David Poile makes changes to Preds' coaching staff

This just in, Nashville Predators general manager David Poile has announced that assistant coach Dan Muse will not be with the team moving forward and that defensive development coach and former NHLer defenseman Rob Scuderi will remain on head coach John Hynes' staff in 2020-21. The team will immediately begin a search for a new assistant coach.

Check it out:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that Rob Scuderi will return, as planned, to his role as Defense Development Coach and that the contract of Assistant Coach Dan Muse will not be renewed for the 2020-21 season. The organization will begin the search to fill vacant coaching roles effective immediately.

The Preds' offseason began much earlier than they or their fans would have liked, dropping their best of five Qualifying Series to the Arizona Coyotes earlier this month. Muse's dismissal is yet another ripple in the giant wake created by Poile this season in firing long-time head coach Peter Laviolette and replacing him with Hynes. The Preds struggled mightily under Laviolette to start the season and it appeared that the team's core of Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Ellis and Ryan Johansen had essentially tuned him out. Things improved a bit under Hynes, but there's a belief that the new hire simply didn't have enough time to make the sort of structural changes to the team's play that he would have liked. Moving forward Hynes will be given the necessary time and resources to mold the team in his image. 

It's expected that more personnel changes are coming from Poile this offseason. Don't kid yourself though, players like Josi, Forsberg and Johansen aren't going anywhere. Ditto for franchise legend Pekka Rinne. It's also unlikely that free agent acquisition Matt Duchene goes anywhere either. Pending unrestricted free agents Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith are probably history though. Kyle Turris and his $6 million annual deal are likely to get bought out. What happens with depth players like Nick Bonino, Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok though? You'd have to imagine that teams will come calling about their availability this upcoming offseason.

In any case, it certainly seems like more changes are afoot in Smashville, TN. Hang on to your butts, Preds fans.