Whether you like it or not, the Predators organization and Mike Ribeiro have agreed on a two-year, $7M contract.
GM David Poile mentioned yesterday in his press conference with the media that the news of Ribeiro’s contract agreement would be made either last night or early this morning.
Source: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Predators General Manager David Poile met with the media today regarding free agency, the recent draft, and… you know, little stuff here and there. I’ve compiled some of the thousand tweets from media and condensed them for your reading pleasure:
In case you missed it, the NHL passed the new 3-on-3 overtime. As Poile mentioned, there’s a good chance we’ll see less shootouts now.
If you needed official word on Clune and Stalberg’s departure, here it is straight from the horse’s mouth. Stalberg’s buyout will cost the Predators $4.67M over the next four years. Yay.
As you recall (or if you missed it), Austin Watson was just signed to a two-year deal yesterday. It’s been a long time coming for the 2010 draft pick and it will be interesting where he’ll mesh in as far as the lineup goes.
Again, straight from the horse’s mouth himself. Take a deep breath and remember: patience is a virtue.
Yes, the Predators and David Poile have extended an offer to Mike Ribeiro. Please also remember the whole “innocent until proven guilty” motto. You know, the law.
Not much to commentate on as this information was made known much earlier.
We should all expect to hear whether or not Ribeiro accepts the Predators’ offer by this evening or early tomorrow morning.
Okay, here’s the statement everyone should read and set down their pitchforks. The NHL is involved, along with law enforcement. Poile would not have moved forward with offering Mike Ribeiro a new deal if he felt like this was going to continue imploding. This isn’t Poile’s first rodeo as GM, my friends.
Be ready for an explosion on Twitter and the Predators’ Facebook account.
No surprise that Volchenkov will be left to wander to greener pastures.
Another no surprise, Poile mentioned that the organization is actively seeking a trade involving goaltender Magnus Hellberg. Hellberg is definitely ready to move up to the NHL (or somewhere he’ll get the chance) and Nashville is overrun with netminder potential at this point. You know, especially after signing Saros the other day.
Honestly, I forgot he was injured. Good news – he’s doing well.
And, last but not least, Adam Vingan has this statement regarding the Ribeiro civil lawsuit. Maybe it will help lower the amount of torches and pitchforks a little, yes?
So, there you have it. Trust me, this is a condensed list of tweets from today’s presser. Free Agency starts tomorrow, July 1st. It should prove for an interesting day. I hope.
Fear not, Preds fans! The Predators extended qualifying offers to eight Restricted Free Agents all before the 4PM deadline this afternoon. Those eight players? Colin Wilson, Craig Smith, Gabriel Bourque, Anthony Bitetto, Calle Jarnkrok, Taylor Beck, Taylor Aronson, and Magnus Hellberg.
In a nutshell, by extending these qualifying offers, the Predators are still given the opportunity to continue negotiations with these particular players. This doesn’t stop these players from signing other contracts, but it does give Nashville the right to match or exceed these potential competitive offers. If the Predators do not choose to match or exceed an offer, they will be compensated for the player’s departure from the organization. If the Predators had not given these RFAs qualifying offers, these players would’ve become Unrestricted Free Agents on Wednesday, July 1st.
So, who didn’t receive qualifying offers? Well, that would be Zach Budish and Josh Shalla; two players that will hit the UFA market come July 1st.
Source: Frederick Breedon
Welp, free agency has begun and I may be a little busy with these posts for a while (hopefully). First to be signed is forward, Austin Watson, Nashville’s first round draft pick back in 2010. Here’s a little info from the official press release:
Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the club has signed forward Austin Watson to a two-year contract. The deal is a two-way contract in 2015-16 paying him $575,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level, and a one-way, $575,000 contract in 2016-17.
Buyout Updates:
Source: Frederick Breedon
Speculation has been running wild about when (not if) the Predators and Mike Fisher would come to an agreement on a new deal. And boy, did Fish get a raise! This morning, news was announced that the 35-year-old forward inked a two-year, $8.8M contract to remain in Nashville. Fisher will receive $4.8M of that deal in this upcoming 2016-15 season then the remaining $4M in the 2016-17 season.
So, breathe a sigh of relief, all you Fisher fans. He’s back.
Now that the season has officially ended (whether we want to cope with it or not), some of the Predators aren’t finished hitting the rinks just yet. Six – thus far – of Nashville’s players will be taking off to the Czech Republic to represent their home countries in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Here’s who we have thus far:
Since the tournament officially begins Friday, I do not if any other Predators will be added to their country’s rosters, but who knows.
