Nash Daily: Predators To Decide On Coach Soon, ECF Lasts 4 OTs

After weeks of speculation, it appears a resolution could be in sight regarding the Nashville Predators and their head coaching situation.

Speaking to 102.5 The Game on Thursday afternoon, Sportsnet’s Elliot Friedman shared that after chatting with league executives, he believes general manager-in-waiting Barry Trotz won’t need much more time to decide the fate of head coach John Hynes and his coaching staff.

“One of the things that I kind of had heard recently was that there was probably going to be an indication coming soon, one way or the other,” Friedman said. “One of the things I kind of heard in my coaching gossip circles was that the Predators and the coaches there, they realize it’s getting close to time to let everyone know so that if anyone is not coming back, you can go and look for other work. So, I think we are getting closer to a decision one way or another.”

Here’s more Predators news plus the top stories from around the NHL in today’s daily:

Nashville Hockey Now

The Milwaukee Admirals are just one game away from knocking the Texas Stars out of the Calder Cup Playoffs and advancing to the Western Conference Final for just the third time in club history. Nick Kieser spoke to Milwaukee’s Game 3 hero Isaac Ratcliffe about what to expect in Game 4 on Friday.

Is Spencer Carbery a potential option for the Predators if they make a change at head coach? Would the Predators consider trading Juuse Saros for a franchise scorer like William Nylander or Mitch Marner?

Michael Gallagher discusses these topics and more on the latest episode of the Gold Standard podcast. You can listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Predators prospect Spencer Stastney has had a solid debut season with the Admirals this year, including an eight-game NHL stint toward the end of the regular season. NHL.com named Stastney as one of the top five AHL defensemen in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

After mutually parting ways with the Washington Capitals, former Predators head coach Peter Laviolette could be in the running for the same position with a new team. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Columbus Blue Jackets have spoken to Laviolette about their head coaching vacancy.

Around the NHL and National Hockey Now

Florida Hockey Now: Closing in on six hours of play, Matthew Tkachuk decided enough was enough. He scored the game-winner for the Panthers with 13 seconds left in the fourth overtime period to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Canadiens have plenty of options with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, including trading down. Marco D’Amico goes over a few scenarios for Montreal.

Boston Hockey Now: Many are expecting the Bruins are expected to be active both on the trade front and during free agency. Jimmy Murphy details the latest speculation.

Colorado Hockey Now: The Avalanche have a big hole to fill on their roster with Gabriel Landeskog set to miss the 2023-24 season. Evan Rawal explains how the Avs might go about filling out their roster.

NHL: The Arizona Coyotes informed season-ticket holders they plan to play at Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University in 2023.

Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter: @MGsports_