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Nashville Predators Extend Roman Josi

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The Nashville Predators have once again found common ground on an extension with one of their franchise icons. Captain Roman Josi has agreed to an eight-year extension that will keep him under contract through the 2027-28 season. The deal, which will carry an average annual value of $9.059, is set to make Josi the third highest paid defenseman in the NHL, just ahead of former teammate P.K. Subban. It also represents another long-term commitment from Predators GM David Poile, and sets up Josi to potentially play his entire career with the Nashville organization. Poile released a statement explaining the deal:

Roman Josi is one of the top defensemen in the National Hockey League and our team leader as captain. As he enters his prime, we look forward to Roman continuing to showcase his elite skills in Smashville and guiding our team in pursuit of the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.

Notably, the team has also given Josi a full no-movement clause, something that Poile is almost always against. In fact, the only player on Nashville currently with a no-trade clause of any kind is goaltender Pekka Rinne.

Obviously there is good reason for Josi to become the second player on that list. The 29-year old defenseman has been one of the league’s consistent two-way players over the last several years, recording at least 49 points in each of the last five seasons while more than holding his own in the defensive end. During that five-year span, Josi has finished in the top-11 in Norris Trophy voting every season, including two fifth-place finishes.

It is not just his on-ice play that has garnered so much attention however. Josi was the easy choice as team captain after Mike Fisher announced his retirement and is a valued leader in the Nashville dressing room. With a new extension in hand he’ll be able to continue in that role for the foreseeable future, perhaps even until he retires down the line.

Still, any time you sign a player to an eight-year contract of this magnitude there is substantial risk. Though Josi has shown absolutely no signs of slowing down at this point, he will be 30 before the first year of the contract kicks in, meaning it takes him into and through what is normally a steep decline phase for NHL players. While he may be one of the select few to avoid that precipitous fall, there is also already a lot of miles on the Swiss defender—he’s averaged close to 25 minutes a night over his entire career.

The Predators though are obviously willing to make the investment to keep Josi in the fold right now. The team believes they are Stanley Cup contenders and now have their core locked up for the next several years. Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Kyle Turris, Viktor Arvidsson, Colton Sissons and Ryan Ellis are all under contract for at least five seasons, while Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok and Mattias Ekholm don’t become unrestricted free agents until 2022.

Not only will this deal make Josi a very wealthy man, but it will set a market for many other top defensemen looking at free agency in 2020. Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie, Torey Krug and others are all going to get huge raises before the end of next summer, with Josi’s deal now either being a comparable or perhaps a ceiling to shoot for, depending on the player. Pietrangelo in particular may try to eclipse the deal to become one of the top earners, though it’s not clear exactly if or when an extension will come with St. Louis.

For now though, Josi the Predators can start to focus on the task at hand—getting back to the Stanley Cup Final. With 13 points in his first 11 games, he’s doing his part already.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators, Roman Josi Hit “Snag” In Extension Talks

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If there is one thing that Nashville Predators GM David Poile is known for other than his penchant for blockbuster trades, it’s getting his core players signed to long-term extensions at reasonable prices. The Predators have locked up names like Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Kyle Turris, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis and others to long deals over the past several years, and Roman Josi seemed destined to be next. The Predators’ captain is in the final season of his seven-year deal signed in 2013 that carries a ludicrously-low cap hit of just $4MM (another example of Poile’s work) and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

An extension for Josi seems inevitable, given his role and history with the team, especially after the Predators moved P.K. Subban out of town. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column however that the negotiation has “hit a snag” and that “there is surprise it isn’t done yet.” Josi has been one of the most reliable two-way defenders in the league for the last several seasons, receiving Norris Trophy votes regularly. In fact, the 29-year old has finished no lower than 11th in voting in each of the past five years though he has yet to actually be named a finalist.

Not only has the league recognized him, but it is obvious how the Predators’ coaching staff feels about Josi’s ability. Since the start of the 2013-14 season he has logged an average of more than 25 minutes of ice time per game, and even more than that in the playoffs.

Still, with any extension negotiation there are risks involved. Josi will be 30 by the time next season begins and could very well be looking to become one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league. The Predators have a huge amount of money coming off the books next season thanks to the expiring contracts of Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith and others, but also have to consider potential future extensions for Ekholm, Forsberg, Dante Fabbro and young goaltender Juuse Saros. There is also the fact that Poile almost never gives out signing bonuses or no-trade clauses, though both of those rules were bent by Matt Duchene in the recent free agent period.

Obviously it is impossible to know exactly where the “snag” is at this point, but as Friedman points out it is surprising to see the Predators fail to reach an agreement yet with Josi. His case will be one to watch throughout the year as he would be one of the very top free agents available in 2020, though an extension with Nashville still seems the most likely conclusion.

