Trotz won't throw his cap in ring

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Barry Trotz: close, but no playoff cigars (MARK HUMPHREY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

DESPITE having close to $17 million in cap space, Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz doesn't expect his club to change much by Wednesday's trade deadline.

The Dauphin-born and Winnipeg-raised Trotz says the realities of the hockey business in Nashville preempt his needs as a coach.

"We'd likely be buyers and we have the cap room, but we don't have a lot of flexibility in terms of budget," said Trotz, who has coached the Predators since they joined the NHL in 1998. "We don't spend what we don't have in Nashville. I don't know how many other teams are run like that, but we run our operation like a business."

The Predators sit in ninth place in the Western Conference with 66 points and are just one point back of the Anaheim Ducks and the last playoff position.

"We got into the playoffs on the 81st game of last season, and if we get in this year, it'll be the same way," said Trotz, who has guided his club to the playoffs the last four seasons in a row. "We're used to this, the sense of reality of fighting for a playoff spot. We're under 20 games to play now and it's a fun time of year."

Getting to the post-season is one thing, but the Predators have failed to win a series in their four appearances.

Patience

"Our first time in, we played Detroit and then San Jose the next two years and last year Detroit again," Trotz sighed. "And if we get in this year, it'll likely be one of those teams again. That's the reality of being close to the bottom of the Western Conference these days."

The Predators are a hockey organization that preaches patience. GM David Poile and Trotz have been with the club since Day 1 as a franchise, and that's the way they work. It's reflected best in their ability to draft and develop talent.

"Look at our defence. Seven of the eight guys we use are Nashville drafts," Trotz said. "Only Greg de Vries is from another organization. We've built around (Shea) Weber and we've got a lot of young guys that are strong players."

Weber is fast becoming one of the best defencemen in the NHL.

"Maybe this isn't (Weber's) year, but you'll be hearing his name for a long time and he'll have his time as a Norris Tropy winner," Trotz declared.

Weber has 17 goals and 21 assists. "Shea was hurt for awhile and his numbers suffered, but he's healthy now and picking up points again," Trotz said. "He does so much for us -- offensively, defensively and physically."

The Predators have lost players like Scott Upshall, Peter Forsberg, Chris Mason and Scott Hartnell in money deals over the last couple of years and Trotz says having a strong hockey operations department is key to icing a competitive team when spending is an issue.

"We're at the floor of the cap. We've deleted 10 players in the last couple of seasons due to economics and replaced just one of those players from the outside, and that's with a young guy like Ryan Jones, who is just a rookie trying to break in," Trotz said. "Our hockey people have done a great job at drafting and we've brought our young players along."

He points to defenceman Ryan Suter, goalie Pekka Rinne and forward Joel Ward as players the Predators have developed and now rely on.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 3, 2009 C3