30 for 30 in 30 - Nashville Predators

**AS OF TIME OF WRITING**

TJ Molland: We could see an entirely different Nashville Predators team next year if they aren't willing to spend some money. It seems like just about every prominent player on the Nashville payroll is up for a new contract. The top defensive pairing of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter (where have I heard this name before....) are restricted and unrestricted free agents respectively. Top six forwards Alex Radulov, Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn are up for new contracts as well. Although it looks like Radulov will be heading back to the KHL this season. For a team notorious for not spending money, they must look at this and be sweating. For those 4 players you are looking at around $20 million. On a team that spent only $52 million last year that is a good chunk of your cap being spent on a fifth of your roster. Don't forget you already have $30 million tied up in signed players.

It just doesn't look like they are going to be able to sign everyone. Pretty sure the bulk of this debate is going to be Weber and Suter so we might as well get the ball rolling on that.

I want to start by saying Shea Weber is one of the top 5 players in the NHL. It is hard to find a more well rounded player with the passion and skill that Weber possesses. If you are Nashville GM David Poile you bend over backwards to make this man happy. You already messed up once offering him $4.5 million last year when he was a restricted free agent (awarded $7.5 million in arbitration to give you an idea how much of a low ball that was). If you do that to him again this year you can bet he leaves once he is eligible to become an UFA in 2013. To make this man the franchise corner stone you want to build around you have to offer him a lengthy contract at a realistic price. As incredible it is to have Weber, Suter and goaltender Pekka Rinne protecting your net, it is mighty expensive to keep in tact. Money it doesn't seem Nashville wants to spend. So who do you let walk....

Bik Nizzar: Firstly, credit to them for taking the approach they did. They went all in this year, and the cards didn’t turn up the way they had hoped, but they committed to winning and I love seeing that. But now they have to deal with the repercussions of that failure. I know they operate on a budget that isn’t the league salary cap, but you use whatever leverage you have right now. They needed to sign Weber to a big deal last year, and then convince Suter to stay now, and if you happened to lose him... so be it; you were able to keep Weber. Instead they went about it in reverse and screwed the pooch.  Now if you don’t keep Suter, you’ve lost Weber. I don’t think it plays out in any other fashion. Weber wants to win....... badly. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with the Tennessean talking about him signing long-term:

“Any time you commit yourself it’s somewhere you want to play and somewhere you believe in. If that’s the case, if I’m going to sign there, it’s going to be a long-term deal, and if not we’ll have to decide and kind of go our separate ways.”

If Suter isn’t back, why would this guy want to stay here? You were conservative in my opinion by saying he’s a top 5 player, because I’ll say top 3. If you had to build your team around 1 player, for me that order would go: Crosby-Weber-Toews.

So let me just throw this to you. In the WORST CASE SCENARIO, Ryan Suter signs elsewhere on July 1st......... When do you trade Shea Weber?

TJ Molland: That is the tough part because trading Weber (especially if you lose Suter) is an admittance of defeat. Do you really think the Nashville lineup can compete with the best teams if they don't have Weber or Suter? Their defensive depth is good but you don't replace that kind of talent with just anyone. Keep in mind that at the time of writing this the Predators have 3 defensemen signed, Kevin Klein, Roman Josi and your boy Ryan Ellis. It's been a while since we mentioned how shallow the free agent market is on defense so not having either of the big two is a recipe for not making the playoffs.

If you are going to trade Weber you do one of three things. Get it done early, like possibly before the season. As a restricted free agent you can still get a lot for him. Or if you want to take the chance, you sign him for the season and see how you are at deadline time. If you are competing you take the chance and hold him until playoffs and trade his rights for the marginal price you can to some team who hopes to sign him before he hits free agency. If you are not competing, you trade him at the deadline to some team who is ready to make a splash. Not what Preds fans want to hear but if he isn't going to stay you MUST get something in return for him.

Let's get off the defense for a second, how do you see the offense playing out? Now that Radulov has said he will be playing in Russia (good riddance) you are once again searching for that pure goal scorer. Who do you think is on the Nashville radar Bik?

Bik Nizzar: I’d get the Weber deal done early. Even with Weber you’re going to compete, but let’s face it, this team isn’t the same without Suter and they really need the pair of them to excel and be cup contenders. Why risk Weber getting hurt during the season and not being able to move him at the deadline? Why not bring in the pieces you’d acquire for training camp and get them all settled in now? Plus if its NHL ready prospects you acquire or young players needing bigger roles, why not have them play bigger roles in Nashville and further their development in your system?

What a mess with Radulov. I thought it sent the wrong message to the team when they brought him in to begin with. And while he is an exciting player and some of the older players that knew him stuck up for him, their faith wasn’t rewarded when he broke curfew and pulled that stunt in the playoffs, where he partied all night on game night.

I don’t think there are any fixes in free agency, plus they don’t need to be spending more money if they want to keep Weber-Suter. Factoring this team’s penchant for drafting elite defenseman over forwards, there isn’t a great deal to like in their forward crops. Not that there aren’t good players, I just don’t see the anything that would rival Radulov’s skill.

