Clay Brewer: MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL

Jeannot just filed for arbitration.

There's things I like about what Trotz has done, and others I don't. I'm not as down on these moves or confused as some of my fellow Preds fans though. I'm hearing a lot of negativity about the O'Reilly and Scheen signings, mainly the length of the deals, but if you're looking at this rebuild as a three or four year process, the length makes sense. You've acquired a couple of, from what I hear, high character guys to help mentor the kids during the rebuild... And theoretically should be getting phased out by the time that rebuild is hopefully complete. You have to have some veteran presence on the team, and you don't want to burn all the years off the ELC's of all your most promising prospects.

That and I think when some fans think rebuild, they're thinking of the guys already drafted or in the system, and not necessarily about the guys the Preds will be bringing in over the next couple of drafts. Some of them will likely be a big part of this rebuild too. We really have no idea how Trotz views the current stock of Predators prospects. A lot of these guys were brought in with the Hynes system in mind, and not necessarily Brunette's. Who knows if guys like Sherwood, Smith, McCarron, Lauzon, or whom among the current crop of prospects Trotz sees as part of his long term vision for the team. One thing I can safely say that I like about Trotz so far, its that he hasn't been afraid to rattle a few cages in getting his vision for this team off the ground. Over his last few years, Poile kept trying to put band-aid's on gaping wounds, and his idea of taking risks felt like sky diving off the top of an SUV. Let's see how things playout the next couple of years and hopefully Trotz won't change my mind about him.

Nice break down by the way.

Fantastic breakdown and analysis Clay - thorough, informative and highly readable! A lot of great points to ponder too.

I'm with the changes, both those known and those unknown (whatever they may be), that Trotz & Co are cooking up. It's the Preds' ship and Trotz is their Captain so I'm excited to see what the next 3 to 5 years bring.

Squatchy's reply has it pegged too with a good take from his thoughtful POV.

I tend to ignore much of the over-the-top carping from casual fans whose only vision seems to be of the 'win now or else' and the 'here today and only today' variety.

Time will tell, but no matter what one thinks, philosophical and strategic change has come to the Preds in a big way.

Nice write-up, Clay. I like the fact that all 3 of the guys added are very much flippable for future assets at the trade deadline.