Inside Info on the Shea Weber saga..

[Flyer Fan]

I am pretty sure they were worried that Shea would say the wrong thing and be jumped by 15 people at once all acting tough Better to just get the general Philly population out of the way.

Yeah, probably a wise precautionary measure on managment's part just on the off chance Weber showed up drunk in a Rangers jersey and started mouthing off.

[doulos]

Yeah, probably a wise precautionary measure on managment's part just on the off chance Weber showed up drunk in a Rangers jersey and started mouthing off.

Exactly! You are a wise man.

[Loch]

Yeah, probably a wise precautionary measure on managment's part just on the off chance Weber showed up drunk in a Rangers jersey and started mouthing off.

Okay, that would hilarious. I can just picture a drunk Shea Weber slurring and mouthing off at the Flyer's execs... then he grabs Homer's head and bashes it of the filing cabinet!

[CMSpiced]

I dont really believe the insider info. If he really didnt want to play in Nash, then he would never of signed that offer sheet. If it was that much of an issue, dont sign it, and wait to get traded. Then you are out of Nash and just have to wait one year.

I say Polie should sign him even if he wants out. If he wants to play hockey again, then he will. It is not worth letting him go for 4 1st round 25-30 range picks.

[hockeymanG23]

Shea supposedly had his fiancee travel to a handful of cities of Shea's choosing to pick which one he liked best.. Shea was really selective..

But how did Philly know that Shea chose the Flyers?? Is that not called tampering?? Or because he is a RFA, Philly has the right to offer Shea a deal?? Just all seems fishy to me..

1) Shea/his fiancee choose Philly
2) Philly offers him a huge offer sheet
3) Poile is really saying next to nothing about this whole ordeal
4) Is Shea calling the shots?

A RFA can negotiate with any team, the only difference between them and a UFA is that their current team can match. This means that Weber can talk to anyone without it being tampering.

[hockeymanG23]

I dont really believe the insider info. If he really didnt want to play in Nash, then he would never of signed that offer sheet. If it was that much of an issue, dont sign it, and wait to get traded. Then you are out of Nash and just have to wait one year.

I say Polie should sign him even if he wants out. If he wants to play hockey again, then he will. It is not worth letting him go for 4 1st round 25-30 range picks.

If he sits out Nashville would still have to pay his bonuses, I doubt they take that risk.

[Straight Chillin]

Didn't have a chance to read through the entire thread... Balancing a Be A Pro season as we speak, but I wanted to mention that I think a reason Shea didn't wait out this season and test UFA was because of the looming CBA decisions. Who knows what the max salary will be next year and what other rules (signing bonuses etc.) will be in place to deter large hockey market teams from spending a ton of cash on sought after free agents?

Homer's deal, including the time it was sent, the money behind it, the willingness of Weber to be a part of the organization and the possibility of Nashville to be unable to match, is a perfect storm.

[dyzfunctioned]

Didn't have a chance to read through the entire thread... Balancing a Be A Pro season as we speak, but I wanted to mention that I think a reason Shea didn't wait out this season and test UFA was because of the looming CBA decisions. Who knows what the max salary will be next year and what other rules (signing bonuses etc.) will be in place to deter large hockey market teams from spending a ton of cash on sought after free agents?

Homer's deal, including the time it was sent, the money behind it, the willingness of Weber to be a part of the organization and the possibility of Nashville to be unable to match, is a perfect storm.

This. I think if Weber does want out, the reason he chose to sign an offer sheet, rather than wait a year, is money. There may be a lockout next year. Even if there isn't who knows what the max length on contracts, the amount of front loading possible is, etc. Shea wanted in with the money before it may not be possible anymore.

[dongjohnson]

Didn't have a chance to read through the entire thread... Balancing a Be A Pro season as we speak, but I wanted to mention that I think a reason Shea didn't wait out this season and test UFA was because of the looming CBA decisions. Who knows what the max salary will be next year and what other rules (signing bonuses etc.) will be in place to deter large hockey market teams from spending a ton of cash on sought after free agents?

