Nashville Predators fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief this morning. If you didn't hear yesterday, the Predators matched the offer sheet for Shea Weber from the Philadelphia Flyers, which amounts to 14 years and over $100 million. Why was this a great move for the Predators? Nashville has always believed in drafting well and doing so from the goaltender out, and with Pekka Rinne signed for at least seven more years, that means both Rinne and Weber, homegrown talents, will be the foundation for which the Predators can establish themselves. Losing Ryan Suter was a major blow, as he was a definitive minutes eating defenseman. Losing Weber would have meant the Predators would have to try and identify a number one defenseman, and no one on their current roster can be identified as such. Sure, the blue line is a solid group, but without Weber, there would have been no player that could carry the mail in all situations. It would also have given the Predators the unwanted tag of being too spend-thrift and potentially placed them in the same boat as Columbus (read: in the running for the first overall pick in 2013 and Seth Jones, potentially). Weber gives the Predators a peace of mind when it comes to who to stick out there against the best players on the opposing team, and marketing the Predators will be easier with someone to call the face of the franchise, one that will be there for 14 years...that is, if they don't pull a Jeff Carter/Mike Richards type of deal.
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