If they had the money to lock up these guys, why did they wait until the were in free agency to put out these big offers? I also suspect Weber does want out of Nashville because he signed a contract that was incredibly front loaded and designed to make it difficult for a small market team to match. His agent has talking to the media as opposed to Weber doing it allows his party to get their feelings on where he wants to be out to the media and public while allowing Weber to not look like the bad guy. If the offer does get matched and he has to return to Nashville, at least you can play the "that was my agent talking" card with your teammates.
Poile stated they would match any offer for Weber. The fact it wasn't matched yet, to me at least, means that either it was just gamesmanship from the get-go to deter others from offering him a contract or the contract is structured in a way that is making it very difficult for Nashville to sign him.
We know they aren't broke, but I also have never viewed them as one of the wealthy teams in the league. The rich Canadian guy might have plenty of bank, but if you owned 5% of something and were told we need you to kick in $30 million in the next year just to maintain the team, not improve it, what would your feelings be? Last year they had Weber, Suter, Radulov, and Tootoo on the team and didn't have a great playoff run. While they aren't broke, I don't think they're flush with cash either.
And as far as waiting, it isn't like it is going to keep Homer from doing anything. Every other free agent defenseman of note is signed. He's kicking the tires on Doan, but I think Doan wants to find the right situation based on how long he has waited already. If he wants to come to Philly, he'll wait till Thursday.
Posted on Jul 21, 2012, 12:35 PM from IP address 75.97.41.16