An Unexpected Shake-Up

If you saw this move coming, you likely run a business that involved a crystal ball and you should probably be buying lottery tickets. The Nashville Predators announced this evening that they were making a change as they relieved head coach Peter Laviolette and associate coach Kevin McCarthy of their coaching responsibilities. The Predators enjoyed immense success under Laviolette's watch, amassing 248 wins since the 2014-15 season - sixth-most in the NHL over that span - and took the club to its first-ever Stanley Cup appearance in 2017. To say this caught a lot of people off-guard is an understatement, but maybe it shouldn't have drawn that much surprise.

"Under the leadership of Peter and Kevin, our organization reached unprecedented heights — from our franchise-altering run to the Stanley Cup Final to a Presidents' Trophy and our first two Central Division titles," general manager David Poile stated in a release. "Their passion for the game, ability to motivate a team and drive to be the best makes this a difficult decision."

Laviolette's 248-143-60 record over five-plus seasons with Nashville combined with their Stanley Cup appearance and their winning the President's Trophy in 2018 only heightened the expectations for this Predators team. While Poile tinkered with the lineup by moving bigger names in and out of the lineup through trades, it seemed that the collection of players that he assembled this season haven't found the right chemistry or connections yet as the team sits four points out of a playoff spot. For Poile, that's likely not where he envisioned this team.

What makes this odd is that Poile rarely puts the blame, if there is any in Nashville, on the head coach. Laviolette was only the second coach in the franchise's history with Barry Trotz having stuck around for more than a decade before he was let go and Laviolette was hired. If one was taking Poile at his word, he had stated in a radio interview a few days ago, "I'm not contemplating making any coaching change at this time."

Like Pete DeBoer in San Jose, Laviolette may have fallen victim to some rather mediocre goaltending that Nashville has seen all season. While Pekka Rinne's save percentage is a respectable .911 this season, including a solid .920 at 5-on-5, his power-play save percentage is horrific at .755. Of the 73 goals he's surrendered this season, 24 have come while Nashville has been a man short. If your goaltender is your best penalty-killer, the Predators cannot and will not boast that claim this season based on those numbers.

And it's not like Laviolette got any help from Juuse Saros either. Saros' save percentage is a woeful .892 overall, .897 at even-strength, and .857 while playing short-handed. Yes, he's fairly consistent, but being consistently bad at the NHL level is never a good thing. If Saros was supposed to be the heir apparent to Rinne in the Nashville crease, he's not doing himself any favours with the way he's playing this season.

Overall, Nashville's defensive struggles were also on display all season as this team seemingly can't keep the puck of their net. Nashville is sixth-overall in goals-per-game at 3.40 - very good - but are fifth-worst in the NHL in goals-against-per-game at 3.33 - terrible. They're 24th on the power play (16.8%) and 29th on the penalty kill (74.0%). There's something wrong with how this team performs on a nightly basis, based on these numbers, and it seems that Poile was forced to do something to see if he could right this ship before things get too late into the season.

There was no interim coach mentioned today by the club, so the Nashville Predators currently have a vacancy at that position as they prepare for their game against Boston on Tuesday. Will they fill the opening by tomorrow? If so, who fills that spot? Will we see David Poile pull a Lou Lamiorello and suit up behind the bench himself?

Whatever the case may be, this shake-up in Nashville didn't seem to be on anyone's radar as Nashville looks to get back in the win column. I have no doubt that Peter Laviolette and Kevin McCarthy will find new homes in the NHL. They're good coaches with a proven track record of success, and teams always want coaches who have their types of resumés.

As of today, though, a new era begins in Nashville.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!