Shea Weber awarded one-year, $7.5 million contract following Nashville Predators sponsored hearing
Shea Weber was one of the most well known names remaining on the free agency and set to enter a team applied salary arbitration hearing, which was underway on Tuesday, a day before the arbiter, after hearing the case of both parties involved, decided to
award the superstar defenseman a one-year contract worth a whopping $7.5 million.
It would not be hard to infer that both sides would feel odd to face each other after the arbitration showdown but it was rather a pleasant experience for Weber and Nashville Predators general manager, David Poile.
"We negotiated long and hard for many, many meetings. We talked from a one-year contract to a longer-term contract", Poile said. "As they say, 'Why didn't you get it done?' Well, we just couldn't quite agree on the term, the length or the structure. We just
didn't get it done. From our standpoint, that is a little disappointing. We would certainly like the certainty of our captain signed to a long-term contract, but that's not to say he's not going to".
It was not only GM David Poile who thought of the process to be constructive, Weber also regarded the whole experience well worth it and allowed for releasing a great amount of tension which had built up over the offseason.
According to the arbitration hearing, Nashville Predators were focusing on a more long-term deal, but were willing to offer less money to keep the player, which was an estimated amount of $4.75 million. Weber’s agents had nearly double the amount on mind,
which was $8.5 million, and could be declared successful in the end after they secured $7.5 million after they reached a deal for the 25-year-old.
Shea Weber, a native of Sicamous, British Columbia, Canada, was drafted in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by Nashville as the 49th overall pick.
He performed his best last season, which was his sixth consecutive with Predators, as he scored 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 82 games.
Now having become the fifth highest paid defenseman in the league, Shea Weber can now concentrate on continuous improvement and getting even better.
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