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Shea Weber, Predators actually make it to salary arbitration today

Phoenix Coyotes v Nashville Predators

of the Phoenix Coyotes of the Nashville Predators at the Bridgestone Arena on November 30, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bruce Bennett

In some ways, Nashville Predators GM David Poile seems like the Billy Beane of the NHL. Maybe his teams aren’t lighting the world on fire, but they win an impressive amount of games with a bargain basement team and an overarching philosophy. (The Predators replace the Oakland A’s tunnel vision for on-base percentage and playing the percentages in general with a steadfast approach to slowly developing prospects and playing world-class defense.)

Poile’s long run of competence makes this summer even stranger. First, the team dealt with the embarrassment (though not many, if any, significantly inflated costs) when Poile conjured Dale Tallon’s spirit by having a mishap getting qualifying offers to the team’s restricted free agents. Those issues would have been swept under the rug if it weren’t for everything that lead up to today.

It’s probably not fair to lay all the blame at Poile’s feet, but there will be many who point their fingers in his direction while discussing the fact that Shea Weber actually did make it to salary arbitration. The two sides still have time to make points and rebuttals, although Weber’s world-class status leads to some rather amusing Internet snark about the Predators’ lack of a counterargument. It’s easy to joke about the situation, but the bottom line is that the Predators must walk on egg shells while arguing any points against the face of their franchise. It should be abundantly obvious that this isn’t the best case scenario for Nashville.

We’ll keep you updated throughout today, although you must note that the arbitrator has 48 hours to crunch the numbers and make a decision. As Dirk Hoag pointed out, Weber and the Predators actually could come to terms on a separate contract during that period. If not, the Predators won’t have any choice but to accept the arbitrator’s one or two year award for Weber.

This is a nerve-wracking day for hockey fans in Nashville, with implications on the franchise and perhaps other notable restricted free agents (Drew Doughty) from around the league. Stick with us during your #WeberWatch as we follow that and other hockey news today.