While moving Fabbro may have been the first – and easiest – move for Trotz to make with his underperforming roster, the team still has room for improvement. Here are a few other areas that could be on his list:

1. The fourth line, which last season was credited with creating the identity that the team lacked early on when they found themselves low in the standings, has regressed markedly this season. Micheal McCarron and Cole Smith made up two-thirds of the line last year with Kiefer Sherwood, who signed as a free agent with Vancouver in the offseason. Recently, Milwaukee call-up Zach L’Heureux has joined McCarron and Smith, but the trio has struggled with collective poor play.

2. Almost immediately after the July 1 signings of Stamkos and Marchessault, questions swirled over who would center the second line. An answer to that question still hasn’t been found. Brunette has juggled the lines around looking for the right top six mixture, but nothing yet has seemed to work with any consistency.

3. Fabbro’s waiving aside, the Predators’ team defense has largely underachieved along with the rest of the roster. Captain Roman Josi is doing all he can to keep the unit together, but the 34-year-old Josi has been logging huge minutes, averaging over 25 minutes per game. He could use some help on the blue line as the team aims to reverse the course of the poor early results so far.

In the NHL’s salary cap world, making trades, especially in-season, is difficult. Early in the season, most teams still think that they are potential playoff teams. Further, many do not have a lot of salary cap space available, so bringing in a player often means shipping one out at the same time.

But if there are deals to be made, Trotz will do his best to make them. He has a stockpile of draft picks to work with that could be used as capital in potential trades.