As I mentioned, the tournament kicks off Friday with Team Latvia vs. Team Canada (4:15PM) and Team Czech vs. Team Sweden (8:15PM) in the O2 Arena and Team USA vs. Team Finland (4:15PM) and Team Russia vs. Team Norway (8:15PM) in the CEZ Arena. Let me elaborate on those puck drop times, too. Those times would be relevant to those within the Czech timezone; the Czech Republic is seven hours ahead of the Central Timezone. Needless to say, the first games would start at 9:15AM our time, and the second games would start at 1:15PM. Here’s a TV listing of where you can view the games:
| Date | Game | Network | Game time (CT) |
| Fri., May 1 | Team USA vs. Finland | NBCSN (live) | 9 a.m. |
| Sat., May 2 | Team USA vs. Norway | NBCSN (delay at 10 p.m.) | 1 p.m. |
| Mon., May 4 | Team USA vs. Russia | NBCSN (live) | 9 a.m. |
| Thur., May 7 | Team USA vs. Belarus | NBCSN (live) | 9 a.m. |
| Fri., May 8 | Team USA vs. Denmark | NBCSN (live) | 1 p.m. |
| Sun., May 10 | Team USA vs. Slovenia | NBCSN (delay at 2 p.m.) | 10 a.m. |
| Tue., May 12 | Team USA vs. Slovakia | NBCSN (live) | 10 a.m. |
| Thu., May 14 | IIHF Quarterfinals | NBCSN (live) | 8 a.m. |
| IIHF Quarterfinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 9 a.m. | |
| IIHF Quarterfinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 10:30 a.m. | |
| IIHF Quarterfinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 12 p.m. | |
| IIHF Quarterfinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 1 p.m. | |
| IIHF Quarterfinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 10:30 p.m. | |
| Sat., May 16 | IIHF Semifinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 8:30 a.m. |
| IIHF Semifinals | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 12 p.m. | |
| Sun., May 17 | IIHF Bronze Medal Game | Live Extra app, TV TBD | 11 a.m. |
| IIHF Gold Medal Game | NBCSN (live) | 1:30 p.m. |
I’ll update this list if anything changes or if any new players are added to their country’s rosters.
Information regarding Shea Weber’s injury sustained during Game 2 of the First Round of the playoffs was released moments ago by the Predators organization:
Shea Weber suffered a subluxed kneecap during Game Two of the Nashville Predators playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks. After multiple evaluations, Shea underwent a medical procedure. He is expected to make a full recovery within four to six weeks.
Ouchies. Anything involving an accident to the kneecap makes me cringe; probably you, too. Though some would argue that Shea Weber’s injury ultimately caused the downfall of the Predators to the Blackhawks in Round One, methinks they may have been doomed either way. However, his physicality and leadership mentality was sorely missed after leaving the series in Game 2.
By the way, I will write a recap of Game 6; I am still gathering the right words to say.
It comes to must of us as no surprise that the Predators organization announced moments ago that Captain Shea Weber would not be available for the remainder of this series with Chicago due to a lower-body injury. Here’s an excerpt from the official press release:
The Nashville Predators announced Friday that Captain Shea Weber will miss the remainder of the club’s Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Chicago Blackhawks due to a lower-body injury the defenseman suffered in Game Two of the series. However, contrary to erroneous broadcast and media reports over the last 24 hours, he did not suffer an ACL injury. Further updates will be provided as they become available
As you saw, his lower-body injury that he sustained during Game 2 of this series is not an ACL injury, despite NBC Sports reporting that is was during last night’s broadcast:
However, no ACL tear or injury is good news; that sort of stuff is bad news bears. More than likely, the Predators and Weber himself are erring on the side of caution. He’d really be useless if he returned before reaching 100% and injuring himself further or causing something to tear (or whatnot).
Note: Not actual photo of baby Fisher
The wait is officially over for all of you who have been on #babywatch for Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher’s little bundle of joy… he has made his official arrival.
https://twitter.com/carrieunderwood/status/572781877280579585
Isaiah Michael Fisher was born on February 27th, so kudos to both Team Carrie and Team Mike for keeping it secret for this long. Although, I must give credit to Justin Bradford, as he did call it the day of…
So take a deep breath — Baby Fisher has arrived and both mom & baby are doing great. Oh, it’s good to know that Mike Fisher scored a goal on his son’s birthday.
Lady Preds 