Barry Trotz first met David Poile when he was invited as an undrafted defenseman to Washington Capitals training camp in 1982, which was Poile's first training camp as general manager. That was the beginning of a long relationship that included Trotz working for Poile as an assistant and coach of Washington's American Hockey League affiliates in Baltimore and Portland (1990-97) before Poile hired Trotz as the first coach of the expansion Nashville Predators, a position he held for 15 seasons (1998-2014).
Here Trotz, who succeeded Poile as Predators GM after he retired June 30, 2023, shares his thoughts on Poile, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder on Monday, in a special testimonial for NHL.com:
If there is a more fitting title for David Poile than Builder, I don't know what it is.
When you look at what David did with the Washington Capitals after taking the job there in 1982 and building the Nashville Predators after they entered the NHL as an expansion team in 1998, it takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication, a lot of hours, a lot of planning.
As David would say, the Poiles are planners, and he always thought everything out and looked at the big picture.
I remember David telling me the story about the Rod Langway trade with the Capitals. He was a rookie general manager and traded two of the fans' and the owner's favorite players, Rick Green and Ryan Walter, to the Montreal Canadiens to get Langway, Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin. He made the deal and then walked out on the balcony and said, "I hope I know what I did."
That trade transformed the Capitals from a team that had not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs into one that did for 14 consecutive seasons and was always a threat.
When David took the job with the Predators, he turned down an opportunity to work for an established team. I think he loved the fact that he could mold the team into his vision. Sometimes you go to existing teams and the on-ice product is something you mold, but he had an opportunity to mold the entire organization.