"I Could Probably Scratch Every Guy On The Team" - Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette Has An Idea So Crazy It Just Might Work
Rich Graessle. Getty Images.The Nashville Predators are what we in the biz would refer to as "a heaping pile of dog shit". This team is tragically awful. Worst place in the league. We're talking 32nd place out of 32 teams.
Now not all dog shit is created equally. Some teams are absolute dog shit because they're still young and rebuilding like the San Jose Sharks. Some teams are absolute dog shit because they have been dog shit for so long that it seems impossible that they'll never not be dog shit again, like the Buffalo Sabres. Some teams are absolute dog shit because they are old and the window is finally shut like the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But the Nashville Predators are a particular brand of dog shit that is the worst type of dog shit you could possibly be. A team that had aspirations of contending for a Stanley Cup before the season. The Predators went GANGBUSTERS during free agency last summer. They signed Steven Stamkos. They signed Jonathan Marchessault. They signed Brady Skjei. They went all-in on this year to see if they could take a run at the Cup. And through 29 games of the 2024-25 season?
They've lost 4 straight. Are 1-6-3 in their last 10. And are 7-16-6 on the year. YIKES. What do you even do if you're a head coach in that situation? For Andrew Brunette, it seems like he's out of ideas.
What if Andrew Brunette running out of ideas was actually his best idea yet? What if he actually scratched every single guy on the team? Just play a game where you call up the entire Milwaukee Admirals roster. Maybe mix in a couple of ECHL prospects, too, just to be sure. Have the entire team up in the press box watching. You're either going to 1) lose another hockey game that the regular team would have lost anyway. Or 2) have a group of guys with absolutely nothing to lose, they go out there playing like their hair is on fire, and they pull off the most miraculous win in NHL history. It would be like The Replacements, or something. All they need is Keanu Reaves and they're good.
Fact of the matter is that it's a can't lose situation at this point. The Nashville Predators took a gigantic swing at things over the summer, they completely whiffed, and they're going to have to start seeing what they have in the farm system anyway. Might as well just health bomb the entire lineup on your way out if your Andrew Brunette.
P.S. -- I wonder if a team like Tampa could ever see themselves bringing in a guy like Steven Stamkos to help them in the playoff push. Always thought Stammer would look great in that uniform.