Predators have plenty of free agent options to run through before July
Although the sting of dropping a first-round series to Chicago remains fresh, the offseason has already ramped up for Nashville's front office.
Rightfully it should. With the multitude of roster spots freeing up for the Predators, management has plenty of tough decisions to address over the next handful of weeks leading up to several key dates.
Six players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents come July 1-- a date where they must either be signed with Nashville or begin taking offers from other suitors -- as well as five players tagged as restricted free agents -- essentially giving the Predators an ability to tender offers to those free agents with the only outside interference being offer sheets from opposing teams or arbitration in the case of a player disagreeing with the offer submitted to them.
Unlikely to re-sign every player with an expiring contract -- especially with nine players in Milwaukee needing a new contract or a new home as well -- the Preds have their work cut out for them.
So, who does Nashville keep and who gets jettisoned during the yearly summer purge?
Restricted Free Agents
Taylor Beck -- While Beck has a large frame and tends to utilize it to pressure the puck on the boards and force possible turnovers, he ultimately can be expendable in his current role.
Beck earned his one year, $550,000 contract during training camp this past season -- giving him the explicit opportunity to stand out in the eyes of management. Did he do enough to garner a new deal? Eight goals and eight assists -- both career numbers -- along with a 10.3 percent shooting percentage provide a bit of promise for Beck.
Yet, with a multitude of young players pushing for a spot on next years roster, Nashville can choose to part ways and not think twice.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
Gabriel Bourque -- You can make a case to bring back Beck, however I think the case to re-sign Bourque could be a much less popular one.
Bourque had his worst season with the Predators in 2014-15, registering only 13 points in 69 games -- finding himself scratched from the roster on more than one occasion.
He has the speed and ability to rile up the opposition when he wants to, but fourth line minutes won't help Bourque return to a form that showcased him last year notching double the points he had this season in only five more games.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
Calle Jarnkrok -- In his first season with Nashville after being a key piece of the trade that sent David Legwand to Detroit, Jarnkrok didn't truly find a level of comfort until the playoffs began against Chicago.
Jarnkrok has a solid grasp on his role with the Predators and was used in the correct lineup slot, centering the third line for the majority of the season. Once the postseason began, he was arguably one of Nashville's best two-way players on the ice.
Doubling his point totals from last season with seven goals and 11 assists, Jarnkrok can only get better from here. He hasn't even reached his prime and should definitely be an asset to the Predators during the Peter Laviolette era.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RETURNING
Colin Wilson -- Hard to really argue anything against bringing Wilson back to Nashville next season. In fact, if the Predators even contemplate not tendering Wilson with a new contract, something could clearly be wrong at 501 Broadway.
Wilson broke past his career-best numbers with 42 points in 77 games, but only registering three points in his last 22 games of the season. Not only that, but his 172 shots on net demolished his previous best of 114 in 2011-12.
What really may have proved Wilson's true potential to Nashville was watching him pot five goals in six games against the Blackhawks during the first round. At one point leading the entire league in goals scored during the playoffs, Wilson seemingly flipped some dormant switch deep inside with Chicago unable to find a way to stop him.
That's the Wilson that Nashville has needed to see since drafting him in 2008. Oddly enough, he broke through as his contract expired.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RETURNING
Craig Smith -- Along the same lines as Wilson, Smith also had himself a fantastic season for the Predators.
Playing 82 games for the first time in his four seasons with Nashville, Smith collected 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) along the way. He was eight points shy of cracking his career best set one season prior.
Smith's biggest strength could be his consistency. Only 25 years old, he's turned into a player that the Predators can expect to contribute 20 goals and assists annually for a team that has always found itself painfully struggling to find offense.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RETURNING
Unrestricted Free Agents
Matt Cullen -- There's no question that Cullen continues to be one of the league's best possession forwards, especially at his age (38).
However, I don't find any way that the Predators can justify working out a deal for a center that didn't play at his normal position for the majority of the season, only collected 25 points -- his fewest since 2003-04 -- and will be 39 years old next year.
Add that together with the $4 million paycheck he earned this year and Cullen may simply find himself on the outside looking on with Nashville full of young players able to take his spot.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
Mike Fisher -- Turning 34 years old on June 5th, Fisher has become a staple for the Predators after being a late-season acquisition during the 2010-11 season.
Since then, Fisher has contributed 172 points in 271 games for Nashville and easily remains one of its best options for a top-six center until they either develop one or an acquisition through free agency.
Earning just a shade over $4 million last season with the Predators, Fisher should be due to receive somewhere around those numbers in his next contract. He still has a role with Nashville if they want him here, even with an increase in age and seeing a decline in production.
Guessing from general manager David Poile's comments about Fisher once the season ended, there remains no doubt in my mind that a deal will be made to have him with the team next season.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RETURNING
Cody Franson -- It was obvious that Franson just wasn't going to work out for Nashville after being traded back to the organization that originally drafted him.
Whether his right-handed shot was what kept him from breaking out with the Predators or a possible misuse by the coaches on who to pair him up with, Franson couldn't get himself into a rhythm that most likely hurt his asking price on the free agent market.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
Mike Ribeiro -- On the way out of the NHL after a slew of personal problems forced the Coyotes to part ways with him one season ago, Ribeiro found new life with a Predators team that took a flyer on him -- seemingly giving him one more chance in the league.
Taking the reigns of Nashville's annual roulette that was its top line center spot, Ribeiro pressed forward and led the team with 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) -- helping rookie Filip Forsberg and winger James Neal register 100 points between them.
Off-the-ice issues still continue to creep up on Ribeiro from his former life out west, but there should be zero reason right now that the Predators wouldn't want to re-sign him. They'll need his production to anchor the top line and help Nashville's young guns along the way.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RETURNING
Mike Santorelli -- As was the case with Franson, Santorelli never fit in after being traded to Nashville.
It wasn't for lack of trying, either. Santorelli was given every shot in the Predators lineup -- top-six minutes and bottom-six minutes -- and his play was mediocre at best. In 22 games after his trade, he scored only four points.
Ultimately an expandable forward that will hit the free market, his $1.5 million price tag will be too much for a Predators team that has no use for his services.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
Anton Volchenkov -- The 33-year-old defenseman could be the oddest case in terms of players who may return or explore the free market.
Volchenkov's defensive play alongside Seth Jones for the majority of the season was adequate enough to understand if the Predators sign him on for another season. Being paid only $1 million this year, it wouldn't be a bad investment for the future.
Nashville already has six defensemen locked into contracts next season, but Volchenkov could be a reasonable option in case they choose to go back and forth with him and Victor Bartley as they did this year prior to the Franson trade.
While possible, the Predators do have a few defenseman in the pipeline ready to break forward next season and challenge Bartley for the sixth and final spot.
Projected future with Nashville? -- RELEASED
