Confirmed with Link: Filip Forsberg re-signs 8 years x $8.5 million

[101st_fan]

Tomasino having finally got his legs under him will likely have a jump this year.

Glass and Tolvanen are the two question marks this season. Also, we don't know if someone like Afanasayev, Svechkov, or another is going to show-up on the scene this year in training camp and light it up.

Still a very young team with a lot of unknowns going into training camp.

Likely isn't enough. The team needs a next step from Tomasino, Tolvanen, and Glass just to mitigate the 23 lost ES goals from last season's roster (that's without factoring in any decline in ES performance from the group that posted career seasons). Svechkov isn't an answer this season ... still in Russia. Maybe Afenasayev or longer shot Evangalista might crack the lineup.

 

[adsfan]

There are a lot of mid-tier guys available this offseason and not a lot of teams with a lot of cap space so maybe we can pick up a guy on a one year deal that wants to try and up his value.

I do think after next season that one of Fabbro/Carrier could be on the chopping block especially if Farrance starts to really push for a spot.

I think that Farrance needs a half season to another full season in Milwaukee to be NHL ready.

After all, we have to maintain the Preds high standards for their top 4 Dmen!

 

[ShagDaddy]

Just watch what I mean. General fans hoped Forsberg would break 30g a year, now it will be expected and if he doesn't they will say he sucks.

If he’s not breaking 30g a year consistently going forward, he will get criticized and rightly so. He just got a 8x8.5 contract. Duchene and Johansen were criticized for not playing up to their contract (same money) and if Forsberg doesn’t play up to his he’ll be in the same boat.

 

[ShagDaddy]

Colorado will still be the clear favorite but we’ve at least closed the gap some and I think we will be up there with St. Louis/Minnesota fighting for the second spot next season.

Upgrading one defenseman really didn’t close any gap. The Preds need to add legitimate top six forwards to close the gap and so far Poile has not done that. Poile has a chance to actually close the gap with a trade or adding a UFA (after Forsberg’s contract UFA options just got very limited).

 

[101st_fan]

If Jeannot and Trenin both perform at the level they did last season, we then have a solid top six.

 

[ShagDaddy]

If Jeannot and Trenin both perform at the level they did last season, we then have a solid top six.

Do they put Trenin and Jeannot on the second line with Johansen?

 

[101st_fan]

Do they put Trenin and Jeannot on the second line with Johansen?

They became the defacto 2nd line last season. Look at their ES time on ice and scoring. Them with Joey could be interesting but with Sissons worked well.

 

[Armourboy]

Upgrading one defenseman really didn’t close any gap. The Preds need to add legitimate top six forwards to close the gap and so far Poile has not done that. Poile has a chance to actually close the gap with a trade or adding a UFA (after Forsberg’s contract UFA options just got very limited).

Keep in mind part of that isn't us gaining it is Colorado losing. They had several UFA's that played well for them and McKinnon's current insanely cheap deal runs out after this coming year and because of that everyone expects he will expect to get paid on the next one. Part if the reason they could build that team is cause their #1 center was only making 6 million a season.

They also have been hemorrhaging draft picks and that will catch up before too long.

 

[ShagDaddy]

They became the defacto 2nd line last season. Look at their ES time on ice and scoring. Them with Joey could be interesting but with Sissons worked well.

I agree that they became the defacto 2nd line last season due to Johansen’s wings not producing. If they are going to be the “on paper” second line, I’d think they would have to put them with Johansen because he’ll never be the “on paper” third or fourth line center.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Keep in mind part of that isn't us gaining it is Colorado losing. They had several UFA's that played well for them and McKinnon's current insanely cheap deal runs out after this coming year and because of that everyone expects he will expect to get paid on the next one. Part if the reason they could build that team is cause their #1 center was only making 6 million a season.

They also have been hemorrhaging draft picks and that will catch up before too long.

Yeah and St. Louis will lose Husso and likely Perron at least. Minnesota has lost Fiala. Stars likely losing Klingberg. Out of the Central playoff teams we’re the only that is better than last year on paper at least even if McDonagh (plus whoever else we might add) isn’t a dramatic upgrade.

 

[Armourboy]

Yeah and St. Louis will lose Husso and likely Perron at least. Minnesota has lost Fiala. Stars likely losing Klingberg. Out of the Central playoff teams we’re the only that is better than last year on paper at least even if McDonagh (plus whoever else we might add) isn’t a dramatic upgrade.

