Filip Forsberg pals around with George Kittle and Robert Tonyan, two of the top tight ends in the NFL. In their sport, contract negotiations are handled differently.
“I’ve got a lot of football friends,” Forsberg said with a grin last week. “I was thinking about sitting out this season.”
The Predators do not need to worry about a holdout, but Forsberg arrived at training camp unsigned past this season, when his six-year, $36 million deal expires.
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He said he is in no rush to re-sign, which Predators general manager David Poile probably does not want to hear. Forsberg’s agent, J.P. Barry, told The Athletic that contract talks with the Predators have not started.
“I have a full year,” said Forsberg, 27. “I feel like you have to play your contract out.”
Contrast that with fellow free-agent-to-be Mattias Ekholm, who said, “I want to be here. … I’d rather have (a new contract) done yesterday.”
This is about more than just re-signing Forsberg, who has been the Predators’ leading scorer with 177 goals and 379 points since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2014. It feels like the near-term future of the franchise hinges on these negotiations.
As one veteran talent evaluator put it: “Pay him or rebuild.”
The talent evaluator wondered if Forsberg could receive a contract similar to the eight-year, $56 million deal that Colorado Avalanche winger Gabriel Landeskog, 28, signed on the eve of free agency in July. It was a steep discount, according to Evolving-Hockey, which projected a cap hit north of $9.5 million.
| Player | Games Played | Goals | Points | P/GP | P/60 (5v5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
687 | 218 | 512 | 0.75 | 1.82 | |
497 | 178 | 385 | 0.77 | 2.11 |
Landeskog’s and Forsberg’s career numbers are similar, though Landeskog, who was among the first three players named to Sweden’s Olympic hockey team, is more highly regarded. (Forsberg figures to be on that team as well.)
The major difference between their situations, however, is that Landeskog is the captain of arguably the best team in the league, one that is positioned to compete for the Stanley Cup for the foreseeable future.
The Predators, meanwhile, have entered a so-called “competitive rebuild” — an oxymoronic phrase used by Poile during the offseason — and are predicted to finish in the bottom third of the standings this season.
Does Forsberg want to commit the rest of his prime years to a team with an uncertain future when he can go to free agency and realistically command $8 million per season?
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Forsberg’s reaction to the trade of Viktor Arvidsson to the Los Angeles Kings on July 1 — a giant thumbs down he posted to his Instagram — led to speculation about his desire to stay in Nashville.
“The (Arvidsson) trade was a little hard to swallow at the time,” Forsberg said. “You get (two) draft picks. It doesn’t feel like you’re getting anything back. In five years, we might be looking back and that was the best trade this team ever made, because the players that we got in the draft turn out to be great. When you know the person and the player that we lose, and you don’t get anything physically back, it was a little harder than, say, (losing) Ryan Ellis (to the Philadelphia Flyers). You lose a phenomenal player, phenomenal guy, but you get two players back (in Cody Glass and Philippe Myers) who can come in and contribute right away. … At the time, (the Arvidsson trade) was a little bit of a gut shot, but everything happens for a reason.”
The Predators, whose salary-cap situation is problematic, also have to ask themselves if investing in Forsberg long term is wise. For as talented as Forsberg is, he has missed at least 15 games because of injury in three of the past four seasons and has not taken the next step as a scorer. At his age, Forsberg probably is what he is — a streaky player who tops out at around 30 goals.
There is value in that, especially for a team starving for offense, but the last thing the Predators need is another onerous contract on their books.
“The only thing I can worry about is playing as good as I possibly can and help the team win,” Forsberg said. “At the end of the day, that’s going to put me in the best spot for any negotiations.”
If there is any uncertainty about whether Forsberg will re-sign before the March 21 trade deadline, the Predators must move him. They absolutely cannot lose him for nothing.
That would turn the “competitive rebuild” into a full-scale one.
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)