All the way from Stockholm, Sweden, Predators forward Filip Forsberg signed an 8-year extension worth $68 million on Monday. The all-time leading goal scorer in franchise history is back and feels he still has more left to prove.
“It means as much off the ice as much as it does on the ice, honestly,” Forsberg said. “[Erin and I] met here. I have my home in Sweden and she has her home in Georgia, but Nashville is our home. Whatever steps are coming along the way will happen in our city, so we’re both very excited about that.”
Forsberg is coming off a career-best 42-goal season only trailing teammate Matt Duchene by one goal for the team lead. Since joining Nashville via trade from the Washington Capitals in 2013 Forsberg has posted 469 points in 566 games played.
“I am totally expecting that he will be an integral part of our core for the next eight years,” Predators General Manager David Poile said. “A lot of records are going to fall. In terms of any other offensive records the Predators have, Filip is going to hopefully have all of them. Some of that will lead into winning hockey and hopefully, we’ll be working together to do something special here like winning the Stanley Cup.”
The negotiations for this deal have been ongoing since the end of the 2020-21 season. To Poile, there were important things to hammer out before making the commitment.
Forsberg’s deal has a No Movement Clause which joins captain Roman Josi and former franchise goalie Pekka Rinne to have such a stipulation in their contracts. The next time Forsberg is set to discuss a new contract he will be 36 years old.
“It’s a big deal for the team. It’s one of those things that you need to get right and those things do take time,” Forsberg said. “I think obviously agency has been very experienced in dealing with this and so has [Poile] and the rest of management.”
Poile said neither side varied from wanting to be in Nashville and after taking the time to plan a deal it was ironed out in an appropriate fashion.
“I always thought we were going to get it done,” Poile said. “In my life, there’s a lot of things I wish that came faster or in a different form, but the most important part is here we are today and we got it done.”
The Swedish winger turns 28 this August and knows he has been close to a Stanley Cup before, but the Predators have not taken that final step yet.
“I think this team is trending in the right direction and that was a huge part for me,” Forsberg said. “In my age I know you can’t take anything for granted, I’m not old but I’m also not a rookie anymore, so you need to do everything you can and surround yourself with the best possibilities to win.”
Aside from resigning Forsberg, the Predators have been active in the last week.
Back on July 3, the defense core added Ryan McDonagh from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nashville traded defenseman Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash to acquire the 2 time Stanley Cup champion.
Then the 2022 NHL Draft rolled around on July 7. Nashville picked Finnish forward Joakim Kemell with the No. 17 pick in the first round. The Predators selected three forwards and two defensemen with their remaining six picks.
While the Predators were at the draft Luke Kunin was traded to the San Jose Sharks for forward John Leonard and a third-round pick in 2023. Kunin played in all 82 games posting 22 points in the 2021-22 season.
Nashville’s development camp is underway this week with on-ice training at Centennial Sportsplex. To end camp, the Future Stars Game is on Friday at the Ford Ice Center in Bellevue at 10:30 a.m.
NHL free agency starts on Wednesday with the Predators having a projected $9 million to spend.
“There’s a number of free agents out there that us and possibly some other teams could be interested in,” Poile said. “If we have that opportunity we certainly would like to strengthen our team and we’ll see what these next few days bring to the Predators.”
Poile will be in touch with a few agents and talk to a few players to see if he can make anything happen. Overall the Predators GM is happy with his team and will let development play out to see if there are any in-house promotions to add to the NHL lineup.
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