Nashville Predators general manager
David Poile told reporters after his club was eliminated from post-season play
that he intended to re-sign the team’s restricted free agents, the most notable
being defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber and winger Martin Erat.
On Monday the Predators GM proved
how serious he was with that statement, re-signing Erat to a seven-year, $31.5
million contract extension, which breaks down to $4.5 million per season.
The 26-year-old Erat had his
second-straight 57-point season in 2007-08 and proven to be a valuable member
of the Predators offensive attack, continuing to make steady improvement since
he was drafted in the seventh round by the Predators in 1999.
Some will inevitably question the
Predators paying Erat that much but it’s keeping with the going rate for
players of his caliber. Besides, Poile couldn’t run the risk of letting Erat
going unsigned after July 1st, where he might’ve gotten as much if
not more via offer sheet.
It’s also another example of a team
paying for potential. Erat’s consecutive 57-point seasons suggests he’s capable
of more, and over the next seven seasons he’ll be in his playing prime which
traditionally for players is their late-twenties through to their
early-thirties.
With the cap continuing to rise and
salaries rising accordingly Erat’s salary will be a bargain in a couple of
years, especially if he puts up more than 57 points per season.
Having re-upped Erat, Jordin Tootoo
and J.P. Dumont since January, Poile’s attention now turns to Weber and Suter.
It could prove more costly to retain those two but the Preds GM is determined
to get it done, and has already indicated he’ll match any offer for those two
if they’re still unsigned by July.
The Erat signing along with those of
Dumont and Tootoo is a good sign for Predators fans of just how serious their
team is to retain their best players only a year after previous ownership
forced Poile to make cost-cutting trades of Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell and
Tomas Vokoun and allowing Paul Kariya to walk via free agency a year ago.
If anyone still thinks the Preds
will be slashing payroll or unwilling to spend on their roster for next season,
the Erat signing should dispel that.
1) What a difference a year makes! Last year this time the club had an uncertain future. Was it moving to southern Ontario or KC, and the payroll cutting cost them quite a few good players
2) Now appears that the team(for now) is set in Music City, and they can now afford to retain their core group of players. Barry Trotz did a very nice job getting them into the playoffs and so far given the Wings their biggest obstacle toward another Cup
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
