Barry Trotz needed two words to sum up his first official day on the job as Nashville Predators general manager.
“I’m tired,” he said Saturday, the first day of NHL free agency.
His fatigue was justified, considering he spent the day signing seven players in his ongoing effort to retool his roster.
Unrestricted free agents Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Angello and Troy Grosenick all signed contracts, along with restricted free agents Cody Glass and Alexandre Carrier.
“I don’t want you to come to Nashville to retire,” Trotz said. “I want you to come to Nashville to win.”
The moves came a day after the Predators bought out forward Matt Duchene’s contract, which will cost them $19,333,336 spread out of the next six seasons. That move came a week after Trotz traded Ryan Johansen to the Colorado Avalanche. Duchene signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
“It’s been a very busy few days,” Trotz said Saturday evening. “If you remember when I first came here, I said a couple of things I want to do. I want to change a little bit of the culture, not that the culture was bad. It just needed a little tweak.
“I was looking for serial winners. I wanted a path for our young guys to develop and be surrounded by those type of people.”
Trotz also used the word “exciting” to describe his first official day, which included a visit to the office from Poile, whom Trotz said was a huge help. He said some of the signings were brought in to help “change some of the core’s thinking mentality,” and noted he expects them to be good complements to goalie Juuse Saros, forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Roman Josi.
After the moves the Predators have just over $11.2 million in salary-cap space, something Trotz said he’ll use only if he really has to or if he an elite player he thinks would help becomes available.
Here’s a breakdown of each of Saturday’s signings and the impact they may have:
Ryan O’Reilly
Position: Center
Deal: 4 years, $18 million.
Age: 32
The breakdown: O’Reilly is one of those winners Trotz talked about. He’s an Olympian, a Stanley Cup champion, a Conn Smythe winner and the kind of influence Trotz wants his younger players to have. He’ll slide into a top-six role vacated by Duchene and Johansen.
Trotz said it: “He reminds me of a Joe Pavelski type of guy that continues to produce. People follow him and everyone around him is better.”
Luke Schenn
Position: Defenseman
Deal: 3 years, $8.5 million
Age: 33
The breakdown: Schenn is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, both with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In addition to that, he also provides some muscle the Predators have lacked since trading Tanner Jeannot to Tampa in February. Likely to see some third-pair minutes.
Trotz said it: “Roman takes big hits more than I’d like. Luke will make sure those big hits don’t come too often. Luke gets it culturally, as a teammate and as a person.”
Gustav Nyquist
Position: Forward
Deal: 2 years, $6.37 million
Age: 33
The breakdown: Expect the winger to see a lot of playing time alongside Glass and some of the other younger players. He’s a low-risk signing who brings the experience Trotz seeks.
Trotz said it: “I think (he) will be a a really good complement to a guy like Glass, who needs a winger who’s a little more experienced., can help him continue to grow.”
Cody Glass
Position: Center
Deal: 2 years, $5 million
Age: 24
The breakdown: After a slow start to last season, Glass stepped up after the Predators were hit with a rash of injuries. His opportunities will grow next season under Trotz, who was left impressed by Glass’ improvement. A low-cost, potential high-upside signing.
Trotz said it: “You saw the grown in Cody. He had some difficulty staying in the lineup and then with all the injuries at the end of the year when he had a long opportunity to play.”
Alexandre Carrier
Position: Defenseman
Deal: 1 year, $2.5 million
Age: 26
The breakdown: Injuries cost Carrier a lot of time last season, but Trotz was impressed by what he saw in Carrier’s first season. He’s an affordable, capable defenseman with a low price tag.
Trotz said it: “I’m hoping he can have a healthy year and show me what he has, what I talked about (two years ago). Last year he struggled a little bit and part of that was injury.”
Troy Grosenick
Position: Goalie
Deal: 1 year, two-way contract, $775,000
Age: 33
The breakdown: He’s played just four NHL games. Will serve as a mentor and backup to Yaroslav Askarov in Milwaukee.
Trotz said it: “That should be a really good fit for our goaltending.”
Anthony Angello
Position: Center
Deal: One year, two-way, $775,000
Age: 27
The breakdown: Another veteran presence to help in Milwaukee. Has three goals and two assists in 31 NHL games, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Trotz said it: “Angello was really impressive down the stretch in Milwaukee. He’s been very good with our young guys and had a really good playoff.”
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Barry Trotz said about Nashville Predators’ free-agent signings
