Barry Trotz makes his return to the NHL in dramatic fashion!

A truly shocking situation developing in Nashville at the moment.

On Sunday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a bombshell when he revealed that long time Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile was stepping down from his position only days ahead of the NHL's trade deadline.

That news and the timing of it would have been a bombshell in its own right, however the next bombshell from Friedman proved to be even bigger. According to the insider, the Predators have already secured Poile's replacement and have hired former New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz to be the next general manager of their franchise.

Friedman reports that Trotz is expected to take over duties in Nashville effective immediately, something that would appear to suggest that it will be Trotz guiding the Predators ahead of the NHL's trade deadline rather than Poile.