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NHL Free Agency 2013: 3 Big Names the Nashville Predators Should Avoid

Posted on by Dirk Hoag

We’ll get to the forwards which might indeed help the Nashville Predators, but let’s start the discussion with those who may be talked about around the league, but don’t make good fits for Smashville:

Danny Briere

#48 / Center / Philadelphia Flyers

5-10

179

Oct 06, 1977

2012-2013 Cap Hit: $6.5 million

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG SOG PCT
2012 – Danny Briere 34 6 10 16 -13 10 3 0 1 87 6.8

Season GP TOI/60 Pts/60 Corsi Rel On-Ice Sht % On-Ice Sv% PDO Pen Take Pen Drawn OZ Strt% Shots/60
2013 34 12.70 1.25 -1.8 7.0 892 961 0.7 1.3 51.2 7.92
2012 70 13.32 1.54 -3.1 8.1 914 996 1.1 1.3 57.0 7.79
2011 77 14.65 2.77 -0.3 10.8 925 1033 1.3 1.3 53.1 10.21
2010 75 12.94 1.98 +10.1 7.7 918 995 1.4 1.4 56.5 8.47
2009 29 11.80 2.63 -3.9 12.1 915 1036 1.6 1.2 52.1 5.79
2008 79 13.18 1.84 -4.4 7.8 909 987 1.2 1.6 56.9 6.28

Once upon a time, Don Cherry raved about Briere being the best player in the world, and it wasn’t a ridiculous stretch. For the first few years after the 2004-2005 Lockout he was basically a point-per-game player, albeit one dogged by injury issues. Over the past two seasons, however, his production has been in steep decline, and he’ll be 36 years old as the 2013-2014 season opens. He’d make a fine complementary piece for a team which is already stocked with strong forwards, but he’s not the guy to lift Nashville’s game.

Mike Ribeiro

#9 / Center / Washington Capitals

6-0

177

Feb 10, 1980

2012-2013 Cap Hit: $5 million

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG SOG PCT
2012 – Mike Ribeiro 48 13 36 49 -4 53 6 0 1 63 20.6

Season GP TOI/60 Pts/60 Corsi Rel On-Ice Sht % On-Ice Sv% PDO Pen Take Pen Drawn OZ Strt% Shots/60
2013 48 13.93 1.88 -10.3 9.0 922 1012 0.9 0.4 50.8 4.40
2012 74 15.51 2.35 -4.4 9.5 921 1016 0.6 0.4 53.7 6.17
2011 82 14.56 2.26 +3.4 10.7 900 1007 0.3 1.0 53.3 6.03
2010 66 13.82 1.71 +3.4 7.9 911 990 0.8 1.2 45.8 7.70
2009 82 14.73 2.58 +9.7 11.3 888 1001 0.8 1.7 54.6 5.66
2008 76 13.79 2.86 +10.4 11.7 913 1031 0.7 1.2 70.6 4.87

Ribeiro can dangle with the best of them, but his overall game has been on the wane for years now. The only way I’d want a guy like this is if he could get heavily protected minutes in a specialized role, but someone’s going to offer him a greater opportunity than that.

Valtteri Filppula

#51 / Left Wing / Detroit Red Wings

6-0

195

Mar 20, 1984

2012-2013 Cap Hit: $3 million

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG SOG PCT
2012 – Valtteri Filppula 41 9 8 17 -4 6 3 0 0 78 11.5

Season GP TOI/60 Pts/60 Corsi Rel On-Ice Sht % On-Ice Sv% PDO Pen Take Pen Drawn OZ Strt% Shots/60
2013 41 13.82 1.38 +5.4 5.9 920 979 0.3 1.1 58.9 6.78
2012 81 14.39 2.68 -7.5 11.5 920 1035 0.4 0.7 53.8 6.02
2011 71 13.59 1.87 -10.3 9.4 916 1010 0.6 1.4 50.2 5.16
2010 55 13.89 1.81 -3.5 6.8 919 987 0.8 1.0 52.9 7.07
2009 80 13.08 1.89 -1.0 7.6 924 1000 0.7 1.5 51.2 6.65
2008 78 13.04 1.47 -2.8 7.8 930 1008 0.6 1.4 61.5 5.37

I’m not particularly sold on Filppula. He can pull you out of your seat with some of his puckhandling skills, but the production on a night-to-night basis doesn’t wow me. Taken out of Detroit’s system, he could fare worse.

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