Flyers sign Weber to offer sheet: 14y/$110m ($56m 1st 4yrs)

[Rivalred 630]

They definitely did if Nashville doesn't match, I still think they will.

I don't think the Preds have the cash and it sounds like Shea wants out... The entire atmosphere of the team changed and he wants to compete for a cup...

He is jumping from a sinking ship... I think he agreed to a deal knowing it won't be matched...

[FlashyG 1,799]

I don't think the Preds have the cash and it sounds like Shea wants out... The entire atmosphere of the team changed and he wants to compete for a cup...

He is jumping from a sinking ship... I think he agreed to a deal knowing it won't be matched...

I think Weber is hoping they don't match, but realistically the Predators need to spend a ton of money just to get to the cap floor. The bonus money will hurt but not matching could mean the death of the franchise.

[Guest Crymson]

Quick question... if by some crazy sequence of events the CBA is altered in the next 7 days, does the offer sheet still count? I know it wont but say this situation happens later in the offseason and a team submits and offersheet then the CBA is changed, does the sheet become void as a contract isn't signed? Or would the league respect it and keep it?

Yes, it will still count.

[Salviaman 104]

Weber wants out. The fans of Nashville will hate him now even if he is brought back to Nashville.

[Guest Crymson]

Guess Holland didn't even try.

St. James said pointedly that he was actually speaking with Weber, not the Predators. Since she also said that the Predators wouldn't have traded him to Detroit, your complaining on that note is silly.

Weber wants out. The fans of Nashville will hate him now even if he is brought back to Nashville.

Did Sabres fans hate Vanek?

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Weber wants out. The fans of Nashville will hate him now even if he is brought back to Nashville.

We all loved Fedorov even after he signed Carolina's offer sheet. Canucks fans still love Kesler, even though he signed Philadelphia's offer sheet.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Bring Back The Bruise Bros

[Salviaman 104]

Only time will tell. Weber has seriously hurt Nashville in a big way.

[ShanahanMan 473]

I don't think the Preds have the cash and it sounds like Shea wants out... The entire atmosphere of the team changed and he wants to compete for a cup...

He is jumping from a sinking ship... I think he agreed to a deal knowing it won't be matched...

Hah, do you forget this is the team that literally moped the floor with us?

If they're a sinking ship, than we're already at the bottom of the ocean.

They lost one of the best defensemen in the league to free agency, agreed, but if they match Weber's offer, which I believe they will, they are just one defenseman away from another Stanley Cup run.

[Guest Crymson]

Hah, do you forget this is the team that literally moped the floor with us?

If they're a sinking ship, than we're already at the bottom of the ocean.

They lost one of the best defensemen in the league to free agency, agreed, but if they match Weber's offer, which I believe they will, they are just one defenseman away from another Stanley Cup run.

A team that couldn't win with Weber, Suter and Radulov needs only Weber and one other good defenseman to win the Cup? How about no?

The lengths to which you go in order to disparage the Wings' chances and inflate those of other teams is amazing.

[BostonBruinsDan1924 53]

NHL teams values according to Forbes.com. Funny how the oldest teams in the NHL, the original 6, are still around turning a profite.

http://www.forbes.com/nhl-valuations/list/?tw_p=twt

Then there is Nashville...

http://www.forbes.com/teams/nashville-predators/

[FlashyG 1,799]

Hah, do you forget this is the team that literally moped the floor with us?

If they're a sinking ship, than we're already at the bottom of the ocean.

They lost one of the best defensemen in the league to free agency, agreed, but if they match Weber's offer, which I believe they will, they are just one defenseman away from another Stanley Cup run.

They didn't just lose Suter, they also lost Radulov, Kostitsyn, Bouillion, Tootoo and now possibly even Weber, and didn't replace any of them.

I wouldn't say either the Pred or the Wings have gotten better this year but the Wings have at least plugged up some of the holes.

[Shaman 713]

St. James said pointedly that he was actually speaking with Weber, not the Predators. Since she also said that the Predators wouldn't have traded him to Detroit, your complaining on that note is silly.

Did Sabres fans hate Vanek?

Because Holland was going to try to sign an RFA? He's made it clear he doesn't sign RFAs, this offseason, and ones before. So him talking to Weber's agent is like an atheist talking to a priest, I'm sure the conversation was interesting, but in the end it didn't change anything.

[ShanahanMan 473]

A team that couldn't win with Weber, Suter and Radulov needs only Weber and one other good defenseman to win the Cup? How about no?

The lengths to which you go in order to disparage the Wings' chances and inflate those of other teams is amazing.

Can you make single post without insulting the person you're responding to? Just once?

Couldn't win? You're defending our roster yet at the same time discounting a team that destroyed us in the playoffs? I seriously can't wrap my head around the way your logic works.

The Predators put together a damn solid team essentially from scratch due to good management and smart draft choices. We lose Stuart, Rafalski, Lidstrom in the span of two years and you think all is fine, yet they lose Suter and you immediately think they "cant win"? I don't consider Radulov a loss, and the loss of Suter will definitely hurt, but I can think, as long as they retain Weber, they are still a team that can go far.

But it doesn't matter what I say, because in your little world, you'll always think we have a Stanley Cup caliber team regardless of the names on the roster.

[xtrememachine1 795]

For the people saying that signing this offer sheet doesn't mean he wants to leave Nashville...

“I don’t think you sign an offer sheet unless your pointing in that one direction,” Bousquet said. He added that it’s really up to the Predators, but “he’d like to play with the Philadelphia Flyers.”

