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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In the middle of a hotly contested playoff series and with a crucial game in the offing, individual awards may seem relatively inconsequential.

But when it was revealed Tuesday morning that Ryan Suter was a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman, it was a form of vindication for both the player who made the heartbreaking decision to leave the only team he'd known in the Nashville Predators for the franchise that wagered $98 million in salary and 13 years of term that Suter was the kind of player who could help transform an organization.

After a brief period of transition at the start of the lockout-shortened season, the Minnesota Wild's Suter has been the league's best defenseman. He led the NHL in total ice time per game at 27:16, was second among defensemen in assists and third in points.

With all due respect to Kris Letang and P.K. Subban, the other finalists for the Norris, if Suter does not win the award it will be a major surprise.

If you talk with Suter's coaches, teammates and opponents, you find a universal respect for his skill set. He is not a bruising force like Shea Weber, his former partner in Nashville, or Niklas Kronwall in Detroit. He may not be the game's swiftest skater -- both Subban and Letang possess explosive speed. But Suter is the complete package in a way both understated and impressive and reminiscent of former Detroit Red Wings great Nicklas Lidstrom.

One Western Conference GM spoke recently about the ease with which Suter plays as much as he does, almost always against opposing teams' top players. Earlier in the postseason, players in another series were marveling at Suter's performance in Game 1 of the Wild's series against the Chicago Blackhawks, when he played 41:08.

Wild coach Mike Yeo said it's a shame most Norris voters don't get to see Suter up close and appreciate how important he is to the Wild.

"You don't realize what a good person this is," Yeo said. "You don't realize what a tremendous leader he is, the character that he has. He's been a huge part obviously with his play, but as much with his attitude, his character and his personality in really helping our organization take a big step."

Suter and Zach Parise shocked the hockey world last summer when they signed identical 13-year deals with the Wild worth $98 million apiece. In making the move, Suter left the team that drafted and nurtured him and Weber, his longtime defense partner and a former Norris Trophy finalist himself. There were questions about whether Suter could assume the kind of leadership role that he did not necessarily have to play in Nashville given the large shadow cast by Weber.

Yet, as the season wore on, the Wild asked more and more of Suter, including partnering him with rookie Jonas Brodin. While he was not a finalist for the Calder Trophy, Brodin's evolution has been dramatic and much of it can be traced to his proximity to Suter.

Although Suter has yet to record a point in the series, he has been playing shift for shift against the Blackhawks' top line of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and rookie-of-the-year nominee Brandon Saad and has helped stifled its point-production.

"When you play against him for a few years, you kind of see everything that he brings to the table," teammate Kyle Brodziak said. "He's strong, a good skater and very smart. He pretty much has all the elements you need to be a good hockey player. Can't say that he exceeded expectations, but they were pretty high coming in."

"He's very calm. It's good to have in the locker room," Brodziak added. "He's definitely a guy that doesn't get rattled, and that's important in a game where the emotions get so high. To have a guy that is able to stay composed in those types of scenarios, it's very important for your hockey team."

Not surprisingly, the low-key Suter was more interested in talking about Tuesday's Game 4 than individual honors.

"I'm really honored, I really am. But my focus isn't on that," Suter said. "Maybe someday looking back I say, 'Wow.' But it's preparing for tonight. It's going to be more intense than last game and the game before. Keeping my mind focused on the game is the most important thing."

A year ago at this time, the Nashville Predators entered the playoffs with legitimate title aspirations.

It was an exciting time, the club with one of its strongest regular seasons in history and GM David Poile adding parts before the trade deadline to help the cause.

A disappointing second-round exit to Phoenix left a sour taste for the Predators, but no one at that time could even pretend to predict what the landscape would look like just a year later.

Completely out of the playoffs?

"Without a doubt, it’s been a tough year for us, especially with some of our top guys going down," Predators captain Shea Weber told ESPN.com Wednesday. "We battled hard but in the end we obviously couldn’t pull it together and get in."

These have to be soul-searching moments for Weber, who last summer saw his star defense partner, Ryan Suter, leave for Minnesota, then almost exited himself after signing a $110 million, 14-year offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers only to see the Predators match.

As of Wednesday morning, Weber was 16th among NHL defensemen with 23 points (eight goals) while ranking sixth in ice time at 26 minute per game. It’s not a bad season at all, but under the specter of the contract he signed, it's likely not enough for some.

"Obviously, we didn’t get into the playoffs, that means it didn’t go well for anyone," Weber responded when asked to talk about his own performance. "You can say that guys did well personally all you want, but if you’re not in the playoffs, if you’re not playing for the Stanley Cup, then things didn’t go as well as they should have."

Hard to ignore what old pal Suter is up to in Minnesota, where his 32 points (4-28) are second only to P.K. Subban among NHL defensemen, and there’s much talk about Suter for the Norris Trophy.

Which further illustrates how much the Predators lost when he walked as a free agent last summer. But it’s a stretch to pin Suter’s loss entirely on why the Predators missed the playoffs.

