The proverbial stuff is hitting the fan, Predators fans. An NHLPA spokesman has confirmed to me that the players association has, this evening, initiated a grievance over the Qualifying Offers given to 7 Nashville Predators earlier this week.
So where could this whole episode go from here?
- This issue could go before an independent arbitrator (George Nicolau, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie), and if the Preds are found not to have delivered their Qualifying Offers in the proper manner by Monday’s 5:00 p.m. Eastern deadline, the 7 players would become unrestricted free agents.
- The Preds could come out victorious in the hearing, and the players remain as Restricted Free Agents.
- The Preds and the players start agreeing to some contracts before the hearing takes place (although the players will certainly enjoy a stronger negotiating position right now).
The players involved here are: Sergei Kostitsyn, Nick Spaling, Cal O`Reilly, Matt Halischuk, Chris Mueller, Linus Klasen, and Andreas Thurreson. Stay tuned for further developments on this front, but this ain’t good.