Predators News! New Deal for Rinne, what about Weber!?

Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators

Wherever and however you are viewing this today, thank you for making the Gray Matters part of your busy day.  There is big news in  “Music City” on the hockey front. The Nashville Predators have signed star goaltender Pekka Rinne to a seven year, $49 million contract.  This signing comes as no surprise given Rinne’s performance the past few seasons. The impact of this contract now raises the question of whether or not defenseman ,Shea Weber ,will be re-signed.  

Shea Weber Nashville Predators

Mentioned on a past article “Predators Hang Fire”, the possibility of Weber being on the team past this year was pretty low. The Predators organization made it clear, through arbitration, that Shea was not going to be paid  $7.5 million per year long term . Will Rinne's contract offend Weber? Is there really a difference between $7 and $7.5 million?  This probably means Shea Weber will be traded or become a free agent at the end of the season.

Ryan Suter

Now organization should concentrate on signing defensive star Ryan Suter. His contract should be under $7million a year. Then trade Shea Weber as soon as possible to receive maximum value for the star defenseman. Weber should warrant an equally talented offensive forward.  

In the long run the team will benefit more from trading a higher valued Weber while keeping undervalued Ryan Suter in a long-term deal. The best example of a similar trade was last year between Dallas and Pittsburgh. The trade sent forward JamesNeal to Pittsburgh for defenseman Alex Golligoski. Neal now has nine goals and two assists for a team in need of a star winger.  Anytime you can trade a top defenseman for a top forward take it if you’re deep on defensive players like Nashville.

Who will be on Rinne's team next season?

Only time will tell what direction the team will go. The right trade could finally give opposing teams a reason to fear the Predators offensively.

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