Predators Defenseman the Philadelphia Flyers Should Trade For

On July 19, 2012, Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators signed a 14-year offer-sheet given by Paul Holmgren of the Philadelphia Flyers. It was supposed to help the Flyers get a true #1 defenseman for the future. That was until David Poile, GM of the Predators, did the most logical thing possible and matched the offer sheet.

Since then beat writers and fans have been pining to see Weber donn the Flyers crest.

The conversation hasn’t stopped for two years and it’s becoming aggravating. It’s time to stop worrying about trading for Shea Weber and start worrying about trading for another defenseman on Nashville’s blueline…Roman Josi.

Roman Josi is one of the most underrated defenseman in the league. A poised offensive defenseman who creates chances, can quarterback a powerplay and move the puck up ice with ease. He’s only 23-years old (24 on June 1st) and carries with him a cap hit of $4M until 2020. With Shea Weber, Seth Jones, and the rest of the strong defensive core Nashville has put into place, Roman Josi is likely expendable and the Philadelphia Flyers make good trading partners.

Roman Josi Predators
(Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports)

The two teams have made trades as far back as 1999, but the most notable one has been trading a 1st-round pick in 2007 for the rights to Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen, two players who have been a staple for the Flyers for the majority of their careers. And with Nashville possibly having interest in Vinny Lecavalier – according to Elliotte Friedman – the teams could work out a deal and get pieces both desperately need. Nashville has nearly $23M in cap space heading into the offseason with only one major UFA to re-sign, Patrick Eaves, so they certainly have the cap space to make a move.

I have no clue what the asking price would be, but the Flyers do need to move some salary. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of packaging Lecavalier and Luke Schenn along with a 2nd/3rd. The Flyers would end up increasing their cap space whilst getting a top pairing defenseman. The Predators would receive  a scoring forward and another defenseman to play 2nd or 3rd pairing minutes. It’s not a bad deal for either side.

As for Shea Weber:

Follow Shawn on Twitter: @ShawnTHW

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