Homer's deal, including the time it was sent, the money behind it, the willingness of Weber to be a part of the organization and the possibility of Nashville to be unable to match, is a perfect storm.

Good post. I don't think Homer's trying to kill the Preds though, Nashville will survive somehow.

[doulos]

Good post. I don't think Homer's trying to kill the Preds though, Nashville will survive somehow.

I don't think Holmgren could care any less about the existence of the Predators or any other team. Why bother?

[Filadelphia]

Does anyone see the Flyers trading with Nashville after Weber ends up in Philly? [Assuming he does]. They could really use a cap dump, maybe something like Briere for Hornqvist?

[Carcillo]

Does anyone see the Flyers trading with Nashville after Weber ends up in Philly? [Assuming he does]. They could really use a cap dump, maybe something like Briere for Hornqvist?

You think Briere would waive his NMC to go to Nashville if they lose Weber after they've already lost Suter this summer? Unless Holmgren threatens Briere's life, I can't see that happening.

[fungchen3]

Here's what I was told from someone I trust:

David Poile was trying to resign both Suter and Weber. Suter gave Poile a "verbal" that he wanted to remain in Nashville but was being pressured by his agent and NHLPA to test the market and that upset Poile. Suter's agents promised Poile they would have the chance to match any offer he received on the open market. Then came the Flyers.

The Flyers rocked the boat by offering Suter and Parise each 12+ year deals over $100 million that were heavily front-loaded with signing bonuses. They did this to weed out the phonies and intentionally drive up the market. The player agents and NHLPA advised both players to consider the Flyers offers but neither Parise or Suter wanted to play in Philly.

Minnesota got wind of the Flyers offer and stepped up to the plate and structured offers very similar in nature - so did the Blackhawks. But the Penguins, Devils and Nashville balked and felt the Flyers were trying to taint the market.

Poile pretty much pleaded with Suter to return to Nashville and said the Predators would commit to the dollars and years but asked for leniency on the signing bonuses. Suter decided to sign in Minnesota and Poile was hurt. When word leaked that the hangup with Nashville was the up-front signing bonuses, other teams (not just the Flyers) started drafting offer sheets for Weber.

Poile then immediately turned his attention to Weber in attempts to sign him to a long-term deal - the Weber camp declined and said that Shea was no longer interested in remaining in Nashville and wished to pursue his career elsewhere. Poile, still feeling blind-sided by Suter (don't ask me how since he LET him get to July 1st), decided he would never let Weber walk for nothing.

At that point, Poile started shopping Weber to a handful of teams, hoping he would be blown away with a trade scenario. All the while, he was still in a daze and the Predators ownership is in confused state as well. From what I was told - Poile had it on good faith that BOTH Suter and Weber were going to return (if the money was right). The Predators felt they could compete with the long-term dollars but the up-front bonuses put them at an unfair disadvantage to which they felt their players would give them the benefit of the doubt as long as the overall dollars matched up.

While Poile was discussing trade with a group of teams, Weber was making his rounds through New York, Detroit, Philly, etc. I was told that Weber and his wife "fell in love" with Philly and all that the Flyers could offer. Of course MONEY is a huge part but there were other things they were attracted to, including Weber's fiance's potential role in the Flyers Wives Fight for Lives initiative. It also helped that they loved the living area and how close it was in relation to the practice facility and Wells Fargo Center. There were some other perks that they found attractive as well.

The word is the Rangers (maybe another team as well) drafted, and presented Weber with an offer sheet, and Weber told Philly, NY and possibly another team, he would consider an offer sheet only if he felt it was a team he was willing to commit to long-term. He chose to sign Philly's sheet.

The Flyers and Predators continued to work on a trade scenario once Weber made it clear to Poile he did not want to return to Nashville and desired to play in Philly (and if it wasn't now, it would be next year when he could sign as a UFA). Poile saw the writing on the wall and was determined to get a healthy return for Weber, instead of not letting him go for free like Suter.

