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Snapshots: McDonagh, Samsonov, Tarasenko

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If the season were to end today, the Nashville Predators would, for a second straight season, find themselves in the playoffs as the eighth seed out of the Western Conference. Last season, the team was rewarded for its efforts with a 4-0 sweep in the first round at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. This season, should they make the playoffs, they’ll now have a new weapon: a veteran shutdown defenseman with Stanley Cup pedigree in that of defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Nashville has had their struggles thus far, McDonagh has been the steady, reliable presence they’d hoped for, helping to keep them in the hunt early on.

However, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith details, there was a time when McDonagh was nearly on his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. According to Smith’s discussions with McDonagh and agent Ben Hankinson, a deal to Columbus was rather close. But, on the morning of July 3rd, things began to change. As Smith writes, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois had set that day as a deadline to find a trade partner for McDonagh, who carried a no-movement clause on his contract. If they could not, Smith added, there was a chance McDonagh could have been placed on waivers. Instead, the story goes, Nashville and GM David Poile jumped into the mix that day and made the push to acquire McDonagh. Ultimately, it was the Predators who checked more boxes than any other interested team, McDonagh said.

  • After Ilya Samsonov suffered a knee injury in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, many wondered how the Toronto Maple Leafs would resolve their issues in net, down both of their regular netminders. Toronto managed to bide their time, relying on Erik Kallgren, until Murray’s return this Tuesday, however they will need that pair to stay healthy for now, as Samsonov does not appear close to return. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, who spoke with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Samsonov did not skate Friday. As Keefe says, Samsonov is still healing and not yet at the point to push himself every day and make the push to return. Fortunately for Toronto, the comments don’t appear to point to any setback in Samsonov’s recovery, even if his return is not clear.
  • NHL.com’s Chris Pinkert reports that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight due to illness. It doesn’t appear that the illness is in any way COVID related. Skating in his place will be Alexey Toropchenko, who will play alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. The 23-year-old Toropchenko has just one goal in 11 games this season, but a chance to skate in the Blues’ top-six could reignite the winger.

West Notes: Poile, Kraken, Ehlers

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Today’s game is a milestone one for Predators GM David Poile as NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika notes that their contest against Philadelphia will be Poile’s 3,000th as an NHL general manager.  He is the first to ever get to that milestone.  The 72-year-old has been at the helm in Nashville since 1997, joining the team a year before their inaugural season in 1998-99.  Poile acknowledged that he has been going year-to-year on contracts for more than a decade now and isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be staying in his current role.  Whenever he does step aside, he’s going to be the record-holder in games managed for a very long time.

More from the West:

  • While the Kraken parted ways with veteran defenseman Michal Kempny after he cleared unconditional waivers yesterday, GM Ron Francis told Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that it’s not a priority to bring in another veteran defender to fill Kempny’s spot on the depth chart. Kempny played in two games this season with Coachella Valley of the AHL and was viewed as one of their first recall options if injuries arise.  Seattle only has four non-NHL defensemen under contract at the moment so it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone added at some point even if it isn’t a top priority for Francis.
  • Although the Jets placed Nikolaj Ehlers on IR yesterday, the news is pretty good when it comes to the winger. Head coach Rick Bowness (who has returned from COVID protocol) told reporters, including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun (Twitter link), that Ehlers is expected to miss somewhere between seven and ten days.  An IR placement is a minimum of seven days and it appears the 26-year-old won’t miss much more time than that.  He has three assists in two games so far this season.

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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July 7: The two sides met again this morning, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who suggests that the stalemate could end if the Predators were willing to go to $8.5MM per season.

July 6: Filip Forsberg is one of the best potential free agents available in what’s a highly saturated market of star forwards this offseason. He may not hit the open market after all, though, as Nashville Predators general manager David Poile confirmed today that the two sides are getting closer on a deal, calling it the team’s “number one goal” to sign him.

