Photo By: Mark J. Terrill, AP
The news out of Nashville has been interesting at best and deflating at worst. After listening to Josh Cooper who covers the Predators for the Tennessean on 102.5 the Game yesterday, the pessimists glass is whole-heartedly half-empty and in danger of drying out entirely.
Coupled with the news of Bouillon’s services coming to an end and Tootoo hitting the open market on July 1st it has been a train out of town for many mainstays in the Predators organization. With the uncertainty of Suter (Josh Cooper is not optimistic at all about Ryan Suter’s return), what are the Predators going to look like next season and beyond…
Here is the cold water being thrown on you as if there wasn’t enough to be nervous about…after this season, so far, there will be only 4 Predators under contract..FOUR! Martin Erat, David Legwand, Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne.
The Predators had one of the youngest teams in the league last year and by the looks of it, they may still be in the greenhorn category for the 2012-2013 season. Here is the rundown of positions and what the Predators have for next year…
Forwards:
Erat/Fisher/Kostitsyn(probably)
Hornqvist/Legwand/Wilson(hopefully)
Smith/Spaling/Bourque
Yip/?/Halischuk
Defense:
Weber/?
Klein/Ellis
Josi/Gill (negotiations are positive)
Goalies:
Pekka Rinne and ?
So, who fills in the gaps? And what about next year when Fisher, Klein and Yip are all UFA’s.
Jeremy’s Picks on the UFA market:
Jiri Hudler – LW
Jay McClement – C
PA Parenteau – RW
Brad Boyes – RW
Carlo Colaiacovo – D
Sheldon Souray – D
Jonas Gustavsson – G
Johan Hedberg – G
Who would you go with for a #2 defensive partner for Weber, a 3rd/4th line center since not much has been coming out of the Gaustad camp (and it’s more than likely he’ll go back to Buffalo) and a back-up goalie for Rinne? Would you add a veteran presence in the forward ranks for the youngsters on the 3rd/4th lines. Do the Predators once again need some scoring punch up front with a LW or RW to mix it up a bit? On defense, since no one can truly replace Suter, is there a diamond in the rough on the UFA market?
If you were Poile….who is on your radar? Feel free to comment below on who you think will benefit the Predators most and how you are honestly feeling about the upcoming season. Follow us on Twitter @ThePredatorial or @Preducated.
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Stay HardCore….
Did Garrison sign and I missed it? He’d be a much better choice than Souray. So would Wideman.
I wonder if and when Suter signs somewhere else if Poile will realize how futile it is to remain loyal to these guys. We should have gotten a nice haul for Hamhuis and Suter. There shouldn’t be any hand-wringing going on right now, but Poile’s stubbornness and ‘loyalty’ has cost this team in a big way. Once Suter’s destination is determined, Poile should accept nothing less than a multi-year contract from Weber or trade him. He cannot allow this to happen again.
Garrison would be a great addition but could we afford him. I think Souray, even being older, has a huge upside. His play was some of the best according to the Player Usage Charts for 5v.5 and he can be had for cheaper. Wideman played his way into a huge payday, probably more than the Preds could afford.
…and yes, Poile needs to treat the Suter and Hamhuis situation like a business. I have the notion that come July 1st we will see Suter gone without so much as a 7th round pick. And then the talk will be whether or not Weber will want to stick around. Like I said before, players holding an organization hostage like this is the recipe for disaster and the inability for Poile to be taken seriously by players and other teams..:^(
Souray is holding out for more money. He turned down a pretty good offer from Dallas. Besides, I think he has a bit of an attitude problem.
Btw, my picks, while unrealistic, from the FA market would be;
Zach Parise – LW (Make Suter wish he’d stayed)
Jiri Hudler – LW
Chris Kelly – C
PA Parenteau – RW
Shane Doan – RW (ownership issues? He might consider leaving)
Matt Carle – D
Jason Garrison – D
Chris Mason – G
Scott Clemmensen – G
If we can get both Hudler and Parenteau, I would be one supremely happy Preds fan. Would love to have Carle or Garrison, just think they played themselves out of our price range. Curious, where did you hear about Souray..i mean if we don’t have Suter, Souray should jump at the chance to play alongside Weber, right?
Curious idea that just came to mind reading D’s post and your response Jeremy – but we’ve been so damn focused on bringing in a best friend for Suter – should Poile instead be focusing his efforts on who WEBER wants to bring in, in the event that Suter doesn’t want to resign?
If you think about it – having a great tandem like 6/20 is a rarity, and while both are brilliant at their respective games, you have to pick your natural leader if that tandem will be split. Instead of begging the one who wants out, do what you can to keep the one you have, especially if he is the stronger player.
Anyway, just a thought. Jeremy – I’m sure I owe you a visit for some booze soon so see you then.
Agreed….Not sure where you thought I was courting the idea of Suter coming back..not being pessimistic but realistic as of right now. Although, Weber might have some say in who he might want to be paired alongside him, it ultimately comes down to Poile and the franchise’s willingness to spend money and sign top free agents or trade for one. If Weber starts the “i want such and such or else” then it becomes a sad scenario where the inmates are running the asylum and we’ve seen what Suter and Weber have done with hamstringing Poile’s abilities before..:^/
All these players are important, but a high energy, high speed, enforcing/ encroaching presence is needed and Tootoo is the best at all those things. He should be re-signed immediately or you will start to see a Predator foothold atop the charts start to crumble. We cannot have a full lineup of finesse without a strongarm on roster to protect our investment. First check to write is the mortgage payment, next is the insurance. Poile needs to work on keeping our loyal Toots and make sure he retires a Pred.
Ain’t going to happen…Tootoo was already offered a contract and he turned it down per Brent Peterson. Tootoo’s agent has also stated that Tootoo will not re-sign with Nashville and will test the free agent market, which means that Tootoo is gone cause another team would be stupid to not sign him and what he brings. Our core is being chipped away with Suter not re-signing yet…hopefully Gaustad and Gill are hopeful to re-sign with us or it’s going to be a long off-season for Poile and a Florida type turn around of talent coming in here (hopefully we have the same result..hehe)
I agree–we NEED Tootoo, Weber, Pekka, and Legwand–those are my 4!
IF Suter stays, fat chance I say, but IF he stays, I damn sure don’t want to hear more crap from those guys (Suter, Weber, Pekka) about how they just want a chance to win and want to see Poile bring in help.
First of all, their ridiculous asking prices make it pretty difficult for Poile to add anything of note.
Secondly, when they play these wait and see games, it puts the team into a position where they can’t do ANYTHING until they find out what Suter and Weber are going to do. By time they make up their minds there are no decent pieces on the market left to add.
Thirdly, they’re getting paid like superstars, so act like it. Stop asking for help and realize you ARE the help, dummies. They’re getting paid like superstars, it’s time to nut up and be superstars. Superstars are supposed to make the players around them better. Stop trying to get Poile to wave his magic wand when he’s already done his job by singing YOU.
A-Freaking-Men…this posturing and hem&haw that Suter’s doing this year (and Weber last year) drives me up a wall…If they want people to sign here and they can’t put pen to paper, how can they expect others to do the same…good to see you again lethargic…miss ya on HockeyBuzz when the zealots come out…just leaves Blueline and Predaceous to put them in their place with clever rhetoric..LOL