According to his agent, Weber doesn’t want to go through another rebuilding process. When asked if Weber would be in this position had Ryan Suter re-signed with the Predators, Bousquet speculated that things would be different.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/19/agent-weber-doesnt-want-to-go-through-another-rebuilding-process/

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Suter and Weber both turn heel on Poile in the same offseason, Vince McMahon would be proud.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Detroit # 1 Fan

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Weber wants a cup and getting paid as the elite defenseman he clearly is, so either Nashville pays him or he will become a Flyer making that team unstoppable.

Though I still think, we could have made a better one with a caphit of 8.2 sure extremely high but this guy will come as close as it gets to lower the hole our 5 left.

Edited July 20, 2012 by frankgrimes

[BostonBruinsDan1924 53]

If Nashville matches, or doesn't, then they are in serious trouble. Nashville hasn't been turning a profite on their investment(s) and continue to lose money. I guess when do you say enough is enough and get the train back on track and start turning a profite. Wasn't it back in May 2007 that Jim Balsillie that wanted to buy the Preds, then a local financial group came in with $75M to purchase the team?

[MrBest7 7]

Weber wants a cup and getting paid as the elite defenseman he clearly is, so either Nashville pays him or he will become a Flyer making that team unstoppable.

Wow...Pronger and Weber on the Philly blue line.... Glad they're in the other conference. However, Nashville gets 4 first round draft picks!!!! Nashville would be foolish to match the offer sheet. Shea Weber wants out and I'd be happy to let him go for that price. It's a great deal for Weber, Philly and Nashville.

I think it was funny how many people on this board chastised me for suggesting we should offer sheet Shea Weber. He's the one guy I would have signed for $8 million per year. I had to hear how nobody ever does it... lol

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Keep in mind the owners still have succesful parent companies so they easily use the Preds as advertisment to lower the income and paying less tax fees.

The Forbes list proves one thing:

The Original 6 are still the backbone of the league and yet we aren 't getting the recognition we should. The 4 1sts are basically very high ones we are talking about 25 - 30 range here, not exactly the type of guys to replace someone like Wever.

Edited July 20, 2012 by frankgrimes

[brett 1,029]

too bad philly goaltending is so bad or theyd have a decent team

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

BTW, I do this all the time on NHL 12. Give a player a monster offer sheet, knowing the other team will match it. Good way to drive up other teams' caps.

Thank you Kevin Lowe for the idea.

Granted, I'm pretty sure the Flyers are dead serious about this offer, and not just being dicks.

[Matt 1,048]

Concerning the Wings' reported talk with Weber: If he did tour all of the potential suitors over the past two weeks then I'm confident that where the Red Wings fell short was with the contract offer. If Holland entertained the thought of signing Weber to an offer sheet (as in Holland made the first contact, not Weber's agent) it's frustrating to lose out on a money/term issue again. (Reportedly, anyway.)

If weber didn't want to be in Nashville, he would have played out this year, became a UFA, and left. You really think he would have signed this if he didn't want to play in Nashville? No chance he makes that kind of gamble knowing the preds have said all along they will match any offer. And what difference does it make if poile matches it today, tomorrow or next Monday? Its real easy for you to say they should hve matched it this morning when its not your 110 million your spending. Listen, the only leverage weber had, being a RFA, was to sign the Philly offer and assure himself of a monster deal before the CBA expires.

There is no way poile allows weber to walk for 4 picks that will likely be somewhere in the 20 to 30 range. There is no way he can justify that to his fanbase. Weber is the preds franchise and I repeat, this is a different ownership group that has the money. I will be more than happy to come back and eat crow if in wrong. But you'd be hardpressed to find someone else that follows this team as close as I do.

As for Darren D's comments he made earlier today saying weber doesn't want to be in Nashville, those were opinions, nothing else. He can't back those comments up with any facts or quotes. Poile may have been talking about trading weber but he was just doing his diligence to see what weber could possibly bring in.

The bottom line is this, the ball is in the preds court and there is no way in hell he doesn't match.

Saved for posterity. If Poile had the OK from ownership to match any offer -- which he boasted of in the past -- there's no reason to hesitate on matching it. None. It's $110 million no matter how you slice it, whether it's $56 million over the first four years or $28 million. Doesn't matter.

Straight from Weber's agent: "Things changed in Nashville on July 4." He. Wants. Out. He may not get it, but in that event he'll likely roll around in $27-million worth of $100 bills next season and then demand a trade next summer if he wanted to, then you're left with a PR nightmare in the form of Rick Nash 2.0.

[predmonkee 47]

The Preds don't have the CASH to match an offer nor can they structure an offer the way the Flyers have done. http://capgeek.com/charts_floor.php

The Preds would have to dump a ton of salary to even come close to making an offer. Weber isn't going to go through another "rebuilding" year...his rep and agent both said that today. Nashville has a week to match it or erject it...eithert way he's a Flyer in 7 days and Nashville becomes another expansion team all over again. Even with the (8) 1st round picks they are nothing more than an expansion team starting all over from ground zero. As for Polie not wanting him to trade him w/ in the Western Conference...that's a no brainer. I just might order myself a Weber jersey and wear it to a Preds game just to piss them off.

Save your cap geek garbage for somebody else. Your wrong on every level here. Poile will match and he will be a pred for a very long time. Deal with it

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

Yay let's cripple nashville

Edited July 20, 2012 by MTU_Huskies963

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Very good read Matt, thanks for posting that and I heavily agree:

IF Weber really wanted out, he would have signed an one year contract and then become UFA next summer, choosing his destination on his own conditions. So this is basically him saying, either Philadelphia or Nashville doesn't matter as long as they pay me and he will get paid even better than Suter.