Iron Crotch

Thinking about Jhonas Enroth as a free agent signing... and now I have this old Weezer song stuck in my head...

We don't need drifters who show no interest in defensive zone coverage. No thanks.

I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with you. :) If Lehner struggles, this team is ######.

The Preds are trying to corner the market on Swiss players. Josi, Fiala, and now Weber.

Dude was hated by his teammates here in Nashville. But, he certainly has talent...

If my count is correct, we're sitting on 5 (Kane, Ennis, Moulson, Deslauriers, Foligno) and potentially 6 (Vesey) left wingers. Moving one for Fowler, who the Ducks pretty much have to trade, makes sense.

None of the moves up front matter without consistent goaltending. Murray is putting all his eggs into one basket with Robin Lehner.

Johnson was very solid last year. From my perspective, I'm not sure why Murray didn't just bring him back.

This is what pissed David Poile off. Vesey absolutely told the Preds he'd sign with them at the end of his college career, but that a Harvard degree is something he needed to achieve. So, the Preds stood by him for 4 years. Then at the last minute he told the Preds "I never intended to sign with you." Dick move. Within his rights. But, still a dick move. I have to believe the Sabres traded for his rights only after getting some sort of indication that he'd sign with Buffalo. Otherwise it is a waste of a draft pick on the part of Murray. We shall see...

Boooooo. I liked Hanging Chad.

Johnson is better than Hutton (although Carter did have an unusually good season). Trust me on this one. I've seen Hutton play a ton.

The term on some of these contracts for guys on the wrong side of 30 is pretty ridiculous. Backes is 32. But, a few guys are effective late into their 30s, so maybe it will work for the B's.

7 year deal.

I can't keep up with all the tweets and threads. Information overload.

Yeah, free agency is an auction (bidding) situation. You don't get the player if you don't slightly overpay. It is how it works. We have a ton of cap room, so I don't see the problem with throwing out some money to bring in a top winger. As others have said upthread, it isn't Stamkos money or anything.

Where is Georges Laraque these days?

The Preds did that last year with Seth Jones. Their top-4 is set with Josi, Subban, Matti Ekholm, and Ellis. That won't change. Jackman has one year left at #5 and Anthony Bitetto is not bad as a #6 d-man. IMHO (as a season ticket holder), the Preds biggest issue is at #2 center. Mike Ribero is 36 and was a disinterested drifter through most of the playoffs last year.

His earnings would have been maximized by signing with Nashville after his college season ended. He'd have been paid for last season and his ELC would have kicked in a year sooner. He left substantial money on the table by NOT signing with Nashville.

Weber isn't in decline. If any of you actually watched the Preds regularly you would know that. Guy scored 20 goals last year (4th among all NHL defensemen) and was top-10 in minutes played in the NHL. This deal makes perfect sense to me from the Habs perspective, at least in the short term. David Poile approached the Habs about this deal on Friday and they jumped at it. I honestly think the Preds will be worse next year without their Captain and undisputed locker room leader.

WADR, you have no idea what you are talking about with respect to Shea Weber. He is as good of an all-around defenseman as this league has ever seen. Shea is known for his huge shot, but he is perhaps the most accurate point shooter I've ever seen. He can consistently one-time shots into very tight windows from the point. It is a thing of beauty to watch live (been a Preds season ticket holder for most of the past decade). Personally, I don't love this trade for the Preds. Stats aside, Shea is the undisputed leader of the team, scores the big goals when they're needed, and is the team's only physical presence on the defensive end (other than Jackman). PK and Josi will be fun to watch... but won't be the best pair in their own zone.

I agree. And, we had every opportunity to take a Russian defensemen in the first round this year (Sergachev)... and went with a Swedish winger instead.

I see that Grant Clitsome retired earlier this month. :(

Probably not enough cap space. The Preds badly need to dump Ribero (awful in the playoffs), but no one will take his contract.

Supposedly Okposo is a Plan-B option for Murray if Stamkos doesn't sign in Buffalo. A ton of teams are in on Okposo though, so he'd be a tough pull unless we outbid everyone. He is from Minnesota and with them dumping Vanek, they may be the favorites.