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Predators Chairman’s bold statements will be put to the test

Claude Giroux, Shea Weber

Shea Weber #6 of the Nashville Predators battles for the puck with Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of an NHL hockey game at the Wells Fargo Center on February 3, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Flyers won 3-2. (February 2, 2011 - Source: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images North America)

This has been a trying summer for the Nashville Predators. They’ve already lost Ryan Suter and now they have to decide whether or not to match the Philadelphia Flyers’ massively frontloaded, 14-year, $110 million offer sheet with Shea Weber.

If they do so, they’ll have to pay Weber $52 million over the next four seasons alone. That’s a tough pill to swallow financially, but as Nate Rau of The Tennessean pointed out, Predators Chairman Tom Cigarran made some bold statements earlier this summer.

Cigarran claimed that the Predators’ budget would reach new highs and “we’re not going to lose players because of money.”

Cigarran also stated at the time that “the only way we’ll lose them is if there’s some chemistry issue, or their grandmother lives in Montreal or something, the intangibles. But they know we’re competitive, and they know we’re committed after this season, so we’re in a really good place.”

You could make a strong argument that the Predators ultimately lost Suter due to the intangibles. It would be harder to paint the same picture for Weber, seeing as keeping him is as simple as writing a check. That being said, it would be a very large check and one to a player that doesn’t want to go through another rebuilding process.

So maybe if the Predators decline to match the offer, they’ll claim that it was because of a potential “chemistry issue.” Still, this summer has certainly tested Cigarran’s earlier upbeat and bold statements.