Central Notes: Gustafsson, Boqvist, Turris

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Despite his impressive development over the past two years, the Chicago Blackkhawks could find themselves in trouble with defenseman Erik Gustafsson. The 27-year-old has developed far better than they hoped. After a couple years in the AHL, he established himself with solid half-season in 2017-18 and then followed it up with a dominant year last season. If he continues on that course, unfortunately, the team might not be able to afford him when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Gustafsson, signed out of Finland four years ago, posted an impressive year in 2018-19, scoring 17 goals and posting 60 points and has quietly established himself as a top-line defender for the Blackhawks. In a mailbag column, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus (subscription required) writes that if Gustafsson continues his success, the team may be forced to trade him at the trade deadline as they likely wouldn’t have the money to pay a top-line defender with their salary cap. Chicago has little money freeing up next year besides their goaltending combination of Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner and they will have to replace that. On top of that, the have a pair of restricted free agents who each should command significant contracts in Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. Regardless, if he commands a significant contract, that could cause a problem if Chicago finds itself in a playoff run.

It might be an easy decision if Chicago is out of the playoff race early and the Blackhawks might be able to nab a first-round pick in exchange for him as Lazerus points out that many teams would be willing to move a late first-round pick for a high quality defenseman.

  • Sticking with the Blackhawks, NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis writes that perhaps the most impressive player in Chicago’s development camp was defenseman Adam Boqvist, the team’s eighth-overall pick in 2018. According to Chicago’s player development coach Brian Campbell, Boqvist was impressive for a young player, who just turned 19, but the young blueliner still needs time to develop. “Yeah, I was impressed,” Campbell said. “Obviously, he’s come a long way in a year from last development camp. There’s no pressure being put on him. He’ll develop at his time. If he pushes for a spot, great, but I just don’t want people to get away. There’s a lot to keep learning and he wants to learn, which is the greatest thing. His teammates love him: great thing. He wants to do extra and learn the game: great thing. He is preparing himself days before, even in development camp, he’s preparing himself days before. So all great things and he’s on the right path.”
  • In an interview with Nashville Predators general manager David Poile, The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode (subscription required) writes that the GM strongly believes that center Kyle Turris just had a bad season last year. The 30-year-old Turris played in just 55 games, scoring just seven goals and 23 points, not good numbers for a team playing him $6MM for another five seasons. Poile believes that he played impressively for Team Canada at the World Championships and should have a bounce-back season. “I think he’s very happy here,” Poile said. “I don’t think he’s, and I hate speaking for him, but he’s not happy with either how we’re using him or how he’s played. And those are both tied in to each other. So we have to hope and believe after all the conversations and our knowledge of him over many years of success in the National Hockey League, that he’s going to come back and we’ll just chalk this up to a bad year. … That is the question. We want the Kyle Turris that we first traded for. And that’s both on him and on us.”

 

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

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Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

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*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Latest On Matt Duchene, Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators cleared a whole ton of cap space over the weekend, sending star defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils without taking any notable salaries back. That sets them up to be players in free agency once again, and most expect them to focus on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Matt Duchene. Duchene has long been a target of Predators GM David Poile, and Chris Johnston of Sportsnet has faith that the team will eventually get a deal done. Speaking on the 31 Thoughts podcast, Johnston nearly guaranteed that Duchene will go to Nashville in free agency:

100%. I will admit that I’m putting myself out there a bit because it would be foolish to say that he might not hear something in free agency that could change his mind, that someone might call him or his agents at CAA and offer an amount of money that obviously I don’t think Nashville is willing to give him. But this has been such a long dance between him and the Predators. No secret of his love of country music, of that city itself where he owns a home I believe. The Preds have had their eye on him and were involved in the trade discussions with Colorado going back a couple of years when he ended up in Ottawa. To me, I really don’t see this playing out any other way–but there is the occasional surprise in our business.

Duchene, 28, can now speak with any team during the unrestricted free agent interview period and assess his market for this summer. The veteran center is coming off a career-high 31 goals and 70 points in 2018-19 despite splitting that time between the Ottawa Senators and Blue Jackets. His performance in the playoffs for Columbus was exceptional, laying to rest some of the doubt that has followed him throughout his career. Despite playing in 727 regular season games over ten seasons, Duchene has now suited up just 18 times in the NHL playoffs.

With Kevin Hayes setting the UFA market at center with a seven-year, $50MM earlier this month, Duchene can look forward to a huge payday wherever he signs. Though he is almost a year older, Duchene represents such a huge upgrade on the offensive side of the puck that he very well could be looking at a deal worth millions more per season. That kind of deal was impossible for the Predators before moving Subban, and still may require them to move out another contract or two at some point down the road. Kyle Turris is the obvious candidate to go, especially if the team is bringing in Duchene to take over that second-line center role.

