After a year away from the General Managers chair, Trent Allen is back in the hot seat.
The veteran GM announced he has accepted the task of turning around a disfunctional Nashville Predators team, signing on to be their General Manager for the season.
"It's good to be back in the thick of things. Hopefully I can help the team out," said Allen.
Trent Allen was all smiles after being named the new GM of the Nashville Predators
Technically this will be the fifth team Allen has managed in the league, by far the most of any GM in league history. Allen though refutes this claim, pointing out that stints of one season in Anaheim, and just three games with the Panthers last year, were more custodial duties than anything else.
Indeed, Allen will likely be best remembered for seven seasons at the helm of the Calgary Flames, where he helped reconstruct a broken franchise into one which would go on to have three 100-plus point seasons and capture the WCHL Cup in Season 12.
Now Allen is hoping to replicate that success in Nashville.
"I think this team is actually better off than Calgary was, by far," said Allen. "That team had Petr Prucha, Jiri Hudler and then pretty much nothing. I remember Jason Ward as the top winger on the team. It was pretty slim pickings. Here, there is Zach Bogosian, Ondrej Pavelec, there are pieces. "
Zach Bogosian is deemed a piece of the future for the Nashville Predators by Allen, but the new GM quickly added that "no one is safe here."
"More importantly though, the Preds are in better shape off the ice than the Flames were. Calgary was almost bankrupt when I came onboard, and we had to gut the payroll severely for two seasons just to correct that problem. I remember trading draft picks for cash at one point."
Allen wasn't ready to determine any plans for the club, but did state there will likely be some trades done in order to turn around some issues for the club he's noticed. The primary focus will be to get some assets added to the club's farm team and prospects chart, both of which are pretty thin.
"You build a team from the draft out, I've always beleived that. I call it the revolving door, where if you draft well and properly, you should most of the time have a player who can step in and play in place of one that leaves for whatever reason. That's essentially what we built in Calgary, and we did it with only one first round pick. Granted that was Stamkos, but still, it can be done, it just takes hard work," said Allen.
Allen only signed a one-year deal, but said he was open to the possibility of extensions to the deal if both sides agreed. For now, he's just ready to get the work started.
"No one is being shopped, but at the same time no one is safe here," said Allen. "For to long this team has been at or near the bottom of the league standings. That has to change. I'm not saying it's the current crop of players' faults, but something needs to give to make this work here. I'm here to see that happens."
It's time to do some clean up in Nashville.
The veteran GM announced he has accepted the task of turning around a disfunctional Nashville Predators team, signing on to be their General Manager for the season.
"It's good to be back in the thick of things. Hopefully I can help the team out," said Allen.
Trent Allen was all smiles after being named the new GM of the Nashville Predators
Technically this will be the fifth team Allen has managed in the league, by far the most of any GM in league history. Allen though refutes this claim, pointing out that stints of one season in Anaheim, and just three games with the Panthers last year, were more custodial duties than anything else.
Indeed, Allen will likely be best remembered for seven seasons at the helm of the Calgary Flames, where he helped reconstruct a broken franchise into one which would go on to have three 100-plus point seasons and capture the WCHL Cup in Season 12.
Now Allen is hoping to replicate that success in Nashville.
"I think this team is actually better off than Calgary was, by far," said Allen. "That team had Petr Prucha, Jiri Hudler and then pretty much nothing. I remember Jason Ward as the top winger on the team. It was pretty slim pickings. Here, there is Zach Bogosian, Ondrej Pavelec, there are pieces. "
Zach Bogosian is deemed a piece of the future for the Nashville Predators by Allen, but the new GM quickly added that "no one is safe here."
"More importantly though, the Preds are in better shape off the ice than the Flames were. Calgary was almost bankrupt when I came onboard, and we had to gut the payroll severely for two seasons just to correct that problem. I remember trading draft picks for cash at one point."
Allen wasn't ready to determine any plans for the club, but did state there will likely be some trades done in order to turn around some issues for the club he's noticed. The primary focus will be to get some assets added to the club's farm team and prospects chart, both of which are pretty thin.
"You build a team from the draft out, I've always beleived that. I call it the revolving door, where if you draft well and properly, you should most of the time have a player who can step in and play in place of one that leaves for whatever reason. That's essentially what we built in Calgary, and we did it with only one first round pick. Granted that was Stamkos, but still, it can be done, it just takes hard work," said Allen.
Allen only signed a one-year deal, but said he was open to the possibility of extensions to the deal if both sides agreed. For now, he's just ready to get the work started.
"No one is being shopped, but at the same time no one is safe here," said Allen. "For to long this team has been at or near the bottom of the league standings. That has to change. I'm not saying it's the current crop of players' faults, but something needs to give to make this work here. I'm here to see that happens."
It's time to do some clean up in Nashville.
Yay! It's about time!