Barry Trotz Thinks Most Teams Are Done Outside of a Few Signings Later in the Summer
The Nashville Predators were one of the more active teams on Day 1 of NHL Free Agency. If you want to look at a team that stole headlines and improved vastly, it was the Predators.
Nashville signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei within a half-hour period of each other. They all wanted to play together to bring a winner to Nashville.
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The Predators also signed Scott Wedgewood as the backup goalie to Juuse Saros, who got a contract extension on July 1st, along with defenseman Alexandre Carrier. The Predators are pretty much done, for the most part, which is why their GM is a wanted man.
TSN: Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz joined TSN Radio in Toronto and was asked by the host if he thought there would be any activity still left for teams around the NHL to do between now and the start of training camp.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Bryan Hayes: “It was such an active two or three weeks in the NHL. And now that we’re almost into the middle of July, everything quiets down. How much activity would you expect to be involved in? How much activity do you think is still left around the NHL between now and the opening of camp in a couple of months?”
Barry Trotz: “I don’t think there’s a lot. I think, if you look at most teams, I think most teams are just buttoning up the last player or two in their lineup, and then obviously, there’s some arbitration cases. Not very many. I think we have one, but I think pretty well you get your business done before the trading deadline or not trading deadline before free agency. You sort of figure out what you want to add.
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See if you can add it and then a few days after, maybe a week after and then things settle down for a couple of weeks and then you’ll see you get a second wave. I would say like almost at the end of July, early August of people who haven’t found a seat, yet still looking and you’ll get some bargain shopping.”
The only issue surrounding the Predators now outside of their arbitration case is whether they will trade young goaltender Yaroslav Askarov before, during, or after the season.