Central Notes: Zuccarello, Honka, Perlini, Fabbro

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Despite earlier rumors that the Dallas Stars and unrestricted free agent Mats Zuccarello have mutual interest to get a deal done, it looks like it might not be as easy as it seemed. Dallas general manager Jim Nill said that Zuccarello has decided he wants to test the open market before deciding, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika.

That doesn’t mean a deal will come about as both sides could be interested in what Zuccarello could fetch on the open market. At 31 years of age, the Stars may be hesitant to give him anything more than a four-year deal, but if both teams are truly interested in staying together, they could just be looking to see what other teams offer him first.

“We’ve talked a little bit with his agent, but he wants to test the free-agent market and he’s got that right,” Nill said. “So they going to look into the market and see what else is out there and then we will swing back and see where he’s at. We’ve got an interview period that starts Sunday, so we’ll start talking to other people and he’ll do the same thing and we’ll see where things go.”

Zuccarello came to Dallas in a trade deadline deal with the New York Rangers for a 2019 second-round pick, which turned out to be defensive prospect Matthew Robertson, and a conditional first-round pick, meaning if Dallas does sign Zuccarello to an extension, the Stars would give the Rangers a 2020 first-rounder. If not, they would give New York a third-round pick instead. However, Zuccarello looked to be a good fit, helping Dallas fill out its second line. Despite suffering a broken arm in his first game with the Stars and only playing two regular season games, the 31-year-old scored four goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games before the Stars fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Blues.

  • Sticking with the Stars, The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that the trade value of Dallas defenseman Julius Honka has increased since the NHL announced the salary cap to be set at $81.5MM for the 2019-20 season. Despite the struggles that Honka has had in finding a role with the Stars, several teams should be looking for an inexpensive defenseman with potential. Honka, a restricted free agent, requires a qualifying offer of $874K, and could be valuable to teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks, who might need some solid depth options on their defense. Shapiro, however, indicates, that the return for Honka still wouldn’t be that significant.
  • Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports that Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman confirmed the team will give a qualifying offer to forward Brendan Perlini. The 23-year-old struggled after initially coming over from Arizona in November, but started to improve late in the season, finishing with 12 goals and 15 points in 46 games with the Blackhawks. Bowman did admit that the Blackhawks might let some of their restricted free agents walk, although newly acquired John Quenneville will be signed as well.
  • The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina writes that one reason that Nashville Predators general manager David Poile felt comfortable trading defenseman P.K. Subban Saturday was because of the play of Dante Fabbro. The 21-year-old, the team’s first-round pick from 2016, signed with Nashville after completing his junior season at Boston University and played in four regular season games, as well as six playoff games, scoring one goal and one assist in those 10 combined games. Fabbro is the likley candidate to take over Subban’s minutes next season.

 

Nashville Predators Will Not Bring Back Wayne Simmonds

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The Nashville Predators may have opened up some cap space earlier today when they moved out defenseman P.K. Subban and his $9MM contract over the next three years. However, even with that extra cap space, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Nashville general manager David Poile said that the team will not be bringing back unrestricted free agent Wayne Simmonds this offseason. The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina adds that Poile also said that the team has no intention of bringing back Zac Rinaldo or Cody McLeod either.

Poile also notes that the team is still interested in bringing back unrestricted free agent Brian Boyle.

Simmonds was one Nashville’s biggest trade-deadline acquisition as they traded winger Ryan Hartman and a 2020 fourth-round pick in order to get the 6-foot-2 power forward in hopes of adding more physicality and scoring to their middle-six lines. However, Simmonds struggled once he joined Nashville, scoring one goal and three points in 17 games and then going scoreless in two playoff games. The 30-year-old Simmonds was a big-time scorer while with the Philadelphia Flyers, potting more than 20 goals six times and even reaching 30 goals twice. However, he tallied a combined 17 goals last season and his 30 points is one of the fewest of his career.

The 29-year-old Rinaldo spent most of the season with Nashville, but spent much of that time in the press box, playing a total of 23 games with one goal, three points and 20 penalty minutes. The 34-year-old McLeod came over in a deadline deal as well, this one with the New York Rangers. He played seven games for Nashville and didn’t register a point. Boyle, on the other hand, scored five goals in 26 games after being picked up for a second-round pick at the trade deadline. He also added two assists in three playoff games.

 

 

P.K. Subban’s Name “Floating Around” As Nashville Tries To Clear Salary

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The Nashville Predators have been linked to free agent Matt Duchene and need to sign an extension with captain Roman Josi, but they’ll have to clear some cap space to accomplish either one. That’s drawn plenty of speculation about who the team could move out this summer, with Kyle Turris’ name leading the way after a disappointing season. Bob McKenzie of TSN however tweets that’s not the only Predator out there, as he’s heard P.K. Subban’s name “floating around” as well. McKenzie makes sure to clarify that there is no guarantee of a Subban trade, and that makes sense given the complexity of any deal for the star defenseman.

