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Andrew Brunette seems confident — at least for now — that he will be back for another season as coach of the Nashville Predators.
"I'm here to coach," he said at his end-of-season media availability April 18 at Bridgestone Arena.
Following the Predators' final game on April 16, a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars, Brunette spent two days in exit interviews with his players and assistants. When asked about the possibility of not returning as coach next season, Brunette did not seem concerned.
"Until I'm told otherwise, I'm going to continue to work and become a better coach," he said.
Brunette was hired by the Predators in May 2023 when the team moved on from John Hynes. In his first season, Brunette led the Predators to a 47-30-5 record and a playoff spot, and he was a finalist for the 2024 Jack Adams Award, given annually to the league's coach of the year.
But his second year was a struggle from the opening puck drop. An 0-5 start had the team playing catch-up all season, hindered by its 31st-ranked offense and error-prone defense. The Predators finished in seventh place (out of eight teams) in the Central Division, their lowest finish since the league expanded divisions in 2013.
"I'm an extremely competitive person," Brunette said. "We're not what we want to be. It was not from lack of care or work. It just didn't happen."
Brunette, who scored the first goal in franchise history, also coached the Florida Panthers in the 2021-22 season, guiding them to their first-ever Presidents' Trophy. He left to become an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils before being hired by Nashville.
Now, following his second full season as Predators coach, there are questions about whether he is the right person for the job. Newcomers to the team — including Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei — struggled to adjust to his system. By the time they did, it was too late to turn the season around.
"Myself and the staff, we're going to go back to work," Brunette said. "Take a breath, analyze, and find out what we can do better, where we can be better, what went wrong."
Brunette added that while he believes he is the right person for the job, he's prepared to prove that he's a good coach elsewhere if needed.
"It's a great challenge and I can't wait to start," he said. "And if I'm told (I'm not returning), I feel very confident in my ability to continue that path somewhere else."
ESTES: Good riddance to this Nashville Predators season, humbling failure that it was
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at [email protected]. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Andrew Brunette said about his future as Predators coach
Continue reading...
"I'm here to coach," he said at his end-of-season media availability April 18 at Bridgestone Arena.
Following the Predators' final game on April 16, a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars, Brunette spent two days in exit interviews with his players and assistants. When asked about the possibility of not returning as coach next season, Brunette did not seem concerned.
"Until I'm told otherwise, I'm going to continue to work and become a better coach," he said.
Brunette was hired by the Predators in May 2023 when the team moved on from John Hynes. In his first season, Brunette led the Predators to a 47-30-5 record and a playoff spot, and he was a finalist for the 2024 Jack Adams Award, given annually to the league's coach of the year.
But his second year was a struggle from the opening puck drop. An 0-5 start had the team playing catch-up all season, hindered by its 31st-ranked offense and error-prone defense. The Predators finished in seventh place (out of eight teams) in the Central Division, their lowest finish since the league expanded divisions in 2013.
"I'm an extremely competitive person," Brunette said. "We're not what we want to be. It was not from lack of care or work. It just didn't happen."
Brunette, who scored the first goal in franchise history, also coached the Florida Panthers in the 2021-22 season, guiding them to their first-ever Presidents' Trophy. He left to become an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils before being hired by Nashville.
Now, following his second full season as Predators coach, there are questions about whether he is the right person for the job. Newcomers to the team — including Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei — struggled to adjust to his system. By the time they did, it was too late to turn the season around.
"Myself and the staff, we're going to go back to work," Brunette said. "Take a breath, analyze, and find out what we can do better, where we can be better, what went wrong."
Brunette added that while he believes he is the right person for the job, he's prepared to prove that he's a good coach elsewhere if needed.
"It's a great challenge and I can't wait to start," he said. "And if I'm told (I'm not returning), I feel very confident in my ability to continue that path somewhere else."
ESTES: Good riddance to this Nashville Predators season, humbling failure that it was
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at [email protected]. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Andrew Brunette said about his future as Predators coach
Continue reading...
