David Poile secured his first NHL management position in 1972 when he was hired by the Atlanta Flames. Over the past 48 years, he undoubtedly has learned that you don’t plan for the future when you are still angry over a postseason elimination.

But the conclusion Poile reaches about the Nashville Predators over the next few weeks will probably be similar to the one most of us reached when the Arizona Coyotes beat the Predators 4-3 in overtime Friday to win their best-of-five qualifying season.

The Predators need changes, significant changes.

The Predators are a team that still had residue Stanley Cup ambitions and the Coyotes are a franchise that hadn’t won a Stanley Cup playoff series in 12 years. The Coyotes aren't supposed to win that series.

Significant change won’t be easy to accomplish because the team has most of their roster locked into long-term contracts. For example, it would help considerably if they could shed the Kyle Turris contract. But no team is going to take Turris at $6 million for four more seasons. You would have to eat half of his salary. Don’t see Poile asking ownership to do that.

But here’s what they need to do:

Revamp the bottom half of the defensive corps: Their top three, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Eklund, measure up to any team’s top three. Dante Fabbro wasn’t as ready as the Predators wanted him to be. Poile needs to find two veteran defenseman who play a safe, but reasonably dependable game.

Re-sign no potential free agent: You say goodbye to Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith, Dan Humhuis, Yannick Weber and Korbinian Holzer. You are going to need every dollar of extra cap space. Even after clearing them, the Predators will only have just over $10 million to work with.

Use Poile’s trading magic: Poile is an experienced, imaginative trader and he might be able to turn Nick Bonino into a veteran defenseman. It might be more important to fix the defense than the offense. Maybe Calle Jarnkrok will be dealt. Before you get too worried about the impact on the offense, remember that the Predators were ranked 16th in scoring last season and 21st in goals against. We are not breaking up an All-Star band. The idea here is to land two new wingers to play in the top six. Matt Duchene will have to move back to center unless Poile can pick up a center.

It’s not about signing free agents: Beyond Taylor Hall, the 2020 unrestricted free agent forward class isn’t eye-catching. But many NHL teams have cap issues and the Predators might be able to pick up a veteran scorer if they can create some space of their own. Remember, one of Poile's strengths is dealing.

Give Eeli Tolvanen a long look: It’s not a given that Tolvanen is going to make it, but he looked sharp down the stretch in the AHL. He netted 13 goals in 20 games. Maybe the youngster could add a spark, freshen up a stale offense.

Start planning for the future in net: The Pekka Rinne era seems all but over, even if he does have one season left on his contract. The decision to play Juuse Saros told us that. Time to look around the NHL for a young goalie to acquire. Maybe Rinne would accept a trade at the deadline if the situation was right.

Hope to win the Alexis Lafreniere: If the Predators win the lottery, their fortunes change dramatically. They have a one-in-eight chance

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