We’ll start at the draft as to how to replace his offense. The Preds draft 21st – BUT WAIT! They don’t have that pick because it’s in Buffalo’s hands from the Gaustad trades. Yikes. They do draft 37th and 50th and I know it doesn’t fit this team’s mantra – but they have to try to swing for the fences as far as scoring talent goes. He shouldn’t be available at 37, but if they can move both picks and trade up to get Center Stefan Matteau who has a good blend of size (6’1, 210lbs) and speed, he is an option. I think of the players expected to go 20-30, he’s probably got the most upside. If they want to stick in their respected spots, other players they can look at are speedy left-winger Pontus Aberg from Sweden or American left-winger Nicolas Kerdiles, who brings some size, but doesn’t necessarily always use it properly. But players of this mold are not necessarily the high floor guys that they like to draft, but high ceiling guys. Trust your developmental system, and take a risk!

After really reviewing what this team has up front, it just gives more credence to the ‘Trade Shea Weber’ campaign. Replenish the front line because they’ve repeatedly drafted defenseman and I think they’ll still be a DECENT NHL defensive core with the likes of 2007 1st rounder Jonathan Blum, 2008 2nd Rounder Roman Josi, and 2009 1st Rounder / my BOIIIII Ryan Ellis Those are just guys that haven’t really gotten a full sniff at the NHL. Add in Kevin Klein, who is often over-looked for his defensive work on that team because of The Big 2. Klein is also a UFA next off-season, so lock him down now. (2 important things to point out here.... 1. For “my guys” I have to go with the capitalized BO and at least a quadruple I...... rather than just say “my boy”....... 2. For our faithful readers it’s imperative to know that there are certain players that I will just irrationally love, promote, and defend blindly....Also I will try to conjure up the most random trades to get said players onto the Vancouver Canucks.... Ryan Ellis is one of those players on that list.)

You should be able to get at LEAST 2 good/great forward pieces for Weber EASILY, and this is going to sound bizarre, but this team could/should target defenseman in free agency. Go after Jay Garrison, replace those goals from Weber with a cheaper Garrison. Try a Matt Gilroy out, he’s only 27 and this team’s ability to groom defenseman is unparalleled so maybe they can have him reach the potential that he showed before being signed as a college free agent by the Rangers in 2009. And really any defense is going to look better with Pekka Rinne behind it.

TJ Molland: Hahah this article keeps coming back to defense. Even as soon as we mention offense it's a quick "nope, not Nashville's style. Build from the back-end first". Go look at their roster. Now tell me where they finished in the NHL in goals for last year.....8th. Never would have guessed.....ever. They don't need super-stars and it works because everyone knows they have to chip in. Even if one line isn't producing it hurts the team as a whole. This is where we give credit to coach Berry Trotz who is one of the three best coaches in the league. He gets the most out of his players every year. "Oh I have mediocre start power to work with up front? Here is a top ten offense".

They will need to sign a couple free agents to compensate for some departures or they won’t be back in the top ten offensive teams. But you should be able to get a player like an Alexei Ponikarovsky or Lee Stempniak for added scoring depth at a reasonable price. It won't be glamorous but when has Nashville's offensive output ever been glamorous?

The Preds could quickly be thrown into rebuild mode if they lose both Suter and Weber. They have a knack for getting good results out of young players and guys like Blum, Ellis and Josi will be forced to play bigger roles probably sooner than hoped. It will be big shoes to fill but the depth on D here is incredible. Same with the forward corp, no stand-out names but the Craig Smiths and Colin Wilsons they keep finding will fit their mold perfect.

Oh, and obligatory "They have a top ten goalie yada yada yada they are fine in net" paragraph.....well.....sentence....

Bik Nizzar: It’s not so much ignoring offense, it’s that there’s no short-term fix for this team. So defense becomes SUCH a priority. They also had the league’s best PP at 21.6%, but I think that number will come down. Only team to repeat as #1 power play in back to back seasons was Montreal in 2007 and 2008.

I clicked on the teams stats, nobody over 60 points, only 2 players with over 20 goals. And Martin Erat led the team in scoring with 59 points...............  I repeat.... Martin. Erat. Led. The. Team. In. Scoring. With. 59. Points.

I stand by my trade Shea Weber (IF RYAN SUTER DOESN’T RE-SIGN) and still say target some high upside guys in the draft to help this offense down the road, because again, there’s no explosive guy they’ll be able to find right away. Unless they want Alex Semin...... haha how funny would he be under Barry Trotz.

I guess there is 1 thing they can do to get some young, dynamic players in now..........

Elaborate 3 Team Trade:

Toronto Acquires Roberto Luongo from Vancouver

Nashville acquires Nazem Kadri from Toronto, Anton Rodin from Vancouver

Vancouver acquires Ryan Ellis from Nashville and Toronto's 2013 1st round pick.

See - irrational trades to get my BOIIIII Ryan Ellis in a Canucks uniform.