The Nashville Predators made their second significant re-signing of the off-season on June 16th while the Atlanta Thrashers made their first.

The Preds announced the re-signing of defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year, $14 million contract whilst the Thrashers re-signed veteran backup goaltender Johan Hedberg to a two year deal.

Financial terms weren’t immediately available on Hedberg’s new contract but he said it was for "about the same" as the $1.15 million he made last season. As for Suter his new contract will count as $3.5 million per season against the Predators cap.

It’s not surprising the Predators retained 23-year-old Suter, whom they drafted seventh overall in the 2003 entry draft.

He’s gone on to become an integral part of the Predators defense corps in his first three NHL seasons, making steady improvement with each passing year and earning more ice time and responsibility as he does.

It was rumored that Suter, who was due to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, might become a target for an offer sheet this summer but Predators GM David Poile made it clear months ago that the young blueliner would be off the market by then.

The only bad sign in all this for Predators fans is this deal will take Suter up to age 27, when he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agent status, and should he continue his development Suter could by that point be among the league’s top defensemen.

In which case, the Predators, a perennially budget-conscious franchise, might not be able to afford to retain him come 2012, unless the NHL can somehow negotiate another CBA that attempts yet again to corral rising salaries or improves the revenue sharing system to allow struggling clubs like the Predators to retain their best players.

For the immediate future Suter will be staying with the Predators, and Poile will turn his efforts now to re-signing RFA blueliner Shea Weber and UFA goaltender Dan Ellis.

Hedberg’s re-signing could be considered as the Thrashers making a save choice by sticking with the reliable backup to starter Kari Lehtonen.

Over the past two seasons the popular Hedberg has come through when called upon by the Thrashers whenever the injury-plagued Letonen has been sidelined or in need of a rest.

His stats for last season (14-15-3,3.46 GAA and .892 SP) aren’t particularly impressive until one remembers that the Thrashers team defense was among the worst in the league last season and on many nights their goaltenders, who combined faced nearly 2800 shots, were left to fend for themselves.

That Hedberg managed to win almost half of his games last season behind that porous defense is a noteworthy accomplishment.

It also suggests that management aren’t ready yet to elevate Ondrej Pavelec, who went 3-3-0 with a 3.11 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 7 games last season with the Thrashers.

Pavelec did have a strong performance this season with the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate in Chicago, where in his rookie professional season he backstopped the Wolves to the 2008 Calder Cup championship.

The young Czech netminder is only one year removed from Junior A hockey so management may be leery of rushing him too quickly, thus necessitating the need to keep Hedberg in the fold.

Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Keith Tkachuk.

If you want to know why the Atlanta Thrashers suffered a humiliating sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers, look no further than those four.

I had predicted the Rangers would win this series, but honestly, I never expected such a meek, tepid effort by the Thrashers.

You look at the impressive regular season stats of Hossa (43-57-100), Kozlov (28-52-80), Kovalchuk (42-34-76) and Tkachuk (7-8-15 in 18 games as a Thrasher), and expect these four to power your offence in the playoffs.

No disrespect to the Rangers, who’ve been a better defensive team over the past 2 ½ months than their record indicates, but in previewing this series, it was reasonable to assume the Blueshirts would have their hands full with Atlanta’s top four forwards.

Instead, Hossa, Kovalchuk, Kozlov and Tkachuk seemed to barely cause the Rangers defenders to break a sweat.

The results speak for themselves.

Coming into Game Four of this series, Hossa and Kozlov had no points, Kovalchuk one goal and Tkachuk two assists.

In Game Four, when the Thrashers finally showed a bit of life, Tkachuk had a goal, Kovalchuk and Hossa picked up an assist each, while Kozlov was again held off the scoresheet.

That, folks, is embarrassing. In fact, it’s pathetic.

Those guys went unseen for so long that they could've been reported as missing persons.

Yes, the Thrashers as a team had a horrible series, one everyone involved with the team from owner to fan will be keen to forget.

Head coach Bob Hartley will be questioned for months over his flip-flopping of goalies Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg. Indeed, Hartley may have done irreparable damage to Lehtonen’s confidence by not returning with him in Game Two and then leaving him to the wolves in Game Three.

The Thrashers lacked quality blueline depth all season, something management perhaps should’ve paid more attention to last summer and at the trade deadline, especially considering the king’s ransom it paid for a playoff rental like Tkachuk.

Still, things might’ve been different if their best players had played at their best.

Kovalchuk can at least look ahead to more opportunities for playoff glory. Kozlov at least has two Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Detroit Red Wings as proof of his playoff ability.

For Hossa and Tkachuk, this series only provided their critics further proof that they cannot elevate their play in the post-season.

Hossa has a few more years in Atlanta to try to prove his critics wrong. Tkachuk, on the other hand, may have done serious damage to his value this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Perhaps there’s a deeper reason why those four top forwards failed so miserably. Maybe they were nursing hidden injuries, or maybe the Thrashers are chafing under Hartley’s demanding style.

Regardless, when you go into a playoff series, you expect your best to be at their best. None of those four appeared to be playing through pain, and if there are off-ice conflicts, they should be put aside once the game begins.

Hossa, Kovalchuk, Kozlov and Tkachuk were the Thrashers best players. They were supposed to be at their best against the Rangers.

They weren’t and that’s why the Thrashers will be booking late-April tee times.