Julius Benedict meets Shea Weber and Predators benefit

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

One of the most unlikely cinematic pairings took place under the watch of Ivan Reitman in the Summer of 1988, as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up for the successful comedy-drama, "Twins."

The idea was that Schwarzenegger's character of Julius Benedict was the result of genetic experiments to produce the perfect offspring, while DeVito's Vincent Benedict was an unintentional side-effect -- hence the ironic title. The former bolts his island paradise where he was raised to enter the latter's Lion's Den of Los Angeles to find his long-lost sibling, and hilarity ensues.

One of the minor, but important plot points in the fish-out-of-water scenario, is that Julius blithely deals with the dangers of the real world by three key ideas, or rules of a crisis situation, confident his logic and his bulging physique will diffuse all trouble.

A crisis situation. That's certainly what the braintrust of the Nashville Predators encountered ever since Flyers GM Paul Holmgren issued his lightning bolt and signed restricted free agent defenseman Shea Weber to a $110 million, 14-year offer sheet last week.

Faced with the prospect of losing their top two blueliners in the wake of winning their first-ever playoff series in April (after Ryan Suter was lured away by a $98 million, 13-year deal with Minnesota), Preds GM David Poile and the consortium of owners stared down the barrel of a turning point for the franchise and didn't blink.

First rule: Don't move too soon. Negotiate first and attack last.

We know that Nashville put on the table a $21 million deal over three years during the course of last regular season that failed to impress Weber and his faction or spur any hint of contract negotiations.

So, it was pretty clear from the outset that the Predators weren't going to rush into anything, even after Suter's revealed collusion with Zach Parise to land somewhere together as an unrestricted free-agent package.

Weber, the team captain and biggest asset, made it clear he was going to explore all his options, and did so openly by visiting cities he was interested in, Philadelphia apparently being chief among them. All the while, Nashville played it cool, never giving in to any emotion (however rightful it may have been) on the prospect of their high-scoring game-changer departing with a big payday.

The organization was careful not to paint itself as satisfied with its situation sans Weber, lest it be interpreted as ready to cut ties.

While most of the hockey world assumed that Weber was gone, the implosion of the franchise was imminent and that the Predators organization was playing the bad guy for making us all wait so long, they made the smartest move of all. They made the most of their only bargaining chip in taking most of the mandated seven-day window to cast doubt on what was assumed to be a slam dunk.

Second rule: If you choose to bluff, you must be prepared to have your bluff called. 

Here's where Holmgren sneaks in. Already having submitted offers to both Parise and Suter that acted more like an agent provocateur than anything serious, he makes a stunning gambit and tells the rest of the NHL how intent he is by issuing that mega offer sheet last Thursday morning, under cover of darkness.

He did so only after attempts to work a trade with Poile failed, because, really, why should the Flyers have to ever give up players to get players, or give up in a deal what every other team would consider equal value? If they're not jobbing the system, they're not doing it right.

Technically, both clubs could have pulled off a Chris Gratton, where Nashville could deal the four first-round compensatory picks for players, so long as the offer sheet wasn't matched, and Philly could have signed Weber to their own independent deal. But with the memory of Gratton's year and a half here still lingering, no chance that chance was going to be taken again.

Still, that offer never really placed as much pressure as we thought on the Nashville organization. Philly never officially held Weber's rights when the offer sheet was signed; only a promise that he'd play there, at those contract terms, if the Predators failed to match.

We'll never really be able to guess if Holmgren and whoever else backed him in the effort felt that swinging their collective large-market manhood with that triple-digit-million offer was good enough to bring Nashville to its knees, but it sure seemed like the money and the years involved were intended as a scare tactic.

"It was structured where we were hopeful that they wouldn't match it. But, obviously they did," Holmgren admitted in a Wednesday conference call.

It obviously didn't work. The apparently un-matchable was matched.

Score one for the small market underdogs as of 3:15 PM yesterday, more than 32 hours before the seven-day match-or-lose deadline approached.

“We did not take or make this decision lightly, and we recognized the many ramifications it would have,” Preds owner Tom Cigarran said in an email to season ticket holders that was revealed by The Tennessean on Wednesday. “Retaining Shea sends a powerful message to our own players and potential players that Nashville is a team that is in the hunt to win and this is a desirable place to play! Other teams will now know the Predators will do everything possible to retain its own star players and cannot be viewed as a franchise that can be raided.”

Third rule: Duck!

While the impact of retaining Weber for so long and at such a cost isn't necessarily akin to being buried beneath five tons worth of rapidly-descending chains, things are going to be mighty interesting in roughly one more year.

Under rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Weber cannot be traded for one year, so if he really seemed as disgruntled as he was while entertaining offers, then expect the unexpected until he's unloaded next Summer.

Can he realistically reach near career bests of 19 goals and 49 points as he did last season, plus perform the duties of the captaincy with another impending exit weighing on his mind?

“He’s good. He’s glad to be back,” Weber's agent Jarrett Bousquet said in the Nashville paper. “He’s really happy that ownership made the commitment to him. When I spoke to him, he was going to meet with (Predators Coach Barry Trotz) and he’s really looking forward to getting back to work.”

