Your Nashville Predators Free Agency Cheat Sheet

by Dirk Hoag on Jun 29, 2009 2:36 PM EDT

July 1st marks the opening of the NHL's Free Agent shopping season, so in the interest of giving a team-level overview of where the Nashville Predators stand, here's how things look today:

Pending Unrestricted Free Agents

Radek Bonk, Vernon Fiddler, Scott Nichol, Steve Sullivan, Joel Ward, Jed Ortmeyer, Ville Koistinen, Greg de Vries, Greg Zanon.

Pending Restricted Free Agents

Ryan Jones, Cal O'Reilly, Antti Pihlstrom

Salary cap situation

Currently the team has ~$33.6 million committed to 16 players. They need 8-9 more under contract, with the NHL salary cap at $56.8 million for next season. To take full advantage of revenue sharing, however, the Preds need to remain below the midpoint between the salary cap and the salary floor, so their "soft cap" is $48.8 million.

Projected budget

$45 million

Key needs

A winger capable of 20+ goals is needed for each of the top two lines, and completely new 3rd line will be needed (likely made up of the young RFA's like Jones & O'Reilly). On defense, either a power play specialist or all-around reliable veteran will be needed, depending on the development of younger players like Kevin Klein and Alexander Sulzer.

Potential targets

Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward are the key UFA's to re-sign, while Mike Knuble, Jason Williams, Francois Beauchemin and Marc-Andre Bergeron might make interesting acquisition targets. Mirtle has a list of the top forwards available, who would you go after?

What our rivals want

Chicago Blackhawks (Second City Hockey), Columbus Blue Jackets (The Cannon), Detroit Red Wings (Winging It In Motown), St. Louis Blues (St. Louis Game Time)

Expect these summaries across the SB Nation network of hockey sites, and for all the in-depth coverage, check out the NHL Free Agency hub:

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Comments

What do you think the RFAs will end up costing?

by blarg on Jun 29, 2009 3:11 PM EDT reply actions

The Preds have made qualifying offers to the guys listed above, which, if I recall, means at least a 10% increase for each. I’m guessing they’ll fall somewhere around or under $1 million each.

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On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Jun 29, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

According to this article It’s 110% for players making up to $660,000 and 105% for those making more than that but less than 1 million. So, 105% for Jone and 105% for the other two I guess

by blarg on Jun 29, 2009 3:28 PM EDT reply actions