Poile also informed reporters that Forsberg desires a no-movement clause in his contract. That’s likely a big sticking point of the deal, as Poile is notoriously stingy with handing out any form of trade protection. Only one Nashville player, captain Roman Josi, has a no-movement clause.

If Forsberg is off the market, all focus will be on Johnny Gaudreau for teams looking to add an All-Star-caliber winger to their lineup. While Calgary is pushing hard to reach an extension with the winger before July 13, it doesn’t seem nearly as close to being done as Forsberg’s deal is.

Forsberg is Nashville’s all-time leader in goals with 202. Multiple reports over the past few weeks have suggested the deal is likely to fall in the $8MM range, a fair value for the three-time 30-goal scorer who’s now consistently floating around a point per game. After signing him and acquiring Ryan McDonagh from Tampa Bay, the team would still have roughly $10MM in cap space to work with and no other big contracts to re-sign, making them a dark horse candidate to be active in free agency if Poile so chooses.

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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If you were to list all of the pending free agents in terms of earning potential, Filip Forsberg would be right near the top. The 27-year-old winger is coming off an incredible season in which he scored 42 goals and 84 points in just 69 games, setting career-highs in both categories at the perfect time. Thirty-two of those goals came at even-strength, putting him ninth in the entire league, and setting him up for a massive payday this summer.

For the next few weeks, the Nashville Predators are the only team that can offer him an eight-year deal, meaning they likely have the ability to offer the most total money on a new contract. General manager David Poile even confirmed this morning when speaking to reporters including John Glennon of NHL.com that they have offered Forsberg a deal of that length, though wouldn’t clarify the proposed salary.

Despite that, the two sides remain far apart, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, who notably reports that both the dollar amount and type of contract structure are in dispute. Poile is notorious for having very hard lines on contract structure, including things like no-trade clauses. Currently, captain Roman Josi is the only Predator who holds any trade protection (though Pekka Rinne did also negotiate some in the past).

While expecting 40-goal seasons moving forward might be a stretch, Forsberg has been one of the most consistent offensive players in the league for basically his entire time in the NHL. As a rookie in 2014-15, he had 26 goals and 63 points, numbers that he’s hovered around up until this year’s outlying performance. Even taking out this season his career averages are 29 goals and 64 points per 82 games, someone who would fit into basically every top-six in the entire league.

There’s no way of knowing how many teams would be seriously interested in signing him but little doubt that he would be able to secure a seven-year contract on the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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It was another disappointing exit for Filip Forsberg and the Nashville Predators, losing in the first round for the fourth season in a row. The 27-year-old is now facing a career-defining decision as his offseason begins and free agency approaches. Forsberg will be an unrestricted free agent in July after spending his entire NHL career to this point in a Predators jersey, and didn’t give up much when he spoke to reporters yesterday about the situation:

I’ve said that since day one, the goal is to come back here. And the business side is completely different than the on-ice side, as you guys are aware of, and just kind of have to wait and see and play it out. There has been obviously some progression throughout the season from where we started in September, and me and my agent and David and Brian and the management. There’s going to be an ongoing conversation in the process, and we’ll just have to see where we end up.

You couldn’t script a better regular season to be negotiating on the back of, as Forsberg set career highs with 42 goals and 84 points, all in just 69 games. With so much of his production coming at even-strength (32 goals), there’s likely no limit to the number of teams that could insert him into a lineup and receive a huge offensive boost. With the Predators out, the countdown is on until Forsberg and his representatives get a chance to talk with the rest of the league.

After a decade in Nashville, Forsberg has always maintained that his desire is to stay with the organization that traded for him all those years ago but there have been at least some signs to point to the possibility of him leaving. Namely, the organization quickly worked out multi-year extensions with Mattias Ekholm, Mikael Granlund, and Juuse Saros last summer, deals that eat up quite a bit of cap space moving forward. With Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, and Roman Josi also on the books for a combined $25MM per season, it’s not like there is a ton of room to fit in another huge contract.

