Predators organization stuck with Brett Lebda after he clears waivers

By James O'BrienAug 8, 2011, 3:49 PM EDT

When you’re trying to run a playoff team on a limited budget, there probably aren’t many off-seasons that should be categorized as “easy.” Even so, this has been an especially tough one for Nashville Predators GM David Poile.

Three big headaches come to mind. While it didn’t really have disastrous consequences, the Predators failed to file their qualifying offers for seven players in a satisfactory way, creating a situation that was far more difficult than it had to be. The team’s biggest problem of the off-season was “solved” in a rather stomach-churning way, as Shea Weber received a hefty salary of $7.5 million while only guaranteeing one year of his services after the team failed to avoid arbitration.

The third headache was another self-inflicted wound, as the Predators made a salary-dumping trade that sent concussed center Matthew Lombardi and solid young offensive defenseman Cody Franson to Toronto for Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney. To call that trade one-sided in favor of the Maple Leafs is an understatement.

That disparity was made much clearer when the Predators put Lebda on unconditional waivers, with plenty of speculation regarding whether or not they could buyout the oft-criticized defenseman. It’s not totally clear if the Predators can do that (I’m leaning toward “No” but we shall see), but one thing is clear: no other NHL teams are interested in taking that problem off Nashville’s hands. Lebda reportedly cleared waivers today.

Assuming that a buyout isn’t an option, Lebda will cost the Predators $1.45 million next season whether he plays in the NHL or AHL because of his one-way contract. The only difference is that his $1.45 million cap hit won’t register if he’s “buried” in the minors, but that really isn’t much of a benefit for a team that probably won’t exceed the $48.3 million cap floor by much next season.

It’s hard not to feel a bit of sympathy for Lebda, who was kicked around for his struggles in Toronto and clearly isn’t wanted by Nashville. With Lebda out of the picture, the Predators will be forced to turn to a very green group of young defenseman in depth roles, as Joe discussed on Saturday.

The Predators might be wise to bring in a veteran unrestricted free agent to at least give the team a bit of a safety net if their young defenseman wobble. Looking at CapGeek’s list, the pickings are pretty slim but perhaps they could convince someone like Paul Mara, Karlis Skrastins or even Scott Hannan to eat up minutes if the price is right.

If any coach can make it work though, it’s Barry Trotz. Still, the Predators are making a pretty big gamble during a season in which they need to convince their “Big 3” of Weber, Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne to stick around. The last couple months probably haven’t helped matters a whole lot.

As Rangers second buyout window approaches, Wojtek Wolski watch begins

By Joe YerdonJul 27, 2011, 8:55 PM EDT
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When the Rangers got the deal done with Ryan Callahan this afternoon for three years and nearly $13 million, they were able to get their forward lines all squared away and under contract. With Callahan also being their last restricted free agent to be signed, it also means that their second buyout period is set to begin at midnight.

With the Rangers being at just over $700,000 under the salary cap, the Rangers might be seeking out a little extra room under the cap. With the Rangers having a few extra forwards under contract and only 12 spots for starters, there are a few guys that could be getting a long look in regard to their salary cap hits. The main guy that could find himself on the chopping block is Wojtek Wolski.

With Wolski coming with a $3.8 million cap hit this season, buying him out would give the Rangers a nice cushion of cap space. As Andrew Gross from Rangers Rants tells us, however, don’t expect the Rangers to be too busy over the next 48 hours during their final shot at buyouts.

But not only is there no buyout of Wolski coming over the next couple of days, it’s almost a near certainty he will not be traded between now and the start of training.

The trick may come if the Rangers want to start the season with both Tim Erixon ($1.75 million) and Michael Del Zotto ($1.09 million) on their roster. They have approximately $700,000 left in cap space including Erixon as one of the six defensemen on the roster but not including Del Zotto. However, it also includes center Erik Christensen ($925,000) who may find himself squeezed from a roster spot now that the team has signed Brad Richards. The Rangers currently have 14 forwards, including Mats Zuccarello ($1.75 million) and could opt to carry just 13.

It’s a curious plan for the Rangers, but dancing near the cap is nothing new for competing teams. We saw the Devils handle things rather poorly last season while trying to balance how to handle having Ilya Kovalchuk’s deal as well as other bloated contracts on the roster to go with it. The Rangers do have enough flexibility with their contracts that they can get away with some lineup juggling if need be, but if minor injuries pile up and players can’t be placed on long term injured reserve, trouble managing the cap could arise.

The Rangers are better off having that offensive depth and while the addition of Brad Richards will help perk up their offense, they’ll need more goals from all their lines to win. Keeping Wolski as well as Erik Christensen and others who could be cap casualties is key for New York since they don’t have the minor league depth to help support them offensively if things go wrong. Losing Wolski could help the Rangers financially, but he’ll be able to give some help scoring and who knows… Perhaps playing in the final year of his contract will help motivate him to play focused regularly.