Subban, 30, is one of the league’s highest paid defenseman and comes with a $9MM cap hit for the next three seasons. That includes $10MM in actual salary this year, a contract that many teams wouldn’t be able to afford given the cap struggles throughout the league. Still, Subban was traded once before while carrying that cap hit even when the ceiling was lower, and his offensive upside is still likely an attractive proposition for teams looking to contend. Though he played just 63 games for the Predators in 2018-19, the Norris-winning defenseman recorded 31 points and averaged close to 23 minutes a night. Subban has been criticized his whole career for playing dangerously, but still drives possession at an elite rate and can be a game-changing force on the right side.

It is important to note that though Subban once held a full no-movement clause, the Predators did not honor it after he waived it to come to Nashville in the first place. That means the veteran has zero trade protection in his contract at all and would have to accept a deal anywhere in the league. The Predators currently project to have around $6MM in cap space for this summer, but will need to open more room if they plan on being big spenders in free agency.

GM David Poile has never shied away from making big trades, but finalizing a deal including Subban does seem difficult given the league has not officially decided on the salary cap ceiling for next season. Though front offices around the league are generally aware of where it might land, it is not expected to be finalized until Saturday, during the second day of the draft. Acquiring a contract like Subban’s would require careful financial consideration for most teams, perhaps limiting the chance of something going down on day one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Competition Committee Submits Rules Recommendations

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The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement this evening outlining the changes recommended by the Competition Committee, which wrapped meetings today. The players’ side, led by NHLPA Special Assistant Mathieu Schneider, included Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk. The league side, led by NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Opertations Colin Campbell, included Craig Leipold, David Poile, Ken Holland, Doug Wilson, and Steve Yzerman. Together, the group came up with some intriguing ideas for consideration.

The most notable suggestion, as well as the most expected one, was expanded access to video review and coach’s challenges. Few details were disclosed as to the specifics of expanded review, other than allowing referees to use video review to review calls on the ice. However, after a postseason in which incorrect calls has drawn so much media scrutiny, it’s fair to assume that changes are coming to review procedures to help remedy that situation.

Another suggested rule change bound to draw some attention is a change to the the tie-breaking procedures used to determine final regular season rankings. While the joint release did not outline the proposed changes, Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman believes that the preference of the Competition Committee is to use simply regulation wins rather than “ROT”, regulation and overtime wins, as the primary tie-breaker. If adopted, this rule change could very well see more teams looking to end games in regular time as opposed to playing for overtime, especially late in the season in a tight playoff race.

Other suggestions included changes to face-off locations based on icing, pucks out of bounds, power plays, intentionally knocking the net over, and goalies unnecessarily freezing the puck, as well as a rule that would require players to leave the ice if their helmet is knocked off during play.

These rules suggestions still need to be approved by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA’s Executive Board, and many of the proposed changes will require more detailed presentations, as well as considerable discussion. After suggestions are adopted, the language will be formalized and they will officially be indoctrinated into the NHL rule book. Stay tuned for further updates on these possible rule changes when these governing bodies meet later this summer.

Nashville Predators Hire Dan Lambert

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The Nashville Predators have hired Dan Lambert as an assistant coach, adding him to Peter Laviolette’s group for the 2019-20 season. Lambert spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, where he amassed a record of 81-46-13. Predators GM David Poile had this to say about his new coach:

Dan is an experienced, passionate coach and will nicely round out our coaching staff in 2019-20 and beyond. Having enjoyed a lengthy career as a player and now a coach, he has had success at every level running the power play, and we look forward to adding his knowledge and insight in this area to the organization.

Lambert, 49, was named to the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence last month and was set to serve as head coach for the 2019 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. It’s not clear if he’ll still take on that role, but it goes to show just how he is perceived as an up-and-coming coach in the hockey world. Finishing a long professional career in 2009, he jumped right onto the bench of the Kelowna Rockets as an assistant, only to take over as head coach a few years later and win a WHL Championship. He jumped to the NHL after that with the Buffalo Sabres, and took over as head coach of the Rochester Americans of the AHL in 2016-17.

As a player, Lambert put up huge point totals in his career including a 102-point season in the WHL and an 87-point season in the IHL. As a coach with the Rockets, he helped develop NHL defensemen like Damon Severson, Madison Bowey, Josh Morrissey, and Tyson Barrie. That’s the exact type of development he’ll likely be asked to accomplish in Nashville, where the team already has an incredible defense corps but also a player like Dante Fabbro who the organization expects big things of. Lambert is also known as a powerplay specialist, something the Predators have struggled with for some time.

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