Coaches Around the NHL Share Barry Trotz’s “Old School” Tendencies Part 2
Nashville Predators – Peter Laviolette
Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
There is one coach who can seem to do no wrong. Jonathan Garcia of On The Forecheck covers the Predators and is having a good ole’ time this season watching Nashville ascend to great heights.
"I guess I jumped the gun when I said there are a few things that Lavy does that annoy people. There really aren’t, at least not this year. The main thing has been not using certain players in the shootout. Ellis, Josi and other defenseman go before Forsberg, Neal, and I don’t think Ribeiro has ever gone. That’s relatively small. He messed with the line combos two games ago which, at the time, didn’t make any sense. But they proceeded to destroy both the Devils and the Sharks with those lines. Lavy went on record saying even though the team was on a four-game win streak, he wasn’t too happy with how guys were playing. So he wanted a different look. I appreciate that a lot, because it means he’s never resting on his laurels. …. Really, as far as the first year goes, there isn’t a whole lot I can think of that he’s doing that rubs people the wrong way. Sure, it’s still a little bit of a honeymoon stage, but after experiencing Trotz for 16 years it’s a breath of fresh air."
Well isn’t that just lovely! We’re so happy for you! Jonathan happens to also follow the Caps relatively closely and expanded on Barry Trotz a little further before asking if I could somehow find him an Alex Ovechkin bobblehead.
"He’s been great for the Caps though. I was so hesitant about [Trotz] getting the call because of everything I saw from him. Sure, the decisions he makes don’t make a lot of sense, most of the time, but compare what the team looks like and how they play compared to last year or the year before. It’s discernible hockey. Can’t ask for much more than that. We’ll just have to see how that translates to the playoffs."
For the record, I’m seeing signs of progress from Barry Trotz that seem to indicate his capability to adapt in the modern NHL. He’s stuck with Evgeny Kuznetsov as the second-line center despite his inexperience, seems to be playing Andre Burakovsky more lately and even has the team playing better hockey with the lead of late. He’s also very intelligent about the game and has a strong grasp on puck possession and its predictive value (See his quote before the Winnipeg game about how the Jets lost to Nashville but dominated the game).