Shea Weber's contract extension a source of confidence for Nashville Predators -NHL Update
It was one of the most anticipated happenings of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason as Nashville Predators and Shea Weber nearly departed from each other after general manager Paul Holmgren of Philadelphia Flyers tried to interfere but failed
in doing so.
Philadelphia had their eyes set on the league’s top defenseman acclaimed by the arbitrator last year as Nashville and Weber could not agree on terms for a contract extension. Now, this year is fortunately a whole lot different as both stakeholders will not
have to go through such a thing ever again, well at least for the next 13-years that is.
Getting Pekka Rinne signed on was also another big achievement of the Nashville Predators that has them confident of the future as they continue to make strides each and every season.
Winning their first playoff round in franchise history, as Predators got past the Western Conference quarterfinals, was definitely one thing that got the whole squad excited, which made it even more crucial to keeping the club together.
"A little over a year ago, after we won our first playoff round, we made a lot of hard decisions and we let go of a lot of veteran players and started the season last year as the youngest team in the League," GM David Poile said. "That, to me, started the
window of opportunity. That’s where I felt, potentially, that the next three, four or five years, as long as we keep the bulk of our team together, that this was our chance to win. With Pekka signing and now with Shea signing, I think we're well on our way
to living up to that hope or that phrase with the window of opportunity.”
The biggest loss they incurred this time around has to definitely be Ryan Suter as the second to Shea Weber signed on to a mega deal with Minnesota Wild alongside New Jersey Devils’ captain, Zach Parise, earlier in July.
Nashville, after having locked on its veteran leadership, is looking to grow their young members of the team and develop them into leaders of the team tomorrow.
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