Top Contracts for Nashville Predators to Focus On For Offseason Ahead

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Now that we’ve had time to decompress after seeing the Nashville Predators eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet again, it’s time to shift our focus to the offseason ahead.

There’s a lot that’s on the docket in this offseason for the Nashville Predators, including some players who will need new contracts if they’re going to remain with the team into 2021-22.

The first thing to really worry about is the expansion draft and who to protect. That will clear up some of the uncertainty surrounding players who are due to become free agents this offseason or players that they might want to trade.

The Predators are really a team that could go either direction next season. I don’t see them as a full-on rebuild type of team, but also don’t really see them as a deep playoff contender. They’re somewhere in the middle buried as an average team until this team takes on a more clear picture after free agency, which is currently expected to begin on July 28.

Here are the top contracts to focus on for Predators GM David Poile in what will be a busy offseason for him.

All contract info courtesy of PuckPedia.com

Pekka Rinne

No one really knows for sure what Pekka Rinne’s plans are as he’s now an unrestricted free agent. I’m sure the team would be thrilled to bring him back on a one-year deal to be Juuse Saros’ back-up, but the real question is if Rinne still wants to play.

It’s very possible, and I wouldn’t blame him one bit, that Rinne is ready to call it a career. The elusive Stanley Cup is the only thing he hasn’t accomplished in his outstanding career.

If I’m Poile I’m doing what I can to make sure Rinne knows how much the team would love to have him back for another year as it wasn’t the goaltending that was the main problem for the Predators.

Fixing other big weaknesses that the team will make the goaltending look much better in 2021-22, and I love the thought of having Saros and Rinne back as a one-two combination.

There’s a good chance that if Rinne does want to come back for another season with the Predators that he’d be willing to do it for a team-friendly deal. This will be a main topic to keep an eye on all offseason.

Current Cap Hit: $5M

Juuse Saros

It’s not a matter of if the Predators will re-sign Saros, it’s just a matter of what the contract will look like. He absolutely proved to management that he’s the franchise goaltender for the foreseeable future.

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Simply put, the Predators don’t even sniff the postseason without Saros’ stellar play in net over the last two months of the season. Even furthermore, the Predators probably get swept convincingly in the first round of the playoffs without Saros.

Saros is becoming a restricted free agent. The Predators will work out a contract that should be a good one for Saros considering how much he carried the team. Poile knows that Saros is the foundation of this team, just like Rinne was for so many years.

The only big question mark for Saros is postseason success, and even though the Predators got eliminated in six games, he delivered against the high pressure and wasn’t the reason they got ousted by the Hurricanes.

I’m expecting around a three or four-year deal worth at least $5M per year, and that might be on the conservative side. Poile might go all in and sign him for a much longer term contract. It will be interesting to see what it ends up looking like.

Current Cap Hit: $1.5M

Mikael Granlund

Granlund is another unrestricted free agent that I’m not sold on that will return to the team. The team initially let him test the free agency water last offseason and he ultimately returned for another season.

It actually ended up being a respectable season for Granlund as he was tied for the team-lead in goals with 13 and fourth in points with 27. Did he do enough for the Predators to actually sign him to a multi-year deal. I’m not convinced in that.

I’d like to see Granlund return to the Predators and continue to be a top-six player, preferably on the second line, but what happens in the expansion draft will affect this planning for Poile.

Granlund is rated No.18 in The Hockey News’ top-30 unrestricted free agents. He’ll definitely draw some interest if he decides to test the open market again, and should get more interest than he did last offseason when there were more challenged with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Current Cap Hit: $3.75M

Erik Haula

I’ve really enjoyed watching Haula play this season. He plays with a ton of tenacity and energy that spreads to the rest of the team. He gradually found his place on the roster as the season wore on.

With that said, I don’t expect Haula to return. It looks like a one and done situation for him in Nashville. Poile should go a different direction with this roster in terms of forwards and free up space for other up-and-comers within the pipeline.

It’s a been a major topic of conversation that this team has a logjam of forwards which made for some difficult lineups decisions, especially when the playoffs got here.

Unfortunately as much as I became a fan of Haula and the way he played, I’m expecting him to go elsewhere this offseason. It was fun having him here for at least one season, and also seeing him tick off Hurricanes fans.

Current Cap Hit: $1.75M

Matt Duchene

He’s obviously not a free agent, but I think the Matt Duchene experiment in a Predators uniform needs to come to an end. It’s just never panned out here, and that contract gives me headaches every time I have to think of it.

This is where the expansion draft and the Seattle Kraken can come into play. The Predators’ best-case scenario is they find a way to send Duchene to the Kraken and they take on at least part of his contract.

Duchene could end up thriving in Seattle around more skilled players that fit his playing style. That hasn’t been the case here in Nashville for the most part, and this $8M per year contract that goes until 2025 is one I want the Predators to get out of if possible.

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Sending Duchene to Seattle could actually be a win-win for both parties. Duchene could get a chance for a fresh start and thrive with a new franchise while the Predators solve their expansion draft dilemma and shed what was a horrible contract by Poile.

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