Wednesday's notes: HNIC's Elliotte Friedman talks Shea Weber & Ryan Suter

Look this team would be horrible without these two guys, two potential Hall Of Fame type players. They’re only 26 years old! Preds must sign them and pay them. Along with Pekka it gives them a chance to win every night until they find or develop a couple skill forwards.
There isn’t anything out there in return that will make this team better. You just don’t discard or trade these guys period. Ownership claims they have and will spend the money to sign both so we’ll see. Think Devils all those years with Brodeur, Stevens and Niedermayer.
Always competed and won a couple cups with a defense first system led by those three.

I live in Huntsville, AL and have been to a few UAH hockey games. I also have season tickets to our SPHL team, the Huntsville Havoc. They are proof that hockey can survive in a small market like Huntsville. They average around 3,000 in attendance. Usually a couple thousand during the week and 3,500 or more on weekends after college football season has ended.

I believe a big part of the problem is the travel model for UAH. They have to travel a long way to find teams to play, whereas the SPHL has a small footprint that allows for less travel. All teams are located fairly closely in the Southeast.

I think the other issue with the UAH hockey program is that there is absolutely no marketing for it locally. I see a few Havoc commercials every night and one of the local news stations has Havoc coverage in the sports news. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen an advertisement for UAH hockey (or basketball for that matter).

The only times I’ve ever seen UAH games are when they play before the Havoc and I just happen to see the weird start times for the game so I check to see if UAH is playing first. You just don’t even know they have a team unless you are actively looking for them.

Poile is on record as saying if the Predators are in the playoff hunt at the trade deadline neither Suter nor Weber will be traded at that time. To me, that almost guarantees
Suter will be walking. The current makeup of the team is that of a contender for a bottom two playoff spot, nothing more. Bringing in one top-6 forward will not make that much of a difference to a team with a bunch of mediocre forwards who won’t shoot the puck. Suter cashes in no matter where he signs. Playing in Nashville can’t mean more than playing for a bona fide Cup contender. Better to trade him before the deadline to maximize the return, regardless of the team’s playoff position. Trade Weber too. The Preds may own his rights for next year but they can’t take him to arbitration and the offer sheets he will entertain will be insane. Get the maximum return and upgrade the offense instead of trying to win games 1-0 or 2-1.

Using that logic the team will stink both on defense and on offense.
The league is a defense first approach and scoring is no better than the year prior to the lockout. Bail on Suter and Weber and the Preds will be the worst team no matter who they get in return. On 102.5 this morning Trotz was asked if he wants a scoring forward or another d man and he opted for an experienced d man. Defense first to win.

Say Weber and Suter both decide to stay. Then what? All the Preds will have done is maintain the status quo at a much higher cap hit. The rest of the team is still mediocre, nowhere near a serious Cup contender. What do they do then, saddled with the contracts of so many 2nd tier players in addition to the megabucks contracts of Weber, Suter, and Rinne? It would be bad enough if Weber and/or Suter left, but to allow them to leave without getting anything in return would be insane.

It’s why we need the development and use of Bridgestone to be high…as it is today. We may never have the revenue stream of some teams because we are a smaller market, but the venues management brings in, which generate revenue, can elevate us to the upper reaches of the salary cap, imho.

So keeping both Weber and Suter is possible and still spend more on players. I don’t believe Peks would have received the contract he did if management wasnt confident the revenue will be there.

And honestly, if we lose one, there will be plenty of opportunity to get players…thru trade or free agency.