The Nashville Predators were one of the busiest teams at the opening of the NHL’s free agency period, signing several high profile free agents, including former Lightning star Steven Stamkos.
In addition to Stamkos, the club also signed 2023 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Brady Skjei to multi-year deals as well.
The acquisition of Stamkos comes on the heels of talks between the forward’s camp and the Lightning front office falling through. According to reports, Tampa Bay was only willing to offer a deal in the $3-4M AAV range to retain the 34 year old.
That figure would represent a significant pay cut from his previous deal (an 8 year $68M pact signed back in 2016, but also well shy of his open market value as well. Stamkos’ group was less than enthused with the offer and opted to test free agency rather than continue negotiations with the Bolts.
The former number 1 overall selection took to social media in the wake of his new deal to thank the Lightning fans for their unwavering support over the years. “Thank you, Tampa. I don’t have the words yet … I will soon. It’s still too early to process,” Stamkos said in a statement. “Just wanted everyone to know how thankful we are for 16 years as a Bolt. My family and I are excited for the next chapter.”
However, Stamkos is far from the only big name free agent who will don a new yellow jersey in “Smashville” next season. Joining him will be 33 year old Jonathan Marchessault who signed a five-year, $27.5M contract with a $5.5M AAV. After scoring 42 goals and 27 assists in 82 games last season with Vegas, Marchessault was allowed to walk due to salary cap purposes.
Finally, 30 year old blue liner Brady Skjei inked a seven-year contract with a $7 million AAV. Entering his 10th NHL season, having played for the Ranger and Hurricane recorded a career high 47 points in 80 games last season.
Skjei’s addition bolsters an already stout Predators defence corps which features Roman Josi and Luke Schenn amongst others.
However, Nashville could still have additional moves to make. After inking goaltender Juuse Saros to a mega 8 year extension, rumours began circulating that the club was looking to trade into the top 5 at the recent NHL Entry Draft. The Predators were reportedly dangling super-prospect Yaroslav Askarov as trade bait, and could still be in the market to ship out the young goaltender to a goalie desperate team.
Photo: Lisa Gansky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.