November 5, 2024 | 2:37pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

PREDATORS WON’T RUSH TO MAKE PANIC MOVES

Ryan O’Reilly, forward

The Nashville Predators have rebounded from a 0-5-0 start to the season, going 4-2-1 since, but a 4-7-1 record one month into the campaign has led to frustration entering the locker room.

While the Predators are just four points of a playoff spot in the early-going, expectations for this club were high out of the gate after GM Barry Trotz signed free agents Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei in the summer.

“I know for myself I’m extremely frustrated,” Predators centre Ryan O'Reilly said after Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. “That was probably one of the worst games I think I’ve ever played from generating and making plays and losing battles. As a group, too. Yeah, we build and then just take a step back. It’s frustration throughout. You feel it through our bench. You feel it everywhere. Everyone feels it. We have to dig deeper to find a way out of it.”

Even though the players are frustrated, management isn’t about to press any panic buttons at this point in the season.

During Tuesday’s edition of “The Latest” on TFP, David Pagnotta emphasized that while Trotz may want to eventually address the team’s second line centre position, the Preds aren’t going to rush into any big moves at this point in time.

“Barry Trotz is certainly going to be doing his due diligence and looking around to see what may be available down the road. But right now, as you mentioned, four points out of a playoff spot, despite their rough start to the new season, I don’t really get the sense that they’re looking or itching to make an impact type of move or a panic type of move just now,” Pagnotta said.

“Again, doing your due diligence, looking to see what’s available and what might be out there. And I think down the road, they may have to address their 2C position – I haven’t really seen anybody, whether it’s (Thomas) Novak or (Juuso Parssinen) step in here, they haven’t really seen somebody take the reins just yet in the first month of the season. So that may be something that they address down the road, but Kate right now, no panic yet.”

The Predators have just over $4.636 million in current salary cap space, as per PuckPedia, so Trotz does have flexibility to add to his roster if he finds the right deal this season, but the club seems confident that can continue to dig themselves out of the hole they created in the first five games of the season.