The problem was that Holmgren and Poile couldn't come to an agreement. Holmgren's position was that Weber WANTED to be a Flyer and if Poile wouldn't trade him, he would just be signing with them next year (and Poile would get nothing in return). Poile's position was that he was not willingly going to trade Weber for a below-market package. Then came the offer sheet for 3 reasons:

1. Holmgren forced Poile's hand. He put pressure on Poile to make a "hockey deal" based on the leverage that Holmgren had (which was Weber wanted to be a Flyer and the Predators could not financially match the offer). This gave Poile reason to justify a trade that some may ultimately feel is "below value". After all, how can you ever get EQUAL value for a Shea Weber?

2. The Flyers were/are working on other deals and Holmgren was running out of time and needed Nashville to play ball. This was confirmed by Dreger last night when he said, "The Flyers had a better player deal on the table for Rick Nash (even with the Weber sheet) but it did not include a center." The Flyers were still a player in the Nash game and have other irons in the fire as we speak.

3. Part of the Flyers (and Rangers, etc.) pitch to Weber was that they were willing to give him a HR deal "under the current CBA rules" so he could cash in one last time before the landscape is changed. This offer sheet was more to "reward Weber" than it was to give the Predators a chance to match. From what I was told (this is not fact however) is that is is EXTREMELY unlikely the Predators would match the Flyers offer because they don't have the up-front money, and more importantly, Shea Weber made it clear to David Poile he does NOT want to play in Nashville any longer. David Poile does not want any player who does not want to be part of his team, so believe it or not, HE is not the one pushing Nashville ownership to match. IF the Predators were to match, it would be 100% on the owners who would be telling David Poile to "work it out."

I was also told (and think has been reported as well) that David Poile is so hurt by both Suter and Weber that he has not ONCE spoke to Weber after he signed the offer sheet - he feels totally betrayed by both players.

IMO there is no way the Predators match this offer sheet unless the owners insist not doing so would set the franchise back 5 years (and are willing to front the extra capital to get it done). From Poile's perspective, his captain made it clear his heart and intentions are with another team and that (more than any money) is the deal-breaker for him personally.

One thing that people should know is that the Poile family has lengthy ties to the Flyers organization and that David Poile is close friends with Ed Snider, Bob Clarke and Paul Holmgren. This is why they let him know a sheet was coming and that they were willing to trade with him BEFORE the sheet arrived. They are also willing to deal players to Nashville in return for some of their picks back in the event they don't match.

For those who think David Poile should match and screw Weber and the Flyers, that's not how this thing is going to workout IMO. The writing was on the wall - Weber was going to be a Flyer this year or next year - all the Flyers did was give Poile a chance to get a decent return for him before losing him for nothing like they did Suter.

Those who say, "Poile should have just kept Weber and dealt him at the deadline" are ignoring the fact that Weber CHOSE Philly and (just like the case with Jordan Staal and Carolina) no team was going to give up the farm knowing Weber would just be signing in Philly next year.

What Weber did was pretty much fast-forward his year to UFA in light of the pending CBA changes. Of course, contractually, the Predators could match (and maybe they do) but doing so would put a financial strain on the organization and it would be pretty much screwing over Weber in a weird way. You can say "tough break" but I'm lead to believe David Poile is not happy that Weber doesn't WANT to stay in Nashville.

[Flyer Fan]

The system won't let me rep you for that funghen, but that's one of the most informative posts I've read in a long, long time. Many thanks!!!

It really explains a lot of things. Everything from why Holmgren's player offer was so low, to Gillis' recent comments about why the Canucks didn't put together an offer sheet, to Poile's and Weber's agent's comments that they haven't yet spoken...etc.

(It virtually explains everything, except for why Holmgren didn't approach Howson with a package including JvR and Bobrovsky for Nash, ...unless he did, and was rebuffed and moved on to the Toronto offer for JvR, ...which would make Howson's return from the Rangers look even worse).

Anyhow, great read!

[doulos]

Interesting tale and probably mostly true.

Rich players, rich owners, and a whole world that is removed from the reality I exist in.

Rather tired of it all to be honest.