It is never with a good heart that a general manager trades a defender who has given him more than 600 games.
However, the pill usually goes better when two or three players are ready to take over. And maybe even more when they’ve grown up within the organization.
David Poile of the Nashville Predators has experienced it twice in five years. He ceded his captain Shea Weber to the Montreal Canadiens in 2016. And last summer, he resolved to send Ryan Ellis, one of his bravest soldiers, to the Philadelphia Flyers.
“It was really difficult,” Poile testified during an interview with Press, Friday midday. Sitting in the stands of the Bell Center, the GM attended the training of his team, on the eve of Saturday night’s duel against the CH.
“To us, Ryan was, and still is, an elite defenseman in the NHL. It’s hard to find, and even harder to replace. Obviously we miss him. When you make a decision like this, you know you are taking a step back and possibly taking two steps forward. ”
Wage constraints have certainly forced the Preds to sacrifice one of their main defenders. But the conditions, while not ideal, were nonetheless favorable. As when Weber left, it was known that pillars would continue to support the fortress.
The context was somewhat different in 2016, when in PK Subban we acquired a star defender at the height of his career. However, at the time, Ellis, with Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm, was ready to ensure continuity. The last two are still there today; this time, it was the emergence of Alexandre Carrier and Dante Fabbro that put Poile in confidence. The time had come.
“Over time, by giving the chance to younger guys, we will regain all our efficiency in defense,” says the leader.
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What do Weber, Ellis, Josi, Ekholm, Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Suter and Kevin Klein have in common? They were all drafted by the Predators from 2001-2009 and have played at least 400 games with the team.
You could almost add Kimmo Timonen to the roster, who, despite being drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, played the first seven seasons of his career with the Preds and entered the first real life cycle of impact defenseman development. ‘organization.
Whenever one of them left Nashville, either by choice or as part of a transaction, there was still a solid “core” to which either young people who were ready for promotion or veterans at low cost – with the exception, again, of Subban. The wheel has been turning for 20 years.
PHOTO ANDY CLAYTON-KING, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
John Hynes, Predators Head Coach
This core idea is expressed by head coach John Hynes. Although this is only his third season behind the team bench, he has grasped the mechanics behind the evolution of his defensive workforce. Today he is attending the transfer of knowledge initiated by Josi and Ekholm.
“You can see how they grew up in Nashville,” Hynes explains in an interview. They are good people, guys with character, who have learned from good leaders and who pass the culture on in the right way. ”
Their current students: Alexandre Carrier, 25, Dante Fabbro, 23, and Philippe Myers, 24.
The former, chosen in the fourth round in 2015, played 279 American League games before settling in Nashville for good last season. He’s definitely here for a long time to come, as the team protected him in the recent expansion draft – in fact, all three were, as the Predators were the only NHL team to protect a total of five defensemen.
Fabbro is preceded by the prestigious pedigree of a first round pick (2016). Despite everything, after he made the leap from the university ranks in 2018-2019, he was given time to gradually establish himself. Today it is gaining ground.
As for Myers, never drafted, he played 115 games with the Philadelphia Flyers before moving to the Preds in the trade involving Ryan Ellis. The Acadian also praised, Friday, the influence that Josi and Ekholm exert on the team in general, and on the defense in particular. “They set an example, and we follow,” he summed up. They are good role models for me. ”
Patience
No one has to believe it, but David Poile assures us that he has never prioritized a particular position in the draft, favoring instead “the best player available”.
However, his record is impressive. To the skewer described above, we must add the name of Seth Jones who, although he did not play long in Nashville, is today one of the big stars of the circuit in his position.
John Hynes speaks without surprise about the quality of the recruitment of the organization. In addition, he and his boss evoke a theme that is particularly fashionable in Montreal, without being necessarily applied: patience.
With the exception of Fabbro and Jones, all of the defenders cited in this text have spent at least one season in the American League.
“Each player follows his rhythm: whether it is a first round pick or an undrafted player, he happens when he arrives,” insists Poile. A fortiori, the position of defender is the most complex, adds John Hynes, who gives the example of Alexandre Carrier. He had noticed the Quebecer from the moment he was appointed head coach of the team, in January 2020. But not for the right reasons.
The 5’11 ” 174lb defenseman was tasting the NHL for the first time in three years, and his return to the Milwaukee school club was quick. “He struggled in the competitive facets of the game, whether it was in goal or in one-on-one battles,” Hynes recalls.
His sense of the game and his puck handling were those of an NHL player, but “he still needed time and experience”, especially to work more efficiently despite his small build.
Now Carrier is third among the Predators’ defensemen in ice time per game. And his trainer is confused in praise about him.
“He’s smart, very smart,” says John Hynes. He’s a good skater who sees the ice well. He always makes the right decision: if he has three options in front of him, he will choose the best one. This is what makes it so important to us. ”
Structure
This whole defense discussion is not accidental. With the departures of Ryan Ellis, Calle Jarnkrok and Viktor Arvidsson during the offseason, David Poile makes no secret that his club have fallen offensively. The CEO therefore speaks of a return to “the fundamentals and the structure” in order to achieve success.
“We’re probably aiming for 3-2 wins right now; if we score three times, we risk winning because we play responsibly, ”he analyzes.
Obviously, the formula works. Although they play in the very tough Central Division, the Predators have a more than respectable 9-6-1 record. They have just won five straight games, including four against direct rivals in their division.
“Our goal is to improve as the season progresses,” concludes the GM. Nothing will be easy. We are not talking about the Stanley Cup, but entering the playoffs. ”
As we know, what follows can sometimes surprise. Which is kind of the specialty of the Nashville Predators.