. Though Trotz moved on from the Preds, he and Poile created a foundation for the club to grow and build around players like Pekka Rinne, Shane Webber and Mike Fisher. With these great players and a first class arena like Bridgestone, fans created an identity full of traditions that grew the fanbase.

With the Predators becoming a part of the city’s identity, Nashville began to grow into a legit sports city. Music City has been one of the hottest sports spots over the past 10 years, hosting the NHL All-Star Game, NFL Draft, IndyCar Grand Prix’s and getting the MLS team, Nashville SC.

So much of this success can be attributed to the explosion of the Preds and the work Poile put in. NASCAR returning to town, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix as well as Nashville SC and GEODIS Park are all credits to Poile’s efforts.

Despite recent troubles the Preds have had in recent years, Poile’s legacy is one to be celebrated and remembered, not only in Nashville but throughout the entire NHL. He is on the Mount Rushmore of the city’s greatest sports executives and will be a model for future executives both with the Predators and other Nashville teams.

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.

There aren’t many pillars of professional Nashville athletes, but one of them, Predators legend Pekka Rinne, will be immortalized with a statue. The goalkeeper’s statue will be unveiled on Saturday, March 25 at 10 a.m. CT ahead of that afternoon’s game against the Seattle Kraken at Bridgestone Arena.

Rinne, who played his entire 683-game NHL career in Nashville, retired in 2021 after 15 seasons. This announcement comes exactly 35 days ahead of the unveiling to honor Rinne’s historic jersey number – the first and only retired jersey in the history of the Predators organization.

“Pekka Rinne, who served as the face of the organization for more than 15 years, exemplifies what it truly means to be a Nashville Predator,” says Sean Henry, Nashville Predators President & CEO. “Although Pekka remains the greatest player to ever wear our jersey, his contributions off the ice positively impacted all of those around him. Pekka was always putting smiles on faces through his community-changing programs including Best Buddies, the 365 Fund and Feeding the Frontlines. We are excited to permanently honor his long-lasting legacy on our organization and all of Smashville with a statue that will stand proudly on the Bridgestone Arena plaza for the many years to come.”

Rinne’s statue was commissioned through Scott Wise, a renowned sculptor and Preds season ticket holder based in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he also works as a firefighter. The statue, which will stand at a total of 11 feet, five inches and weigh between 850-900 pounds, took about nine months total to complete. Rinne’s actual gear including stick, glove and leg pads were used to make the statue’s bronze casting.

“Every Predators fan knows Pekka was instrumental in the evolution of hockey culture in Middle Tennessee and how much he has given to the community,” says Wise. “As a fan and sculptor, it’s an honor to be selected to pay tribute to Pekka, the Preds organization and the fans that have made Smashville a hockey town.”

Rinne remains the franchise leader in nearly every goaltending category, including games played, wins (369), goals-against average (2.43), total TOI (39,413:29), shutouts (60) and saves (17,627). In addition to his Predators records, the Kempele, Finland native also owns the most games played, wins and shutouts by a Finnish-born goaltender in League history.

“This is an unbelievable honor and something I would have never dreamed of when I began my career with the Predators,” Rinne shares. “I am extremely grateful for the Nashville Predators organization, the City of Nashville and our fans. I feel very lucky to have spent my entire 15-year career with the Predators, and I am truly honored to receive this recognition.”

Originally drafted by the Predators in the eighth round (258th overall) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Rinne was a staple of the Nashville community during his time with the organization. He won the 2021 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the “player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community,” the result of a career spent dedicated to the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities and the Predators Foundation, empowered by SmileDirectClub.

The bulk of his life-changing work has come through the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund presented by Twice Daily, which he launched alongside former Predators Captain Shea Weber during the 2012-13 season. The fund works with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. Since the fund’s establishment, donations totaling more than three million dollars have been made to the hospital and its programs.