If what was stated above is the truth, then it wouldn't be a stretch for the Flyers organization to feel like the jilted mistress whose advances didn't result in consummation. Then, what used to be a "most favored trade partner" status between Holmgren and the former Washington Capitals general manager could go up in smoke.

It still might due to the Preds' audacity in successfully conning the con man. 

Still, Homer played it cool: "We tried to add, in our minds, one of the best defenseman in the game to a good, young, up-and-coming team, and it didn't work." He also admitted he liked the defense the way it is without the addition of Weber or the return of Chris Pronger.

So Shea and David, I tip my hat in your direction and await the intrigue surrounding the Flyers-Predators December 27 matchup at Bridgestone Arena. For now, enjoy it, because tonight is your night, bro.

Tune in next July when Weberpalooza Part II can be paired up with Arnold's 1990 opus, "Kindergarten Cop."

Preds match Flyers' offer sheet for Weber

Special to the Phanatic

Shea Weber will remain a member of the Predators, in theory, for the next 14 years after Nashville matched the $110 million offer sheet the defenseman signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last week.

The announcement came roughly 32 hours before the Wednesday night deadline for the club to match or walk away, bringing to an abrupt end a situation which has had both hockey markets and the NHL at large on the edge of their seats during the dog days of the offseason.

The Predators had a key decision to make after already losing unrestricted free agent defenseman Ryan Suter to Minnesota in a 13-year deal consummated on July 4.

Nashville apparently analyzed the overall situation and came up with three main questions it needed to answer in order to make the move, according to the piece on the club's site following the announcement:

- Was Weber the individual that this franchise wanted to lead our team, a team that would compete for the Stanley Cup every year, for the next 14 years?

- Would matching the offer sheet be in the best long-term interest of the team and organization?

- Would a decision not to match the offer sheet send a negative message to current Predators players and other NHL organizations, a message that the Predators would only go so far to protect its best players and be pushed around by teams with "deep pockets?"

The Predators answered "yes" to every question and rewarded Weber on Tuesday with the largest contract in franchise history. At 14 years, the contract is the third-longest in the history of the league.

Weber, Nashville's captain since 2010, has posted 99 goals and 164 assists over his first seven NHL seasons. The 26-year-old had 19 goals and 30 helpers in 78 contests this past season.

He was a second-round draft pick of the Predators in 2003.

"In tendering an offer sheet to Shea Weber, we were trying to add a top defenseman entering the prime of his career," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "With Nashville matching our offer, we wish Shea and the Predators all the best."

Discord in Music City: Flyers sign Weber to offer sheet

One thing is for certain, if Paul Holmgren needs to fill the gap created by Chris Pronger's career-threatening injury, he'll go out and find someone who fits the bill.

Early this morning, the Flyers signed restricted free agent defenseman Shea Weber to an offer sheet that Darren Dreger from TSN of Canada reported is worth $110 million over 14 years with $68 million of bonus cash in the first six years of the deal.

The breakdown was revealed as: $14 million in each of the first four years; $12 million in years five and six; $6 million in each of the next four seasons; $3 million in year 11; and $1 million in each of the remaining years.

Dreger also confirmed on Thursday afternoon that the Predators knew of the offer sheet yesterday.

Holmgren confirmed the move on Thursday, issuing a terse statement which read: “The Philadelphia Flyers have signed restricted free agent (D) Shea Weber to an offer sheet. There will be no further comment at this time.”

According to some reports, Weber's signing of the sheet indicates that any good will between he and the Predators organization might have evaporated following the defection of batterymate and unrestricted free agent Ryan Suter to Minnesota with a $98 million deal over 13 years which the club did not attempt to match.

Nashville GM David Poile, a consistent trading partner with the Flyers going back several years, issued his own statement shortly before noon:“We are in receipt of the offer sheet signed between the Philadelphia Flyers and Shea Weber. Under the rules pertaining to an offer sheet, the Predators have one week to decide whether to match or accept the compensation. We have stated previously that, should a team enter into an offer sheet with Shea, our intention would be to match and retain Shea. Our ownership has provided us with the necessary resources to build a Stanley Cup-winning team. Due to the complexity of the offer sheet, we will take the appropriate time to review and evaluate it and all of its ramifications in order to make the best decision for the Predators in both the short and long-term.
“We do not anticipate any further comments on this situation until we make our decision within the next seven days.”

The 26-year-old right-handed shooter and team captain rifled home 19 goals and added 30 assists with a plus-21 rating in 79 games for the Preds last season. Since breaking in for the Music City club in 2005, he has totaled 99 goals and 263 points over 480 regular-season games.

Poile is on the clock, with seven days to match the offer.

Weber's agent also chimed in, through the Tennessean: “When Philadelphia came to us with a more than fair market contract, it was too good for us to pass up,” said Jarrett Bousquet of Titan Sports. “If you look at Philadelphia and the great history and tradition they have it just seemed like too good of an opportunity to let pass.

“We had to take a long look at it. It was a hard decision, but Shea wants to give himself the best opportunity to win, as well as work under the conditions of the current collective bargaining agreement.”