Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter does not have a new deal in place and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, leaving open the door the Predators may move him at the trade deadline.
“Our deadline is July 1,” Nashville general manager David Poile told NHL.com Friday. “My first goal has been and still is to sign Ryan and we’re going to try to do it. The sooner we do that the better off I believe our franchise is in terms of making other decisions going forward. That’s what we have been working towards.”
“If they trade me they trade me, but I want to win and I’m going to do everything in my power to win,” Suter told NHL.com prior to the All-Star break. “If we’re winning, I hope that David will maybe go out and get that extra piece; work the other way rather than deal me, and we’ll take care of the rest later. I tell David, and I’m telling you right now, straight up, that I like it in Nashville and it’s a great place to live.”
Money is no issue for the Wings, who are nearly $6 million under the salary cap.
“There’s the odd trade at the deadline that changes the balance of power, but at the end of the day, when I look at the Vancouver Canucks last year, they made some real nice trades at the deadline that gave them some depth, brought them some grit and were important players,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said a few weeks ago. “Boston made two or three trades as well. They weren’t the big names, but they were guys that were the perfect fit.”