McDonagh is a pretty big upgrade. He basically replaces Benning or Boro and anyway you want to look at it that's a pretty big jump in talent at that spot.

 

[cool beans]

Upgrading one defenseman really didn’t close any gap. The Preds need to add legitimate top six forwards to close the gap and so far Poile has not done that. Poile has a chance to actually close the gap with a trade or adding a UFA (after Forsberg’s contract UFA options just got very limited).

Free agency hasnt even started. He just signed forsbgerg and got McDonough for free. Shipped out Kunis. He's making all the right moves to hopefully find the right fit for our top 6. We also have some great forwards in the pipeline who will likely get some experience this year.

 

[triggrman]

Do they put Trenin and Jeannot on the second line with Johansen?

I wish they would, I think it would keep Joey engaged

 

[Olderfan]

Re: Forsberg. I hope he and his agent didn’t make Poile mad.

 

[Kat Predator]

Re: Forsberg. I hope he and his agent didn’t make Poile mad.

Why would a GM get "mad" about having to negotiate a contract? That would be a sure sign someone blew it when he decided on his life's work as negotiating contracts is a big part of a GM's job description.

 

[Olderfan]

You’re right, of course.

 

[Kat Predator]

They became the defacto 2nd line last season. Look at their ES time on ice and scoring. Them with Joey could be interesting but with Sissons worked well.

Exactly.

The Tolvanen/?/Kunin line just never got it going, and Kunin was shipped off. On paper, this looks like it'll become the Tolvanen/Glass/Tomasino line and given some time. That was already signaled at the end of the season.

I doubt Cousins is brought back and don't see McCarron being in Poile's long-term plan. So they could try splitting the big 4 as 2 and 2 with adding a couple of new wingers. It would be good to find a Nichushkin like "hit", a guy who arrives for us, rather than guys who are still a couple years away (Hartman) or already gliding into retirement (long list here).

 

[Kat Predator]

You’re right, of course.

No worries. It's kind of comical in a way that Fil ended up signing for what most people thought he'd get like a year ago. I don't think GMs really look at the job the same way as us fans. Probably a good thing.

 

[FossilFndr]

Oh, there is a reason to check this forum during the off season!

 

[sparkle twin]

Woohoo!

I always believed deep down that Forsberg would re-sign, but admittedly, the longer this went on the more nervous I got that it wouldn't get done.

Long live the stache!

 

[101st_fan]

The details are up on capfriendly. He got his movement clauses, likely at the cost of money in signing bonuses and contract front loading. There's only $6mil in cap advantage across the first four seasons ... no bonus money.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Now that the full details of the contract are out… does feel to me like the Preds were a little teensy bit too generous.

The 4x$10M front load makes up for not being able to provide huge signing bonus money… probably that’s a business necessity given the money they have to hand to Josi and Duchene in 3 days.

But the full 8 years of NMC and just the wee 2yrs of 15-team NTC at the end feels like it could have cost another $500k?

 

[Armourboy]

Now that the full details of the contract are out… does feel to me like the Preds were a little teensy bit too generous.

The 4x$10M front load makes up for not being able to provide huge signing bonus money… probably that’s a business necessity given the money they have to hand to Josi and Duchene in 3 days.

But the full 8 years of NMC and just the wee 2yrs of 15-team NTC at the end feels like it could have cost another $500k?

I mean I think it should have come in around 8 but after how we had so many people saying they didn't have issues overpaying him by up to 1 million there isn't much reason to complain about it now. It basically came in about what we all thought when it started, and if you are the owners you get a bonus of not having to pay another guy through bonuses every year which is worth something to them I'm sure.

 

[hido]

FYI

 

[braindead]

Apparently the delay in getting the announcement up on the website wasn’t incompetence or laziness but rather the Preds legal department had to convince Poile to remove the last quote from the press release which read:

“ Poile continued, with his trademark school girl giggle ‘I’d also be remiss if I didn’t thank Martin Erat, who now appears older than me, for admitting he had a bad back and waning interest in hockey and demanding a trade. And of course George McFee and the entire Capitals franchise for drafting Fil without knowing anything whatsoever about him, their utter lack of basic follow up due diligence to learn about him after that and, of course, for actually believing that a broken Erat was the missing piece to a Stanley Cup.’ “