Weber Worry

Faced with a signed offer sheet for their franchise player, David Poile, general manager of the Nashville Predators, has a crucial decision to make: match the expensive offer sheet submitted by the Philadelphia Flyers or let Shea Weber go in exchange for four first-round picks. 

Easy, right? Match the offer sheet. He's arguably the league's best defenseman and you could have him on your team for the next 14 years. Problem: bonuses. Nashville is a tight-budget team and they may not be able to afford Weber's minimum of $26 million over the next 11 months. That's a ton of cash in a small amount of time. Is it possible? I mean Poile did say he'd match ANY offer. This leads us to my next question.

Did Weber sign the offer sheet because he wants to remain a Predator and figured Poile would match it? If so, why is his agent talking up Weber's desires to play in Philly? You can't blame Weber for securing his financial future (by the way Shea, it's VERY secure). He just accepted what was offered. 

If Poile doesn't match, he'll look like a hypocrite. But would it really be detrimental to Nashville's future to let him go? Probably yes, but Nashville has always found a way to stay competitive - six playoff appearances in the last seven years.

Let's say Nashville can't or doesn't match the offer. The Flyers are suddenly THAT much better. What about the Predators? They now have eight first-round picks in four years. Not too shabby. But, there is a huge void to fill in the defense. Maybe they could look into acquiring Luke Schenn, or another player, in the deal. Or, package some of those picks into deals with other teams. Are they any teams out there with an excess of defensemen and salary? You know it. 

One perfect trading partner would be the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have a handful of up-and-coming defensemen (Mike Weber, Alexander Sulzer, Andrej Sekera, Adam Pardy, Tyler Myers, Brayden McNabb and TJ Brennan) with a lack of support down the middle. What a coincidence! The Predators have some great centers (David Legwand, Mike Fisher, Paul Gaustad, Nick Spaling, Colin Wilson and Craig Smith). Myers, Legwand and Fisher are unlikely to be moved, but Andrej Sekera and Adam Pardy seem like decent pieces. If Colin Wilson's RFA status would go away, he'd be a good fit in Buffalo.

So my question is: if you are David Poile in this situation and can't afford Weber's offer sheet, what do you do?