Will we have to say goodbye to our favorite Belarusian?
Many Preds fans are grinding their teeth tonight as the NHLPA has announced it will be filing a grievance against the Nashville Predators and GM David Poile for improperly filing offers for a few key players who now are up for become UFAs (Unrestricted Free Agents).
From the picture, you can tell Sergei Kostitsyn is one of the key players, but the list also includes:
Nick Spaling
Matt Halischuk
Cal O’Reilly
Linus Klasen
Chris Mueller
Andreas Thuresson
Now you’re thinking, “Uh oh, not good.” and yes, you are correct. David Poile definitely dropped the ball on this one and most everyone would agree SK74, if made a UFA, will be the hardest to wrangle. Although he was quoted as saying he wants to stay with the Predators, SK74 is grossly underpaid compared to his counterparts (of course, this is due in part he was kicked away from many other clubs and was consider a risk) and, due to his breakout season with the Preds, Kostitsyn will find himself looking at many high paying offers that the Predators may not be able to compete with. In a nutshell, all teams are in search of good offensive players and SK74 is a diamond in the rough.
Nick Spaling will also be a punch in the gut, along with new comer Matt Halischuk. However, not is all lost… yet. Three things can happen here:
- Players will become Unrestricted Free Agents due to Poile missing the 5pm ET deadline on Monday and misfiling the qualifying offers. We don’t want this.
- The Predators start naming offers (basically) trying to convince the players to sign before the verdict is announced.
- The Predators (somehow, with sheer luck) win the case and the 7 players remain Restricted Agents.
Lady Preds 