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.
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).
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.
