Photo Credit: Erik S. Lesser/Associated Press
After the Nashville Predators signed Pekka Rinne for a franchise record 7 year/$49 million contract, the next of the core players to sign might be Ryan Suter. It has been confirmed by David Poile that Suter’s agent is to meet with management later on this month, but in the meantime, here is a quick look at some comparables in contract and output for Ryan Suter.
Season | G | A | P | +/- | RelCorsi
2010-2011 | 4 | 35 | 39 | +20 | +8.9
2009-2010 | 4 | 33 | 37 | +4 | +5.3
2008-2009 | 7 | 38 | 45 | -16 | +10.9
2007-2008 | 7 | 24 | 31 | +3 | +9.1
2006-2007 | 8 | 16 | 24 | +10 | N/A
Ryan Suter is a complete defenseman all the way down the numbers. Aside from the off year in plus/minus totals on 08-09, Suter has been everything a team could possibly want on the blue-line. He has never had a negative Corsi rating and his point production is relatively stable.
After compiling a list of comparables based on Goals, Assists, and RelativeCorsi, the following players stood out as equals to Suter’s on-ice performance:
Player – Cap Hit
Brian Rafalski – $6M
Kimmo Timonen – $6.3M
Brent Seabrook – $5.8M
Duncan Keith – $5.5M
Matt Carle – $3.4M
Chris Pronger – $4.9M
Dennis Wideman – $3.9M
Alexander Edler – $3.25M
Dan Hamhuis – $4.5M
Jaroslav Spacek – $3.8M
James Wisniewski – $5.5M
This averages to roughly a $4.8M cap hit that is comparable to Suter’s performance over the last 5 seasons. With all the attention Suter has been getting from around the league, and especially after his play for Team USA at the Olympics, many teams including and most especially the Predators are looking to lock him up for the long term. When Poile takes the meeting with Suter’s agent, he will have much to discuss and compare for an upcoming contract for Ryan Suter.
It begs the question how these other defensemen’s stats and salaries will effect the signing of Suter in the short and long term. A contract of 5yrs/$27M-$30M is not out of the question for Ryan Suter. The bigger question is can a contract like this and the recently concluded deal for Rinne hinder the chances of Nashville signing the third domino, Shea Weber? What say you?
If Suter gets signed for Wisniewski money or Keith/Seabrook money, It’s a serious win. Anything less is just gravy.
I say, “Management and ownership doesn’t have a choice.” If this is “the window” and the big three are the most important cogs in the wheel, then it’s imperative that all three are re-signed. With Pekka and Suter signed, I think it will serve the organization well in getting Weber to sign beyond his one obligatory year left as well. With other parts of the puzzle improving their game, Weber’s status on the team will diminish some and therefore the Preds’ need for him will also not be as strong. However, he is still one on the top players on the team and Nashville is not as strong a team without him on the backend. He’s also the captain. I like the position of him needing Nashville more than Nashville needing him. His size would be missed as well as his booming shot and leadership. However, Ellis can fill part of that roll. I don’t know if Josi could fill the shutdown roll or not. He might be another Klein. I honestly don’t know. The bottom line is: Franchise all three. There is younger and less expensive offensive talent that can fill the roll of an Erat. Hopefully the positive attendance trend will continue as well as all other areas of revenue.
From what I’ve read Poile and Cigarran saying after the Rinne contract was signed, I sort of expect they’re expecting something in the $6.5M to $7.5 M. I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to see him signed at that level. I hope it’s less, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see that. And to be honest, I’m still in finger-cross/knock-on-wood mode on both Weber and Suter agreeing to stay here long term. I’m less concerned that the team won’t be able to come up with the money for these 3 contracts than I am that these players can be convinced that we can become an elite team. It’s quite possible that it can be done, but I’m preparing myself for the crash if it doesn’t.