Still, it’s hard to imagine the Predators offensive attack without Forsberg in the middle of it. He became the franchise leader in goals this season, passing David Legwand in 400 fewer games, and he sits 14th in the entire league since his rookie season. That history–especially buoyed by his exceptional 2021-22 campaign–is going to make Forsberg able to demand a substantial raise on the $6MM he has earned in each of the last six years, and a long-term deal to go with it.

Another thing to remember, and something that potentially could affect negotiations, is general manager David Poile’s aversion to giving out no-trade clauses. The only player on the Nashville roster that holds one is captain Roman Josi, and Forsberg has seen the lack of trade protection play out in recent years with the departures of Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis. There’s almost no doubt that he could secure a full no-movement clause elsewhere if he decides to test the market later this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators Still Trying To Extend Filip Forsberg

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The Nashville Predators sit firmly in the first wild card position in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the skidding Vegas Golden Knights and five points ahead of their Central Division rivals, the Dallas Stars. In fact, Nashville is closer to the second-place St. Louis Blues than the Stars are to the, though Dallas does hold two games in hand. With that playoff spot in hand, it certainly would be surprising to see the Predators sell pending unrestricted free agent Filip Forsberg before Monday’s deadline.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising then when Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Predators have re-engaged in extension negotiations with Forsberg. The insider explains that just “marginal” progress has been made, though the team maintains the focus is on keeping Forsberg, not trading him.

Forsberg of course has been involved in a deadline deal before, one that impacted his entire NHL career to this point. In the spring of 2013, the now-infamous deal for Martin Erat (and Michael Latta) brought the young Swedish forward to Nashville less than a year after he was selected 11th overall by the Washington Capitals. In the decade since, he’s racked up 210 goals in 545 games, including 32 tallies this season. That number puts him in a tie for ninth in the league, and in line for a huge contract, whether it comes with Nashville or not.

One of Predators’ general manager David Poile’s trademarks is signing players to long-term extensions for reasonable–but risky–cap numbers and the 27-year-old forward is one of his biggest wins. Signed to a six-year, $36MM extension in 2016, just before he became a restricted free agent for the first time, Forsberg provided years of excess value as one of the most reliable goal-scoring wingers in the league. Now, on the precipice of just his third contract, he’s having the best season of his career and would likely be sought after by a huge chunk of the league this summer.

With that tempting experience just a few months away, it will certainly be difficult for the Predators to lock him up at this point. The team will undoubtedly need to offer a substantial raise on the $6MM cap hit he has carried so far, and the ink is just barely dry on Tomas Hertl’s eight-year, $65.1MM contract extension that could shape this offseason’s market.

In this case, at least, the Predators don’t necessarily have to get a deal done before Monday’s deadline. Like any other team that is adding rentals, keeping Forsberg for their own playoff run seems prudent. But deadlines in general have a way of speeding up negotiations, meaning perhaps there will be a decision one way or another before the weekend is through.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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Heading into the season, many believed that Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg, a pending UFA, would be one of the most coveted players on the in-season trade market. The 27-year-old winger was coming off a season where he battled injuries but still managed to post 12 goals and 32 points in 39 games, leading the Predators to a hard-fought six-game series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was believed by many observers that Nashville’s downward trajectory as a team since their 2017-2018 President’s Trophy win, combined with Forsberg’s age and bouts with inconsistency would keep him from getting a long-term deal in Nashville.

But the play of the Predators so far this season has corrected those preseason observers. John Hynes’ squad is 30-18-4 and has a firm grip on the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. With his team in the playoff hunt and Forsberg surging to 26 goals and 44 points in 39 games Predators GM David Poile now has to navigate a difficult situation with his star winger.

It was reported earlier by Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest that Poile had begun “actively shopping” Forsberg in advance of the trade deadline, and that is certainly one approach he could take with the player. He could also choose to re-sign Forsberg, and in Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts blog he sheds light on that possibility. Friedman writes that he believes there exists a “will” for both sides to reach an agreement on a contract, and that such a contract’s cap hit would likely need to fall between the cap hits of Forsberg’s Predators teammates Matt Duchene and Roman Josi. ($8MM and $9.059MM, respectively.)

