Nashville Predators begin shopping for alternatives as best player appears to be leaving this summer
Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile said Thursday the team has offered an eight-year contract extension to pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg.
Poile added, however, that the two sides appear to be at an impasse when it comes to the financials of the deal. This has led to the Predators starting to explore a replacement via trade or free agency.
Something has got to give in the next couple of weeks for Filip to sign."
#Preds GM David Poile said this morning that team has indeed offered an 8-year deal to Filip Forsberg. Did not disclose $ amount.
Said the sides remain in contact. Free agency begins July 13.� John Glennon (@glennonsports) June 23, 2022
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.
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).
Expecting Forsberg to constantly score 40 goals in a season might be a bit of a tall task as this past season was the first time hitting the 40 goal mark. His next highest goal total came in 2015-2016 when he scored 33. He is a safe bet to scoring 50-60 points at least per season.
If he makes it to market there will be a ton of teams lining up to offer him a seven year contract. The UFA class this year isn't the strongest for impact players but does produce some quality. If things don't work out with Forsberg maybe the Preds will look at cheaper alternatives like Ondrej Palat, Nino Niederreiter or Rickard Rakell.
| POLL | ||
What deal will Filip Forsberg sign? | ||
| 8 years x $10 cap hit | 59 | 19.8 % |
| 8 years x $9 cap hit | 131 | 44 % |
| 7 years x $11 cap hit | 43 | 14.4 % |
| 7 years x $10.5 cap hit | 65 | 21.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
