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Predators match offer sheet for Shea Weber; where does this leave Philly?

July 24th, 2012 4:37 PM
  • Predators-match-offer-sheet-for-Shea-Weber-where-does-this-leave-Philly
  • Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber carries the puck. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

    • After taking nearly a week to mull over whether or not they had the cash flow to match the massive offer sheet signed by captain Shea Weber with Philadelphia, Nashville ultimately decided on Tuesday to retain their franchise defenseman.

    The sticking point on the deal was the front-loaded nature of it, which will cost the Predators $14 million in salary and signing bonuses in the first four seasons. The cap hit for the 14-year, $110 million is high at ~$7.86 million per season, but essentially in line with what Weber made this past season when he signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract in arbitration.

    Losing Weber just a few weeks after Ryan Suter’s departure would have been a devastating blow for the Predators franchise, and a clear-cut message to their fans that they were not prepared to continue trying to compete after back-to-back trips to the conference semifinals. And while they can still deal him at some point in the future (and many believe they almost certainly will), for now they can take solace in the fact that arguably the best defenseman in the entire league is secure in the Music City.

    As for the Flyers, this is a crippling blow to their offseason plans. Weber was seen as a perfect replacement for captain Chris Pronger, who is not expected to play this season or perhaps ever again after a severe concussion in November, but now Philly is looking at a potentially devastating offseason. Their already weak defensive corps got even weaker when Matt Carle priced himself out with a deal in Tampa, and in the meantime their Atlantic Division rival Rangers got markedly better with the addition of Rick Nash on Monday.

    The only silver lining of this deal from Philadelphia’s standpoint is that they blocked their Eastern Conference rivals from acquiring Weber for at least one year. But after missing out on Suter, Zach Parise, and now Weber, Philadelphia is 0-for-3 in their major free agent targets this offseason, and still have a huge void at the top of their defensive corps. The only marquee defenseman left on either the trade or free agent market is Phoenix’s Keith Yandle, and their willingness to deal him is very much in doubt. This means that the Flyers will probably have to settle for a middle-to-bottom pairing defenseman or two and hope that Ilya Bryzgalov can have a bounce-back campaign in his second year in Philly.

    — Craig Lowell

    Despite a huge offer, the Flyers couldn’t pry the defenseman out of Music City.

    Read the original post from prohockey.com

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