We’re still over a month away from free agency but for Nashville’s Ryan Suter, the game of being a potential free agent is already underway.
According to Joshua Cooper of The Tennessean, Suter will likely be meeting with his agent Neil Sheehy next week to start talking about what to do about his future. According to Sheehy, Suter just wanted to take some time off to let playoff disappointment wash over him.
“Right now I want to honor Ryan’s request to unwind for two weeks,” Sheehy said on Thursday. “I want to take two weeks to unwind and it hasn’t been two weeks.”
That two weeks is up next week and the Predators are likely eager to start up contract talks. The Preds have until July 1 to do their best to convince Suter that Tennessee is the place for him for the next however many years or else Suter can wait and see what the rest of the NHL would like to pony up for him.
With Pekka Rinne’s big extension kicking in and Shea Weber in need of a long-term extension as well, the Predators would need to get creative and convincing to show Suter that they’ve got what it takes to be winners for a long time. The offseason games have just begun.