Everyday I'm expecting to see something come up that either Philip Tomasino or Juuso Parssinen has been re-signed by the Nashville Predators, but as of late August, these two remain restricted free agents.
Especially after trading Cody Glass and acquiring an additional $2.5 million in cap space, I figured at least one of the two would quickly be given a new contract. Particularly Parssinen, who should come slightly cheaper than Tomasino may get.
Despite training camp being less than a month away, GM Barry Trotz has some time to work out whatever is holding things up. It could be that he's working on yet another trade, or it might be that he's stumped and doesn't know exactly what the best path forward is.
Can Trotz make the numbers work for keeping both Parssinen and Tomasino?
When trying to compare the future value of these two, Tomasino definitely has the higher ceiling to eventually become a consistent offensive player with even top-six potential at his very peak. However, Parssinen is probably the safer pick because of his physical game and skill set that serves him well in a depth position at third or fourth line.
The Predators currently have $3,095,801 in projected cap space according to PuckPedia. That is basically nothing in salary cap terms. Trotz has very little room to operate here, and of course Spencer Stastney is signed to a two-way deal that will affect this if he starts the season on the NHL level.
This is why this hasn't been a speedy process getting Parssinen and Tomasino new deals. Trotz might be stuck having to choose between who to keep and who to let go. I find it hard to believe he'll be able to hold onto both.
That is unless Tomasino in particular really wants to stay here in Nashville and takes less money than maybe he could get on the open market.
I can see Parssinen signing for around $1 million, which isn't a big increase in yearly pay, but it would be his first NHL standard contract. And would be more than what veterans Mark Jankowski and Michael McCarron are making, and the same amount that Cole Smith is making. That would be a totally fair and reasonable contract offer for Parssinen.
As for Tomasino, something tells me he's going to want more thanks to his skill set and probably gather more interest on the open market. He's a former first-round pick who has averaged right around a 0.5 point per game pace, or a point every two games over his 148 NHL games.
Not shabby considering the first two of those seasons was under John Hynes, and Tomasino's ice time average has been pretty low at just 12:40 per game over the three seasons.
The Predators have already submitted a qualifying offer to Tomasino at $874,125 and Tomasino can still choose to take that offer. He might just be holding out to see if he can get more, which is what it seems like is happening now.
Tomasino might believe he's worth more in the $1.5 to $2 million range, and I'm not sure Trotz is willing to pay that much. If you crunch the numbers, there's not much room to pay Tomasino that range, and instead he'll have to be willing to take around the same amount of money that I proposed Parssinen take.
I really don't expect Parssinen or Tomasino to get an offer sheet from another team. That would force the Predators to either match the offer made by the other team, or lose the player but receive compensation. I just don't think the enthusiasm is that high on the open market for either player.
This is why the best case scenario in this situation still has a chance to happen. That would be both Parssinen and Tomasino taking team-friendly deals, bridge deals to give them opportunities to prove themselves that they deserve a longer and more lucrative NHL contract.
If that happens, then Trotz has the current cap space to make this work. It really hinges on what Tomasino expects his value to be and if he truly wants to stay with the Nashville Predators.
You can make an argument on keeping either player over the other. Tomasino has received his fair share of criticism for not adopting the Predators playing style of aggressive hockey and elevated intensity levels. Has he done anything over the offseason to change that narrative?
"“He needs to grab a little bit of the identity that we’ve created here,” Brunette said, per The Tennessean. “If he can, and if he puts the work in, and he’s relentless, then his skill will take over."Via SportsNet
If I was forced to wager on how this situation will end, I think Trotz signs Parssinen to around $1 million per year for two years, and Tomasino walks because he wants more money and a fresh start somewhere else. If he really values staying in Nashville, maybe he'll take a little less money to stay here and prove himself to Head Coach Andrew Brunette.
An opening night starting lineup without Parssinen makes things dicey for the Predators. They'll probably have to dip into their prospect pool. However, Tomasino is already a fringe starter and possibly a healthy scratch to open the season.