Could the Predators lose both Ryan Suter and Shea Weber this summer? ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun thinks it’s very possible:
It’ll be interesting to see how Weber reacts depending on what Suter does. Would Weber want to sign long-term if Suter leaves? Can the Preds afford to keep Weber around another season if he doesn’t want to sign a long-term extension? I just don’t see how they can. If Weber doesn’t sign long-term, surely the Preds have to shop him this summer. Either Suter and Weber both sign extensions to stay in Nashville or they’re both gone this summer. There doesn’t seem to be any in-between, in my mind.
Losing both defensemen would be devastating for the Preds in the near term. Suter would walk away for free as an unrestricted free agent and it would be almost impossible to land a comparable player for Weber, mostly because there aren’t many comparable players and nobody wants to trade the ones that are.
Granted, Weber would still net the Preds a good return – especially if the acquiring team can lock him up long-term and remove the risk of losing him as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Assuming GM David Poile can turn Weber into some top-end prospects, at the very least he can get a head start on rebuilding.
Of course, there’s still the chance Suter and Weber could re-sign long-term in Nashville. And you never know – maybe Weber doesn’t need Suter to stay for him to stay as well.
At any rate, it shouldn’t be long before we know Suter’s intentions, after which the dominos will start to fall.