NASHVILLE - In a matter of days, Nashville Predators' management made several moves that distinctly changed the making of the franchise, and solidified the team's presence as a contender within the league.
Six days after signing new captain Kris Draper to a 4 year deal, the Nashville Predators signed 9 more players to contracts, including 7 new rookies and 2 unrestricted free agents and struck a critical deal with the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators signed UFAs Andy Sutton and Markus Naslund, rookies Ryan Suter, Scottie Upshall, Jim Slater, Jeff Tambellini, Cam Janssen, Aleksander Suglobov and Brian Finley. They also acquired Matt Stajan from Edmonton in exchange for Adam Hall and Jiri Hudler.
The first of the series of moves was the signing of rough and physical defenseman, Andy Sutton. Sutton, 31, was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes last year and signed on with the Predators for the next 4 years with a contract worth $2.75 Million a year with a signing bonus of $2.75 Million. The 6'6", 245 lb. defenseman was a feared physical presence on the Coyotes' defense last year as he went on to notch 36 points and 198 hits to place him 6th on the all-time OTHL list in hits, only 3 places ahead of his new teammate, Scott Hartnell. One concern with the addition remains as Sutton's physical play also induced plenty of hot headed emotion from the big defender, resulting in 3 ejections last season and 199 penalty minutes.
"He brings emotion to the game and a physical presence to our defense that we have not seen on a regular basis in Nashville. We can live with the ejections if he continues to play as strong as he has, ideally we'd like him to take the right penalties at the right times, but if he plays anywhere near as well as he has so far in his OTHL career, we're a much better team with him than without him," , said coach Barry Trotz in response to questions of Andy Sutton's temper at the 3rd day of Predators' training camp, "Looking at this season's team, I'm very impressed with the emotion and intensity that we have on this club, with guys like Hartnell, Draper, Upshall, Marshall and Sutton, this team will be willing to put it on the line to get two points night in and night out."
The addition of Sutton solidifies the questionable Predators defense, with now Sutton, Frantisek Kaberle, Dick Tarnstrom, Dan Hamhuis and rookie Ryan Suter making up the top 5, and Andy Delmore, Brad Norton, Jassen Cullimore, Jeff Jillson and David Hale fighting it out for the final spot on the Predators defense. However, with the recent additions, the Predators may be forced to field their cheapest defenseman to finish out the third pairing in order to meet salary cap restrictions.
The second UFA signing came just hours ago, as the Predators signed UFA right wing Markus Naslund to a 4 year deal, awarding him the alternate captaincy upon his signing. The signing of Naslund gives the Predators an intimidating and very competitive top two lines as Naslund will join Vaclav Prospal and Vincent Lecavalier on the Predators top line. Naslund, 33, signed on for 4 seasons at $7.25 million a season with a signing bonus equal to the yearly rate of the contract. Naslund played with the Calgary Flames last season scoring 35 goals and 69 points in 78 games for the Flames. With many teams interested in his services, Markus managed to narrow down his selections to 5 teams on Saturday evening and asked each of the five for how they would be able to improve on their offers to escalate it above the others. In response to this, the Predators were unable to raise the financial terms of the contract due to the $39 million cap, but instead, the Predators made a personal pledge to Naslund, one that awarded Naslund the assistant captaincy of the team, a no-trade clause and a personal promise for the team to remain competitive for the duration of his contract.
"I was considering many offers and had narrowed it down to five. The personal pledge from Mr. Poraszka wooed me and was all it took to get me to come to Nashville. I'm very excited for this upcoming season and for the next 4 years in general. The management here appears very interested in becoming a true contender and I think I am coming here at the perfect time," said Naslund in his statement to the press after the signing.
The signing of Naslund and Sutton also came with the announcement of signing 7 rookies for the hockey club. The Predators, signing Scottie Upshall and Ryan Suter earlier in the week, added 5 more rookies with center Jim Slater, left wing Jeff Tambellini, right wings Cam Janssen and Aleksander Suglobov and goaltender Brian Finley. Upshall and Suter appear to be shoe-ins to make the Predators opening night roster according to the developments at camp, while Slater, Tambellini, Suglobov, Janssen and Finley will compete for roster spots on the roster but likely see the majority of their season spent in Milwaukee.
The final acquisition of note made by the Predators was the trade with the Edmonton Oilers that saw C/LW Matt Stajan join the Predators in exchange for right wing Adam Hall and prospect Jiri Hudler. Stajan, 22, gives the Predators a young, skilled two-way player for the 3rd line center role and adds depth to a center position that at the beginning of this offseason consisted of only Simon Gamache beyond Vincent Lecavalier.
"The fans of Nashville have been entertained by two exciting teams that barely made the playoffs these past two seasons and made early exits. With the acquisitions we've been able to make this summer, we really feel the team we have put together here will be able to do so much more for the next several years. The fans have something to get excited about, management already is, and we settle for nothing more than continued improvement. Our commitment to Markus [Naslund] was that we would remain competitive for the duration of his contract, but it is our commitment to the city and fans of Nashville for management to do everything in our power to remain competitive for well beyond Markus' tenure here." said GM Tom Poraszka of the many moves.
The transactions performed by Poraszka did not come without an expense, the Predators are now very tight with the league's new $39 million cap, unofficially less than a million below the limit, meaning transactions during the season may be difficult due to the reduced flexibility of the club financially. "I think it just goes to show the amount of commitment this team has to competing now. We feel we are in a great position to compete and that we just needed a few missing pieces. We were able to get those pieces and we didn't look back." said Poraszka in response to questions regarding the financial woes of the club.
Meanwhile, after 3 days of camp for the Predators, coach Trotz has seen plenty of line combinations toyed with, but the currently used lines in camp appear to be sticking and could be the ones that hit the ice on opening night:
Prospal - Lecavalier - Naslund
Hartnell - Draper - Samuelsson
Kilger - Stajan - Upshall
Stevenson - Slater - Marshall
Sutton - Kaberle
Hamhuis - Suter
Tarnstrom - Norton
Vokoun
Noronen
With these combinations, youngsters Aleksander Suglobov and Jeff Tambellini would see time in the AHL in favour of goons Cam Janssen and Jeremy Stevenson. With only days left in camp, the two potential rookies will have to move quickly if they are to find a place on the opening day roster.