Nashville Predators Coaching History
The Nashville Predators played their inagural season in the National Hockey League in 1998 and are the eighth youngest franchise in the league. The organization has valued loyalty throughout its young history as the Predators have had four head coaches across 27 seasons of action in Tennessee.
Let's take a look at the four head coaches and what they accomplished during their time on Broadway.
1. Barry Trotz 1998-2014
Barry Trotz took his first NHL head coaching job in Nashville, becoming the Predators' first head coach in franchise history after spending four seasons leading the American Hockey League's Washington Capitals affiliate.
Trotz was an integral figure in Nashville hockey, helping the organization design the team facilities and scout the initial roster. He won 28 games in 1998, the third most for an expansion team to date, signaling the NHL what was to come with the Predators.
He led the franchise to the playoffs for the first time in 2003, losing 4-2 in the Western Conference quarterfinals. His 2003 breakthrough led to four consecutive playoff appearances, but four straight quarterfinal exits, twice at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings and twice falling to the San Jose Sharks.
The Canadian missed the playoffs in 2009, but made three more consecutive postseason appearances from 2010-12, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals in 2011 and 2012.
Trotz was named Sporting News Coach of the Year in 2006 and finished fourth for the Jack Adams Award. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award in 2010.
His 15 seasons with the franchise featured 557 regular-season wins, 479 losses, and 160 ties. He more than doubles the second-place coach on the Predators' all-time win list, and he has 50 NHL playoff victories with the Predators.
2. Peter Laviolette 2014-2020
The Predators hired Peter Laviolette in May of 2014 as the organization looked to ascend to championship heights. He immediately took Nashville back to the playoffs after a two-year absence, earning the right to coach the 2015 NHL All-Star Game based on his win percentage in his initial season on Broadway.
He went on to lead the franchise to the No. 2 seed in the Central in his first season, setting a Predators record with nine consecutive home victories, but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs.
Laviolette led the organization to a second-round exit in 2016, before finally breaking through and winning the Predators' first Western Conference crown in 2017. Nashville fell into a 0-2 hole against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, but bounced back to tie it at two games each before the Penguins claimed Games 5 and 6 to win the championship.
Ultimately, he led the Predators to five consecutive playoff appearances, but only got past the second round once. He won the Presidents' Trophy in 2018 and is the franchise leader for playoff victories with 61. Laviolette won 248 regular-season games, lost 143, and tied 60 games before getting fired in January 2020.
3. John Hynes 2020-2023
The Predators hired John Hynes in January of 2020 to replace Peter Laviolette. Hynes had been fired by the New Jersey Devils a month earlier, but he stepped in and led the franchise to a 16-11-1 record to salvage the season and lead Nashville to the playoffs in his first half-season with the franchise.
He led the Predators to a 45-30-7 record in 2021-22 as his team scored 262 goals, the second-most in franchise history, but the Colorado Avalanche swept Nashville in the first round of the playoffs.
Hynes got to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons with the Predators, but couldn't advance past the first round, ending each season in disappointment. He holds the second-highest points percentage in franchise history with .577, but mustered just a 3-11 postseason record in Nashville.
Nashville missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years in Hynes' fourth season, finishing fifth in the Central Division. Hynes was fired in May of 2023 after 134 wins, 96 losses, and 18 regular-season ties.
4. Andrew Brunette (2023-Present)
Andrew Brunette scored the first goal in Nashville Predators history in 1998 under the franchise's original head coach, Barry Trotz. Trotz hired Brunette as the organization's fourth head coach in May of 2023.
The Predators' job is Brunette's first full-time head coaching job, as his previous experience is a single season as interim head coach of the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. He led Nashville to the playoffs in his first season with a 47-30-5 record, but was knocked out by the Vancouver Canucks in six games in the opening round.
Unfortunately, Brunette's second season went off a cliff as the Predators finished with the third-worst record in the NHL and missed the playoffs. 2025-26 started off poorly, but Brunette dug deep and had Nashville fighting for playoff contention to close his third season.
He scored 11 goals for the Predators in 1998 and currently has a 115-108-23 record in three years in charge of the organization. New general manager Chris MacFarland confirmed Brunette will return for the 2026-27 season.
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NASHVILLE PREDATORS On SI
Joe Gaither covers the Nashville Predators for Nashville Predators On SI. He also oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Miami, Missouri and Vanderbilt college On SI sites.