NASHVILLE — Barry Trotz never put a label on whether he was rebuilding, retooling or simply trying to reset the Nashville Predators during his first season as general manager.
Revival might be the best word to describe what he has done for the NHL team he helped launch more than a quarter-century ago.
Not only has Trotz helped the Predators reclaim their "Smashville" identity, Nashville is back in the Stanley Cup playoffs a year after the franchise missed the title chase for the first time since the 2013-14 season. That was Trotz's last year as the only head coach the expansion team had ever known since beginning competition in the 1998-99 season.
His new stint with his old team has been a rousing success so far.
The Predators won't learn their first-round opponent until later this week, but when the postseason opens this weekend, Nashville will be there for the ninth time in a stretch of 10 seasons and the 16th time in the past 20.
"Smashville ... was a place that you didn't want to come in on a Saturday night and have to play the Predators, because you're just trying to get out, and I think we got away from that," Trotz said Tuesday, a day after Nashville wrapped up its regular season 47-30-5 after losing 4-2 on the road to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Captain Roman Josi, who played his first three NHL seasons under Trotz, said it was awesome hearing that Trotz was returning as the Predators' new GM last July. Trotz took over for David Poile, who retired last summer as the NHL's longest-tenured GM and with more wins than any other in league history.
Josi said he can't imagine it's easy to switch from being coach to a general manager, yet he believes Trotz has made an amazing transition after coaching the Washington Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup championship and also coaching the New York Islanders before returning to Tennessee.
"A lot of credit to him for what he built," Josi said. "And obviously now being in the playoffs is pretty cool, right, and that was always his goal. He was clear on that, and it was always our goal."
Some of Trotz's former players aren't surprised at all by his winning transition. T.J. Oshie won the Stanley Cup with Trotz in 2018 and sees Trotz as knowing how to fit in a system.
"He's a very big guy on character," Oshie said. "You put together a room of a bunch guys with a lot of character, they're going to do some pretty special things."
Former NHL defenseman Karl Alzner played three seasons for Trotz in Washington and admits he didn't initially see him as a GM. Alzner said Trotz is such a thoughtful, genuine person that being a thick-skinned GM could be tough.
Being nice didn't stop Trotz from making the moves he felt were needed to recapture the identity he had once helped build.
Trotz fired John Hynes as coach last May and replaced him with Andrew Brunette, the man who scored the first goal in Predators history. Trotz signed top two-way center and 2019 playoff MVP Ryan O'Reilly, rugged Cup-winning defenseman Luke Schenn and winger Gustav Nyquist. He also traded Ryan Johansen and bought out Matt Duchene's contract, giving the Predators the funds to become big winners in NHL free agency.
Nashville started the season slowly at 5-10-0 before climbing to .500. The Predators struggled after the NHL All-Star Game, bottoming out with a 9-2 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 15. Trotz canceled team plans to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas — they were to fly there early before taking on the Golden Knights, the reigning NHL champions — and the Predators then went 16-0-2 over their next 18 games.
Alzner said Trotz is like the quiet man in a room who gets everyone's attention when he finally does speak up or put his foot down.
"Unfortunate that they got a concert (trip) canceled, but in the end everybody's jobs are on the line, so you have to make the right choice," Alzner said. "I guess it worked. He's definitely not dumb. This guy knows what he's doing."
The franchise-record points streak for the Predators moved them firmly into the postseason chase. Better yet: After starting 14-15 on home ice, the Preds went 9-1-2 down the stretch for a 23-16-2 record in Nashville in 2023-24.
Fans responded, shaking the ice with the return of the standing ovation during stoppages in play.
Trotz said Nashville is a good hockey market with ownership that allows a more even playing field with other NHL teams. Reestablishing its rugged identity helped get fans reconnected with a team they could enjoy.
"We are in the in the entertainment business," Trotz said. "So I wanted to have a team that was entertaining, but also a team that was not sitting back."
And certainly not rebuilding.