It is mere weeks away from free agency and Filip Forsberg will hit the market should he have not signed a new deal with the Nashville Predators. The Swede’s expiring deal netted him a cool $6m AAV, so he is due a sizeable increase, plus a decent amount of term. However, whether this will be received from the Preds or a new employer remains to be seen. A Filip Forsberg extension may not be as easy to get for the Predators’ brass.
Filip Forsberg, a pending unrestricted free agent, has been offered an eight-year contract by the Nashville Predators, general manager David Poile said Thursday. https://t.co/CsTEENvdA2 via @NHLdotcom
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) June 23, 2022
Nashville Struggling to Get Filip Forsberg Extension Done
SportsNet revealed that the Predators have indeed made an offer to Forsberg’s camp. The figure was not disclosed but general manager David Poile did confirm the deal was eight years. Speaking about the offer, Poile did not hide his disappointment with the lack of progress so far:
“We’re still talking, still talking a lot, we just don’t have it done,” Poile said. “We’ve got a deadline coming up here in July, July 13, so I wish it was done. I said that two months ago. It’s disappointing. I’m sure they’re disappointed because they feel we should be offering something different. We feel that we’re in a good spot. We’ve just got to keep working to get this done.”
What This Means
For Nashville, it could be very concerning if their offer is rejected so close to free agency. Drafted 11th overall in 2012 by the Washington Capitals, he never played a game in DC before he was traded for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. After arriving in Tennessee, the winger has scored 469 points in 566 games, production which will be very hard to replace, especially with Forsberg coming off last season’s career-high 84 points in 64 games.
If Forsberg opts to leave, he should get a large increase on his current salary, with $9m AAV his likely ceiling. However, many interested teams may have wanted to see more consistency before his career year. He could therefore struggle to find a suitor willing to meet the contract length offered by Nashville.
Predicting free agent landing spots can always be tricky, but one team who should be monitoring closely is the New Jersey Devils. With a large chunk of cap space available, they could likely meet Forsberg’s demands. Additionally, they have two talented young centers in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. Both would relish the opportunity to link up with such an experienced, prolific winger. The Devils are not a Forsberg away from a playoff run. However, when combined with the second overall pick, he could seriously help propel their rebuild forward.
