{"id":51685,"date":"2019-07-15T17:26:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T21:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=51685"},"modified":"2019-07-15T17:26:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T21:26:37","slug":"nashville-predators-need-to-get-roman-josi-deal-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/07\/15\/nashville-predators-need-to-get-roman-josi-deal-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Nashville Predators Need to Get Roman Josi Deal Done"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nashville Predators<\/a> have gotten some of the best years of Roman Josi<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s career at a bargain rate. General manager David <\/strong><\/span>Poile<\/strong> was able to sign the Swiss <\/span>defenceman<\/span> early in his career\u00a0for $4 million and seven years starting with the 2013-14 season.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Josi has been the quiet leader on the club and one of the best blue-liners that no one talks about. He was one of the first defenders in team history that could provide goals for the back end. The 29-year-old nearly has 100 goals on <\/span>defence<\/span> for the Predators.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was the first Nashville <\/span>defenceman<\/span> to really start counterattacks with his great skating ability. The Bern, Switzerland native has been the cornerstone of one of the best <\/span>defences<\/span> in the NHL over the last three seasons.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that P.K. Subban<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>has been traded<\/a>, Josi is probably the best <\/span>defender<\/span> on the team and should be paid like it. Ryan Ellis<\/a> <\/strong>nets $6.25 million until the end of the 2026-27 season while Mattias Ekholm<\/a><\/strong> is getting $3.75 million until the end of the 2022-23 season. Josi should get the big-money deal worthy of his stature.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roman Josi and a New Contract<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Predators currently have over $5 million in cap space but need to ink restricted free agents Colton Sissons\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/span>and Rocco Grimaldi<\/a><\/strong> in the coming weeks. Josi\u2019s deal won\u2019t come into effect until next year, but <\/span>Poile<\/span> is likely thinking of ways to clear space.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both parties have already reportedly talked about an extension at the start of free agency on July 1. The two sides seem to be on the right path when it comes to getting a deal done.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poile<\/span> is usually pretty good at fitting all the pieces in at a decent rate. He got Matt Duchene<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>to sign for $8 million when some thought that he would command $9 million or more. The Nashville general manager has gotten many players to take a little bit less so he can keep more of the team together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Will Roman Josi Get<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Josi is up there on the list of the best <\/span>defencemen<\/span> in the league. He may not get the publicity of an Erik Karlsson<\/a> <\/strong>or a Drew Doughty<\/a>,<\/strong> but he\u2019s a key part of the Predators defence. The Swiss stalwart won\u2019t get $11 million like those, but he\u2019ll get a healthy raise.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s on the same par as teammate Ellis, Ryan McDonagh<\/a><\/strong> and John Carlson<\/a>.<\/strong> His 0.62 career power-play points a game <\/span>tops a list including some of those names.<\/span><\/a> His career Corsi For is 50.2 and is in the middle of the pack of some of those names.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The veteran is also looking for a long-term deal that will get him to the latter stages of his career. He\u2019s probably getting a contract of seven or eight years that will\u00a0likely take him to the end of his tenure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the <\/span>defencemen<\/span> on the list make $6.25 million and it should be more than that. Josi will likely get $8 million or more when all is said and done. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What It Means for the Future<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Predators moving <\/span>Subban<\/span> helps them use some of that money that won\u2019t get used on him. Duchene\u2019s contract takes up $8 million, but it could have been a much bigger headache.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poile<\/span> will <\/span>likely<\/span> give Josi the raise he\u2019s deserved, and Nashville will have one of their best <\/span>defencemen<\/span> locked in for a long time. The Predators can <\/span>now<\/span> focus on shoring up their scoring and try to get back to the Stanley Cup <\/span>Final.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"NASHVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 17: Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) scores on Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche, held on October 17, 2017, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nashville Predators have gotten some of the best years of Roman Josi\u2019s career at a bargain rate. General manager David Poile was able to sign the Swiss defenceman early in his career\u00a0for $4 million and seven years starting with the 2013-14 season.\u00a0 Josi has been the quiet leader on the club and one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":26850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[245,766,1778,243,253,329,1546],"class_list":["post-51685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predators","tag-david-poile","tag-matt-duchene","tag-mattias-ekholm","tag-nashville-predators","tag-p-k-subban","tag-roman-josi","tag-ryan-ellis"],"modified_by":"William Grigsby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}