by Michael Pantaleone
When the Philadelphia Flyers signed Shea Weber to a 14 year, $110 million offer sheet last summer, it sent shock waves throughout the NHL.
The rumors had been circulating for some time, but nobody believed the Flyers would actually send an offer sheet to the Nashville Predators captain. After trade talks between the two teams reportedly went sour, Philadelphia brass crossed their fingers and toes and sent the offer sheet, which was quickly signed by Shea Weber. Philadelphia had finally gotten their new franchise defenseman.
The expectation in Philly was that such an albatross contract could not possibly be matched by Nashville, and they would have no choice but to accept the massive amount of first round draft picks as compensation. But alas, the Predators were not just about to let their franchise defenseman walk, especially after losing Ryan Suter not long before.
In the end, the Predators matched the ludicrous offer, and General Manager Paul Holmgren & Co. ran home with their tails between their legs. Nashville had retained their top defenseman.
For the time being, at least.
Soon after Weber had signed the offer sheet with Philadelphia, his agent, Jarrett Bousquet spoke with TSN Radio. During the interview, Bousquet was asked if Shea would prefer that Nashville would NOT match the offer sheet, making him a Philadelphia Flyer for the next 14 years. His answer was quite interesting:
“I don’t think you sign an offer sheet unless you’re pointing in that one direction, so, to answer your question, it’s really up to them (Nashville). He’d like to play with the Flyers, because we all feel that he’s just another piece in the puzzle to take them to the next level and he doesn’t want to go through a rebuilding process again.”
While we all know by now that Shea Weber has played another full season with Nashville since that comment was made, it is still something that has stuck with me ever since I first read about it. At the very least, those comments had to make things a little more awkward between Weber’s agent and Nashville after the fact.
Under the rules of the former CBA, Weber was unable to be traded or on any other team’s roster for one full year from the day of the offer sheet. If I’m correct, that date is July 19th, 2012.
Even though the Flyers added Islanders captain and defenseman Mark Streit last month, Philly is still lacking that top defenseman. Kimmo Timonen has one year left on his contract. Most defensive prospects are still at least two seasons away. We can all agree that what we saw last season was atrocious.
The Flyers have made it known that certain players on the roster may be available via trade, such as Braydon Coburn and Matt Read, but so far they remain on the roster. Is that just because Holmgren hasn’t found a fair offer for them? Or is he perhaps saving them to make a mega-offer to Nashville for Shea Weber? It sure makes you wonder.
Philadelphia designed the entire Shea Weber deal, which would make such a massive deal easier to swallow since they were already expecting to add it to the books anyway. Trading a player like Coburn in the potential deal would make it even easier for the Flyers to handle, as Coburn’s cap hit alone would shave $4.5 million off of Weber’s $7.86 million cap hit for Philly.
With the addition of Seth Jones on the blue line, Shea Weber may very well be “expendable”. I put the quotations because a player of his magnitude should never be expendable, but if the deal is too good to resist…
So, is Shea Weber still a possibility for Philadelphia?
I’d say yes.
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If the flyers are in the market for a Dman they would be better off looking to Vancouver. Edler could be had for prospects and draft choices and has a low cap hit. He is not Weber, I agree but still a top pairing Dman on any team.
If I were Nashville, I would make sure that Weber never played in Phili. They went after a team they saw as weak and tried to bully them. If, indeed, the press cannot afford to keep him, they should talk to all the other teams in the same division as The flyers and make a deal with one of them. With Kovalchuck gone, New Jersey may be in the market. Both New York teams may have the assets to make the trade. A swap with Pittsburg for Latang or Malkin and draft picks may be possible. Perhaps Washington could find a deal.
The flyers are not the only option for Nashville. They may get as good a deal from others and force the Flyers to face Weber on a regular basis.
Hope this guy knows everybody in the 615 area code is laughing their collective butts off over this. Weber’s the team captain and wayyyy too important to the franchise to let walk, even if we hadn’t already paid him the gross national product of several small nations, just about. Too funny that so many East Coast teams think they’re so irresistible.
“But I will say this, there HAS been talk about it within the hockey community, and there are some who believe that the Flyers may be preparing to offer a mega-deal to the Predators in the next few weeks.”
Your journalistic integrity is a sad as your column. I’d LOVE to know who your “sourrrrces” are and who “some” are. Have a little decency and pride in your work and don’t make crap up just so people will finally pay attention to you.
The section you referred to has been removed by an editor – it should not have been published.
Who is this fool and who allowed him to write such an uninformed and speculative piece of garbage? Credibility? Um no….
This whole thing happened because Philly didn’t want to part with any assets. “Mezsaros, Read, and a bag of pucks” was why the deal soured. Holmgren wanted something for nothing (although he is to be thanked for not putting a no-move/no-trade into the offer).
Feel free to pursue him in 2027.
lol. Weber is owed 13mil in signing bonus this year, which he got on July 1st. He is paid 1mil in salary over the rest of the year. The idea that Nashville, having already paid 13/14ths of his yearly salary, will now send him to spend the year playing for Flyers is completely ludicrous.
Oh you’re serious? Let me laugh even harder.
Philly’s obsession with Weber is hilarious. Absolutely no chance Nashville moves Weber any time soon. They have already paid him over $26 million! Why trade him now?!
As someone else has already said, Weber’s deal gets less expensive over time, so the initial “pain” of his absurd contract is over.
Comparing Seth Jones to Shea Weber is an apples to oranges type comparison since Jones only yesterday signed his entry-level contract. We don’t yet know if he will be a bust. This fact alone makes your statement “With the addition of Seth Jones on the blue line, Shea Weber may very well be ‘expendable'” sort of laughable. I understand that you’re biased toward Philly, but I think the Flyers currently have a less than zero chance of signing Weber in the next several years. And (I think, at least) it would take a lot more than Coburn and picks to lure the Predators management into even entertaining a Weber trade.
But, then again, you never know…Weber could pull a Suter on everyone.
I don’t think he is a possibility. He would cost at least Couturier/Schenn + and I don’t think the Flyers are willing to move either of them.
Flyers fans a deluding themselves if they think Nashville management would even pick up the phone, after the Flyers tried to destroy the Predator’s franchise with that same offer sheet.
The reason most teams avoid offer sheets, especially predatory ones like that one, is because it torpedos the relationship between GMs.
Seems as though Nashville’s going to be playing footsie with the Capitals going forward – plans are being built around upcoming forward Forsberg… Hopefully Erat pans out for them.
I’d say no. After paying him $14,000,000 for last season the deal only gets cheaper as the years go on. You think they’d trade him? And what “talk of this in the hockey community” has happened? Why dont you link to some of it so we can read all about it. How about you also talk about who is going back the other way in this “trade”. Coburn and what? Coburn, Schenn, Couturier, the other Schenn might be a start.
Why don’t we wait a couple more years so we can really pay ALL the big money…. then trade him. STUPID!