As a two time nominated GM of the year candidate and seen throughout the NHL as the GM who can do the most with so very little (similar to his coach, Barry Trotz), David Poile has been put on the hot seat this summer for his moves or lack thereof in regards to building a playoff caliber team that can go deeper than last season. Although many disagree with what David Poile has done over the summer, Poile himself finds the silver lining regarding the state of the Nashville Predators and believes they will be “better than people think.”
On XM Satellite Radio yesterday, David Poile was a guest on the NHL Home Ice Show and was asked some of the tougher questions dealing with what and how the Predators are going to deal with the upcoming season. One of the first questions dealt with the contract situation of Weber, Suter, and Rinne. These three players make up the core of the Nashville Predators franchise and what exemplifies Predator-style hockey relying on solid defense and goaltending. Poile admitted that signing these three players before the end of next year would be a “tall order,” but was confident about a resolution that would have Nashville positively pursuing signing all three players.
The next topic revolved around the youth and the talented farm system that the Predators are fortunate enough to develop through great scouting, drafting, ,the junior hockey clubs, and AHL/ECHL affiliates. Poile pointed out a few young players that he believes will start to chip in offensively and defensively for the squad:
Nick Spaling – “Strong possibility of moving up the depth charts and beginning to contribute offensively”
Jonathan Blum – “Getting bigger and stronger…top 4 defenseman for the Nashville Predators…with 20 games will be the 4th most experienced defenseman on the Predators roster (if Bouillon can’t return)”
Ryan Ellis – “Has strong chance to make the team out of training camp…special player…potential to quarterback the power play in the future…road to Nashville is still through Milwaukee though”
Austin Watson – “Needs to develop more…solid player…needs to play top line in junior hockey…great possible addition to the US Junior Squad”
Towards the end of the segment, Poile was asked about the offensive woes of the Nashville Predators. Nashville ended the season with 213 goals (21st in the NHL) and 24 PPG (24th in the NHL). Poile believes that the roster “as is” is going to be “better than people think” with the addition of a dark-horse goal scorer in Niclas Bergfors and the stepping up in play from Spaling, Colin Wilson, Patric Hornqvist, and Mike Fisher. Poile goes on to state that Fisher will be a key leader of the team and predicts him to score 20 goals while playing with “two young wingers.”
It is a GM’s job to help quell the fears and unrest of the fans of their team by conducting interviews like this. And many Nashville Predators fans have heard this same sentiment year in and year out. But so far, Poile has been dead on in his predictions and the team seems to gel together and play with such a ferocious team mentality that it can’t be coincidence that Poile’s statements ring true year after year.
From top to bottom, Poile and Co. are able to scout players, develop players, and promote them at crucial times to aid the team when they need it most, and while most everybody has been clamoring that at some point we are going to “dismiss the old guard and let the rooks play,” this may be the year that Poile calls that bluff and the “Renaissance” that the rookies might ignite will be just another season that Poile can be recognized for a possible 3rd nomination for GM of the year.
Before I pull out my claws and tear into this notion of Poile calling all the right moves (hate to do it, but I must), congrats on getting your blog picked up on Spector’s Hockey today! I guess that’s the big time in the hockey blogosphere.
Now, as for Poile, when has he accurately predicted what our offensive output would be? In truth, he’s been blowing the same smoke up our chimney’s for the past 4 or 5 years. Every year during this time we get the ” I believe we’ll have better offense than people think” only to wind up in the bottom 3rd in league scoring. The real question here is, does he actually believe his rhetoric or is this just BS to try and passify the fanbase?
As for signing the big 3, I don’t think Poile has any idea as to how that will shake out. Fact is, the 3 players in question all have the power to do what they want in this process. Another year in the bottom 3rd in league scoring will likely cause us to lose 2 of them.
Where’s the Spector’s Hockey thing. Looked all over the site…didn’t see it…link please?
As far as Poile goes…just trying to remain optimistic. I agree I personally am disappointed with what hasn’t been done this summer, but I also know that the Predators and Poile himself are great at scouting talent and they may have seen signs in training camp that players like Craig Smith, Ryan Ellis, and other might be ready to make the jump.
Just type in Spector’s Hockey on your browser, it’ll be right at the top. That’s where I go for trade rumours and the like.
I would hate to think that any GM would put to much stock into a summer mini-camp for prospects in deciding the makeup of his team. You have to see how these kids fare against NHL players before you can get any real sense of where they are at in their development. IMO, Poile just does not value offense sufficiently enough to make a significant move to improve it, which is why we have the same question marks year after year.
Interesting…do you think Trotz has a say in this as well since it’s his defensive system that Poile has to “fit” players into?
I sometimes wonder whether Trotz just tries to be the loyal soldier and uses the system that best fits the talent he has to work with or if he actually is involved with the makeup of the roster. I find it hard to fathom that he wouldn’t want better offensive weapons at his disposal, but maybe it is a top to bottom outlook on scoring with this organization. Either way, it will prevent us from taking the next step up if this mindset doesn’t change.
Hard to disagree there…but Trotz is still not known for coaching offensive talent. With Jones, Santorelli, and Peverley going onto to much better careers than here in Nashville, kinda makes you wonder if Trotz can coach offensively. I personally think his defensive coaching style doesn’t lend to much offense and it all goes back Nashville still being treated as if it’s a brand new franchise, but we’re past that now. Maybe a year where we spend over the cap mid-point to add that elusive offensive cog that everybody knows we are missing is the key. The question is whther Poile or the ownership group will untighten the leash to get that kind of player and whether Trotz can coach that type of player.
Well, we did have very good scoring teams the two years after the lockout, so I’m not sure Trotz is unable to use good offensive players. It’s a difficult position to be in when you don’t have the talent to play a more wide open game and still let younger players like you mentioned above be more creative with the puck.
I have often thought Poile was wrong and I have RARELY been right. I thought last summer that we were royally screwed going into the season and we went deeper than ever in the playoffs. I have quit questioning Poile’s judgement. He is THE best GM in the league over the last 11 years.
Notice also the Class that this org shows. You never see them negotiating in the press or do they leak trades or other confidential info.
If making one 2nd round appearence in 11 years qualifies someone as the best GM in the league over that time span, then we’ve really downgraded the art of being a GM. Keeping a team competitive is one thing, building a serious Cup contender is another.
Polie said earlier this year that he would have to wait untill training camp to see who available on the trade market. the FA class was blah at best anyway so I will withold judgement to see if he even attempts to improve the offense. Historically he doesnt make trades when its popular to make trades and when he does, its rarely reported through rumors before it happens.
I’m starting to think the development camp may have filled Poile with the confidence he is exuding in this roster “as is.” I sure hope he’s right for the Predators sake.
Well whats the slang in smashville? (well one of many) In poile we trust. I may not, but I have nothing to do with what he does or the influencing,at the end of the day im still a preds fan. I just want to finally step up & not be the underdog anymore. It was fun being the underdog that turned heads when we stepped up. but now i want them to fear us & mostly I want that cup.
i agree… i’ve said for a long time that the Preds have the best GM and Head Coach in the NHL. When owners impose a cap limit of their own, he can only do so much. Nashville sits just above the cap floor, simply because they have to. I’d love nothing more then to see them bring in a top 6 forward. Honestly… i think Iginla would thrive here. For a while he’d be heartbroken over leaving the franchise hes worked so hard to help, but to no avail.
Iginla with Fisher… thats got winning wrote all over it! and go get Andrei Kotsytisn(sorry for the misspelling). we already got his bro. a couple decent trades, in my mind.