The offseason is now in full swing with the draft now complete and free agency on the horizon. What storylines lie ahead around the league in the weeks to come? Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Nashville Predators.
After making it to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2017, the Predators were hoping to take that final step and take home the title in 2017-18. However, despite some midseason additions including center Kyle Turris, Nashville instead went down in the second round at the hands of Winnipeg. With most of the team already signed for next season, Nashville’s offseason keys revolve decisions regarding their own players.
Ellis Extension
The Preds have reaped the benefits of some of their top defensemen playing for below-market value. Among those players is Ryan Ellis who is set to enter the final year of his deal that pays $3.5MM in cash with just a $2.5MM cap hit. Suffice it to say, his next contract is going to cost a whole lot more.
While he missed 38 games due to injury this past season, the 27-year-old still managed to put up an impressive 32 points, tying the second-most of his career. He also has logged more than 23 minutes a night in each of the last two seasons, averages that blueliners on the top pairing often receive. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ellis seek a new deal that’s commensurate with that of a top pairing defender even though he ranked fourth on the team in ice time in 2017-18.
With the jump in his role in recent years and the expected increase in the salary cap, Ellis could push for a deal in the $7MM per season range. Fortunately for Nashville, both Roman Josi ($4MM) and Mattias Ekholm ($3.75MM) are still on below-market deals so they should be able to fit that into their payroll structure without too much difficulty. GM David Poile called this extension Nashville’s biggest priority for the offseason so expect them to try to get something done as soon as possible; no deal can be officially announced until July 1st.
Decisions In Goal
Pekka Rinne is coming off a solid regular season but an ugly showing in the playoffs. Between that and his age (35), some are wondering how much longer he’s going to be the starter in Nashville. He is entering the final year of his contract in 2018-19 with a $7MM cap hit and salary. They’ll have to decide whether or not to look into an extension or whether to ride out 2018-19 with him as the starter and then reassess the situation next offseason.
Then there’s backup Jusse Saros. He is coming off of his entry-level contract and posted a career-best .925 SV% in 26 games while faring well in relief action during the postseason. He has the potential to be a starter but at just 5’11, he’s undersized for the position which could call into question his long-term viability to play that role.
From there, he could sign a couple of different contracts. It would make sense for Nashville to push for a bridge deal (two or three years) that would give them some stability at the position with Rinne’s uncertain future. However, from Saros’ perspective, a one-year pact may make more sense as that would line up his next trip in restricted free agency with Rinne becoming a UFA while he’d also have arbitration rights at that time. If they plan to make the 23-year-old the starter beginning in 2019-20, he’d have more leverage for a bigger deal at that time. Second contracts for backup goalies usually aren’t a big deal but this is an interesting case to keep tabs on.
Re-Sign Hartman
One of Nashville’s in-season additions was winger Ryan Hartman, who the Preds dealt their first-round pick in the draft (27th overall). The move didn’t exactly pan out as well as they may have hoped for. While he played a regular role down the stretch, his playing time diminished in the postseason to less than 12 minutes per night while being a healthy scratch four times as well.
The 23-year-old has completed his entry-level deal and while things didn’t go overly well with Nashville, he is still coming off of his second straight 31-point season (with most of his 2017-18 points coming with Chicago). That should have him in line for a raise on the $833K he earned in each of the past two seasons.
Considering how he fared with his new team, a long-term deal is out of the question and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides work towards a one-year pact, especially since Hartman’s availability to start next season is in question following shoulder surgery last month. Given what they gave up for him, it’s clear that Nashville sees him as part of their long-term future but a ‘prove it’ contract makes the most sense for them this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.