Nashville Predators general manager David Poile recently told NHL.com that part of the reasoning behind head coach Peter Laviolette being hired was a need to improve the team’s offense. However, he’d be wrong to think Nashville was incapable of putting the puck in the net under Barry Trotz, the man Laviolette will be replacing.
Since after the 2004-05 lockout, when the Predators started establishing themselves as perennial playoff contenders, Nashville finished in the top half of league scoring four times, once as high as fifth (2006-07 with 3.24 goals per game).
So, the thought process that replacing Trotz automatically improves your team’s offense is a flawed one. Sure, the team did finish 30th in scoring in the 2013 lockout-shortened season (2.27), but, when your most dynamic offensive player is defenseman Shea Weber year after year, you’d think some of the blame would have to fall on Poile himself.
Looking at that 2013 roster, behind Weber the top three scorers were forwards or, for all intents and purposes, a top line. That “top line” comprised David Legwand, a notoriously defense-f ...
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Article written by Ryan Szporer
Is New Head Coach Peter Laviolette the Answer for the Nashville Predators?
May 13th, 2014 by Ryan Szporer Leave a reply »
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