The NHL Draft is four days away & on his way to Las Vegas general manager Barry Trotz joined Stillman & Company on Monday afternoon to set the table for a busy offseason.
Nashville is eligible to extend a new contract to goaltender Juuse Saros & Trotz wasn’t coy when sharing an update before making calls & picks this weekend.
“I think it’s one of those where Juuse knows what I think of him & I know his agent knows what I think of him. I’ve had good dealing with [Kevin Epp] to this point,” Trotz said. “I don’t think it’s necessary where we have to draw a line in the sand. I think we’re going to try and find some common ground where it’s a win-win for both.”
The second-year GM confirmed to Jared Stillman that Saros did earn a no-move clause getting to the point he has in his career. The Finnish goaltender posted a record of 35-24-5 this past season, his third consecutive time getting to 30 wins.
“I think certain players when they get to a certain point in this league they earn that right & Juuse is one. He should have some protection if we get a deal done,” Trotz said. “I do think it has to have a limit to it like anything.”
On the horizon, Trotz has more free agents to deal with ahead of July 1. Forwards Kiefer Sherwood & Jason Zucker are a few that have their price, therefore they may not be re-joining the team for that reason.
“I think we have an agreement & their asking price is not where we want it,” Trotz said of the pending UFAs. “We’ll continue to check with them until the final hour & see if their demands come down to where we can fit everything in. We’re in contact with them.”
Trotz mentioned how he was impressed with defensemen Adam Wilsby & Marc Del Gaizo this season.
While Wilsby was never called up to Nashville, Del Gaizo filled in a few times when skaters went down due to injuries. For the Predators there’s an open spot to compete for between these two.
“They’ll be battling for spots on defense. There’s a few guys there that will be in the mix,” Trotz said.
Then on the flipside with goaltender Kevin Lankinen likely testing free agency, Trotz tossed to how he’s feeling about Yaroslav Askarov as a prospect.
Depending on how the Predators see it there could be a chance fans may see the Russian get more time in Nashville this upcoming season.
“With [Yaroslav] Askarov we want to make sure he’s still growing. He’s still pretty raw and that’s one of the reasons we brought Mitch Korn back,” Trotz said. “We really feel strongly that Askarov can take it to the next level. If we can bring a little more of the technical game, a nice blend there.”
Askarov does have Korn as the director of goaltender to learn from now, but also former Predator Pekka Rinne at training camp. Goalie coaches Ben Vanderklok & Jason Barron will continue to see the goalie regularly as he blossoms into an NHLer.
Now, going into Friday’s draft Trotz does want to take some size on defense and high swings on talented forwards. Last season Nashville made 11 picks at the event here in town.
“I don’t think it’s a particularly deep draft when it comes to the high-end guys like last year,” Trotz said. “This year it’s a little shorter but there’s some good players. I’ve done some research and we’ve dug & dug into it. No matter what you call it in the draft there are core players sprinkled in the draft… We just have to find them & I’m challenging our scouts to do that.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
Comments