Brett Lebda’s very short-lived days as a Nashville Predator are over. According to James Mirtle of The Globe And Mail, the Predators have bought out the recently acquired blue liner.
Lebda was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal that saw Nashville send defenseman Cody Franson and concussed forward Matt Lombardi to Toronto in exchange for Lebda and Robert Slaney. The deal was a cost-cutting move for Nashville as they were unsure if Lombardi would be able to come back this season while he recovers from a concussion suffered early last season. As it turns out, he’s making progress and could very well play this seasons.
Lebda was due to make $1.45 million this year and compete for a spot in the top six of the Predators defensive unit but will instead be dead weight against their cap the next two seasons as two-thirds of his $1.45 million will be paid out over that time. After a miserable season in Toronto, Lebda proved to be one of Leafs GM Brian Burke’s more questionable signings, but that bad signing has instead turned into at least one quality defenseman in Franson and a potential top-six forward (when healthy) in Lombardi. It was a good deal alone with Franson but if Lombardi comes back to play, it’s a robbery by Burke on Predators GM David Poile.