The Nashville Predators opened training camp Thursday carrying the weight of great expectations. Between last season’s surprise playoff appearance and this summer’s splash on the free-agent market, the Predators significantly raised their profile and invited plenty of national attention.
It’s easy to believe that attention brings heightened pressure to achieve certain goals like winning a playoff series, a Central Division title or maybe even a Stanley Cup.
But general manager Barry Trotz has greater aspirations for his team.
“You have to be in a position to be a threat,” Trotz said Thursday at Ford Ice Center Bellevue. “There’s teams that are getting into the playoffs, but they’re not a threat. I want us to be a threat.”
One could argue that the Predators of recent years have been the type of non-threatening team to which Trotz was referring, considering that they haven’t made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2018.
“Everybody’s talking about expectations,” Trotz said “Let’s just win a round.”
Trotz has done his part, committing more than $111 million to free-agent signings Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Scott Wedgewood and extending ace goaltender Juuse Saros for eight seasons.
On paper, the Predators’ roster is markedly better than it was last year; but, as Trotz likes to say, the game isn’t played on paper.
“It’s fantasy hockey,” he said, “until we drop the puck.”
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For the Predators, the work of turning fantasy into reality begins now at training camp, and Trotz is encouraging players to be where their skates are.
“You don’t get to the playoffs by thinking about the playoffs in September,” Trotz said. “That’s our goal, but you’ve got to stay present every day. You’ve got to be good today. You’ve got to win today.”
Training camp continues Friday and Saturday at Ford Ice Center Bellevue, followed by a preseason double-header against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena.
