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Poile: Letting Trotz go was ‘toughest decision I’ve had to make in my 30 years’

Barry Trotz

Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz answers questions at a news conference Monday, April 14, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. The Predators announced earlier in the day that Trotz’s contract won’t be extended and they will begin looking for a new head coach. Trotz is the only head coach the NHL hockey team has had. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

AP

After 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz won’t be the head coach anymore.

Predators GM David Poile announced this afternoon that after two consecutive seasons out of the playoffs, Trotz’s contract would not be extended past this season and they will seek out a new coach for the first time since the Predators were founded in 1998.

Poile was emotional making today’s statement:

Trotz was offered a position with the organization’s hockey operations department but after being the only head coach the team has had, he may want to take a break from things in Nashville. Trotz will also likely have a host of suitors this summer with coaching vacancies possibly opening up in Vancouver and Toronto.

During Trotz’s tenure in Nashville, the Predators made the playoffs in seven of his 15 seasons behind the bench. The Preds reached the Western Conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Since then, the Preds have fallen back to the pack and amassed 88 points this season, good for sixth place in the Central Division. The 38 wins the Predators earned this year were the fewest in an 82-game season since 2003-04. Coincidentally enough, that was the first season Nashville made the playoffs.

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