Help me understand the Barry Trotz hate?

I understand all the frustration about the team not performing—trust me, it’s super frustrating. But what I don’t understand is the hate from fans now directed toward Barry Trotz. At the beginning of the season and during the offseason, most fans were praising him for bringing in Stamkos, Marchessault, and Skjei. Even if some fans thought the contracts weren’t the best, they at least admired that he was going all in on this team, trying to create a contender, and believed it would work, at least in the short term. Nobody was calling for Trotz to be fired or labeling him a bad GM until the team started underperforming, which I’m not sure how you could blame on him at this point. Just three months ago, everyone was proud of the job he did or, at the very least, giving him credit for getting big names to Nashville.

Trotz since Mar 7 2024:

In:

  • Jeremy Hanzel (In ECHL for Preds)
  • 2025 3rd Round Pick
  • Anthony Beauvillier (Rental)
  • Jason Zucker (Rental)
  • Wade Allison (Out of the NHL)
  • 2025 2nd round pick
  • 2024 7th round pick
  • Ozzy Wiesblatt (Former 1st round pick/made debut for Preds)
  • Andrew Gibson (Top pair for team Canada at WJC)
  • 2024 3rd round pick (#118)
  • 2025 3rd round pick
  • 2024 4th round pick (#127)
  • 2026 7th round pick
  • Jordan Frasca (Throw in ECHL player)
  • Magnus Chrona (AHL player)
  • David Edstrom (Former 1st round pick)
  • 2025 1st round pick
  • 2027 4th round pick
  • Ryder Rolston (AHL player)
  • Justus Annunen (Younger NHL backup)
  • 2025 6th Round Pick
  • Justin Barron (Former 1st round pick)
  • Ondrej Pavel (AHL player)
  • 2027 3rd round pick
  • Steven Stamkos (Free Agent)
  • Brady Skjei (Free Agent)
  • Jonathan Marchessault (Free Agent)

Out:

  • Yakov Trenin (Solid bottom 6 forward NHL)
  • Graham Sward (In the ECHL)
  • 2024 5th Round Pick
  • 2024 6th round pick
  • Denis Gurianov (Out of the NHL)
  • Ryan McDonagh (Wanted out)
  • 2024 4th round pick
  • Egor Afanasyev (Out of the NHL)
  • Jesse Kiiskinen (Top U20 Forward in Liiga)
  • 2024 2nd round pick (#53)
  • 2024 2nd round pick (#59)
  • 2024 4th round pick (#119)
  • Cody Glass (Cap dump)
  • 2025 3rd Round Pick
  • 2026 6th Round Pick
  • Yaroslav Askarov (Wanted out/Chose Saros)
  • Nolan Burke (In the ECHL)
  • 2025 3rd round pick
  • Philip Tomasino (Wasn't getting playing time)
  • Scott Wedgewood (Flipped for younger goalie and pick/didn't fit timeline)
  • Alexandre Carrier (Solid defenseman/didn't fit timeline)
  • Juuso Parssinen (Wasn't getting playing time)
  • 2026 7th round pick
  • Dante Fabbro (Wasn't getting playing time)

Trotz has definitely made gains in the draft pick department in terms of both quality and quantity. He has made aggressive moves in an effort to compete in the short term, even though it isn’t working out (which I really don’t blame him for), and he has also set the team up for a decent future. The team currently has a consensus top-15 prospect pool, and if Trotz decides to keep the picks, it’s only going to get bigger and better.

I understand he’s made some blunders, but to me, the biggest trade loss by far was the Andrew Gibson trade, where we gave up Jesse Kiiskinen, who is now the top U20 forward in Liiga, as well as a second-round pick. If that is his worst trade, I’d say he isn’t doing terribly overall.

A lot of his trades are forced because the coaching staff isn’t playing the young guys, leaving him caught between a rock and a hard place. If the young players aren’t getting playing time, they need to be dealt. Can someone please explain to me all the hate and how the perception of Trotz has done a complete 180 since the offseason?