While he states his belief that the Predators’ priority is to re-sign Forsberg, Friedman also notes that Poile’s “preference” is to not keep Forsberg beyond the March 21st trade deadline without a long-term contract. Friedman states that it “won’t happen” if progress on a long-term deal isn’t made, which should intrigue onlooking rival teams. Given Forsberg’s form this season and the chronic scarcity of wingers who can drive play at the NHL level, Predators fans should expect a significant return in exchange for Forsberg should the contract negotiations deteriorate to a point where a trade becomes necessary. They should definitely expect a bit more than Martin Erat and Michael Latta, that’s for sure.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Canucks, Forsberg, Oilers

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While there has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding several of their veterans, Canucks president Jim Rutherford told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that their immediate goal is to get to the playoffs this season.  Center J.T. Miller, winger Conor Garland, and goaltender Jaroslav Halak have all been mentioned as candidates to be moved but it would stand to reason that Rutherford’s preference is to give his current group more time together if he wants to see Vancouver get back into the postseason picture.  The Canucks currently are seventh in the Pacific Division and are nine points out of the last divisional seed and six points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card seed although the Flames have four games in hand.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Predators plan to escalate talks on a possible contract extension for pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg, GM David Poile indicated in an appearance on ESPN 102.5 (audio link). The alternate captain is having the best season of his career with 38 points (including 24 goals) in 33 games and while he was speculated as a possible trade candidate earlier in the year, the fact that Nashville is soundly in a playoff spot (second in the Central) likely takes that option off the table.  Forsberg has a $6MM salary and AAV and will be looking to beat that on the open market this summer.
  • Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski examines some of the storylines for the Oilers for the second half of the season and naturally, goaltending is among them. While he notes that Mike Smith will be able to return – a welcome addition – even that may not be enough to sustain their goaltending situation.  Edmonton has 40 games remaining due to a lot of COVID-related postponements so they will need to rely on two goalies consistently, especially with Smith being 39 and just coming back from injury.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Ken Holland try to shore up the backup goalie position over the next few weeks though they will need to offload Mikko Koskinen’s contract to be able to afford any newcomers.

Snapshots: Strome, Ekholm, Giroux

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The inevitable departure of Sabres star Jack Eichel? The sudden availability of young Ranger Vitali Kravtsov? A victim of one of a number of unresolved roster crunches? Any of these situations could provide the first trade of the 2021-22 season, but at least one insider believes the first deal of the year could come elsewhere. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are quietly shopping center Dylan Strome as they look to manage their surplus at center. With Jonathan Toews healthy and back in the lineup, the off-season acquisition of Tyler Johnson, and the presence down the middle of top prospect Kirby Dach as well as fellow youngsters Henrik Borgstrom and Mackenzie Entwistle, the Blackhawks suddenly find themselves with centers to spare and LeBrun notes that Strome appears to be the odd man out. At just 24 years old and still clinging to the draft pedigree of being the No. 3 overall pick in 2015, Strome has shown flashes of NHL greatness, but not enough consistency to establish himself as a concrete top-six player. Strome is on an expiring contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer and it looks as if his next contract will not be in Chicago. Interested teams have incentive to add Strome sooner rather than later to get a full-season look prior to negotiating that next deal, while LeBrun notes that the Blackhawks also want to make a move as soon as possible. The result could be a trade in a matter of days rather than weeks. The real question is whether Chicago will land a return commensurate with the Strome who recorded 51 points in 58 games in 2019-20 or if instead the lucky buyer can buy low on the skilled pivot given his 17 points in 40 games last year.

  • Who might be the first major impending UFA to sign a long-term extension this season? The Nashville Predators sure hope that the answer will be Mattias Ekholm. The Predators spurned trade offers for Ekholm last season and doubled down on their loyalty and reliance on the two-way defender when they moved Ryan Ellis this off-season, yet Ekholm is still playing on an expiring contract. Ekholm’s camp has stated that they will not negotiate a new deal during the season, so the clock is ticking for GM David Poile and company to come to terms on a critical contract. Fortunately for the Predators, LeBrun reports that both sides have been working hard over the past few days to hammer out the details of an extension. With Nashville beginning their season on Thursday, Ekholm will either re-sign in the next 48 hours or possibly not at all. It will be a long season for the Predators if the future of the top defender is in doubt all year.
  • Claude Giroux is in a similar situation with the Philadelphia Flyers as a career member of the franchise playing on an expiring deal. However, no contract is imminent for the Philly captain. LeBrun states that both sides have come to a mutual agreement to wait on extension talks until after the season, quite possibly setting up a separation between the veteran and his squad. It is hard to argue that Giroux is not still a star even at 33; he has scored at just about a point-per-game clip over the past four years and has only missed two games in that span as well. Yet, the Flyers could see his salary cap space as better used on younger assets as they continue to remake their roster. How both Giroux and Philadelphia perform this season will dictate their relationship moving forward.

Latest On Mattias Ekholm, Filip Forsberg

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At one point last season, speculation swirled around the Nashville Predators and every member of their veteran core. The team was playing poorly, half the roster was injured and it was obvious a change was necessary if they ever wanted to open up opportunities for some of the organization’s young players. Mattias Ekholm, who was only signed through the 2021-22 season was an obvious target, and teams all across the league started expressing interest even though the veteran defenseman was clear in his desire to stay in Nashville.

The Predators turned things around and made the playoffs without selling off any assets at the deadline, but a first-round exit made all of the trade talk surface once again. Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis, two of the faces of the franchise, were moved this offseason in deals that opened up quite a bit of cap space and added younger pieces to the organization. Now, as the season approaches, there are two more core pieces under the microscope because of their contract status.

One of them, Ekholm, made it very clear once again today that if possible he’d like to stay with the Predators past this season. Speaking to reporters including Paul Skrbina of the Tennessean, the 31-year-old defenseman explained that he would have signed an extension “yesterday” if he could, though he’s leaving the negotiations up to his agent and Nashville GM David Poile. The feeling appears to be mutual, as Poile explained last month that after signing Juuse Saros to an extension, the team would turn their attention to a deal for Ekholm.

With Ellis out of the picture, even more weight will be put on the shoulders of the veteran duo of Ekholm and Roman Josi. While young Dante Fabbro has shown he can handle an increased role and Philippe Myers, acquired in the Ellis deal should fit in nicely, the Predators’ hopes really rely on their two anchors on the back end. Josi is entering the second season of his massive eight-year, $72.5MM extension, but Ekholm will carry a cap hit of just $3.75MM in the final year what became one of the most valuable contracts in the league. After earning just $22.5MM over the six-year contract, he’ll likely be looking for quite the raise if an extension is to be worked out.

The other player that will draw speculation this season is Filip Forsberg, the team’s best offensive weapon and another veteran on an expiring deal. Poile explained last month that he would reach out to Forsberg’s representatives before training camp, but it doesn’t sound like those negotiations have really started at this point. The 27-year-old forward told Robby Stanley of 102.5 The Game yesterday that he has “no rush to sign” and feels like “you have to play your contract out.”

Acquired from the Washington Capitals in an infamous 2013 trade, Forsberg has routinely been the Predators’ most reliable offensive player. He has 385 points in 497 games with the team, including 32 in 39 during the 2021-22 season. If he does end up on the open market next summer he would be a target for many teams looking to add to the top-six, meaning if a deal can’t be worked out at some point, speculation will swirl once again as the trade deadline approaches. Forsberg carries a cap hit of $6MM this season, and like almost everyone else in Nashville, does not hold a no-trade clause.

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