"Losing him is obviously going to affect the team, I don’t think it’s the reason we didn’t make the playoffs," said Weber. "He’s obviously a very good player and he’s done well this year. But I think there’s obviously a lot of other reasons you can attribute to why we’re sitting on the outside looking in."

Reason No. 1: offense, or lack thereof. The Predators are dead last in the NHL in goals per game (2.23) just a season after placing eighth overall at 2.83.

"Yes, that’s one of the biggest things, compared to how many goals we scored last year," said Weber. "I have trouble comprehending why we couldn’t [score this season]. We didn’t really have a big roster turnover. The goal drop is tough to put a finger on."

Injuries up front to the likes of Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque and Patric Hornqvist certainly explain part of the offensive drop, but not all of it. More was expected from the likes of Craig Smith and Sergei Kostitsyn, too.

In the end, like many of the teams that won’t make the playoffs, there’s also the danger of overreacting to a lockout-shortened season, where strange things have happened.

"You don’t want to overreact, but you want to be realistic and sit back at the end of the year to see if maybe a thing or two could have made the difference in getting into the playoffs," said Weber. "Obviously, if there’s things that need to change and be fixed, then I think that’s when you make those decisions."

After the trade deadline, I was doing a hit on a Nashville radio station and got blindsided by a question when the host asked me if Martin Erat’s trade request was reflective of team disharmony in the dressing room.

I had no clue, I said.

But I shared that with Weber, who said the Erat situation was isolated and not representative of anything bigger.

"A lot of guys didn’t even know about that," Weber said of Erat, who was dealt to Washington for highly prized prospect Filip Forsberg. "He went about his business and obviously had a conversation with David Poile, he decided he wanted to go. If he doesn’t want to be here, then he has to move on. I don’t think there’s any issue in this locker room. You can talk to any of the guys, everyone likes each other here, it’s like a family. We come to play every night but obviously things didn’t go as well as we wanted this year."

My remote needed new batteries after flicking around a dozen games last night. Here’s what I retained:

•  In Glendale, Ariz., the hockey code was in full force. Coyotes winger Raffi Torres had to answer the bell for his vicious hit on Marian Hossa last spring. To Torres’ credit, he did. Just 2:35 into the game, he fought Chicago’s Jamal Mayers. And that was that. Again, credit to Torres for understanding the need to do this. We can all move on now. The Blackhawks? They then pummeled the rest of the Coyotes 6-2, and there’s no arguing who the best team in the NHL is right now. The 9-0-2 Hawks are now 3-0-2 on the season-long, six-game road trip.

•  A little more than a week ago, I spoke with Shea Weber about the Nashville Predators' struggling start: one win in six games (1-2-3). The Preds' captain said his team understood the urgency of the situation, not wanting to dig a hole it couldn’t get out of in a shortened season. The Preds faced road games next in Los Angeles, San Jose and St. Louis. No problem. The Preds swept those three and then came home Thursday night to shut out the Kings 3-0 and are now 5-2-3, fifth in the Western Conference. Tip of the hat to the Preds. It starts with star goalie Pekka Rinne, who allowed only three goals on that four-game road trip.

•  In Pittsburgh, the Penguins made it five in a row with a 5-2 throttling of the woeful Capitals. The win propelled the Pens into first place in the Eastern Conference at 8-3-0. The Pens have found their wings. But this night told you more about the Caps, and my colleague Scott Burnside summed it up perfectly in his column after witnessing the carnage. There’s no easy fix. There is no trade GM George McPhee could make this season that would be a cure-all. If I’m the Caps, I pull the plug at some point over the next few weeks if things don’t turn around and focus on one of the best NHL drafts in a long time coming up in June.

•  In Winnipeg, he scored, he scored, scored! You could hear the car horns honking on Yonge Street on Thursday night here in my home of Toronto. OK, I’m kidding. But Phil Kessel did indeed end a season-long goal drought, and what better way than by snapping home the winner in a 3-2 win over the Jets. Know this: Kessel will score a ton now. He’s unleashed. Meanwhile, that was a hard-working win by Toronto. It’s on nights like these that you can see what Randy Carlyle is trying to do. But this team doesn’t show up every night.

•  Speaking of 3-2 wins, the Hurricanes needed overtime, but it still counts, in a win over the Senators in Ottawa. Most noteworthy was that Cam Ward was terrific for a second straight start. Perhaps his early-season struggles are behind him now. After starting 0-2, the Hurricanes have gone 5-2 and look ready to challenge Tampa for the Southeast Division crown.

•  In St. Louis, the Blues were thumped 5-1 by the Central Division-rival Red Wings, a second straight win by Detroit over St. Louis within a week. Suddenly, the Blues have lost three straight, and have been outscored 11-2 over the past two games, including a 6-1 loss to Nashville. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said his players were "cheating" all over the ice and he’s right, of course. From my vantage point on the couch, the Blues didn’t pay the price. They took lazy routes to pucks and didn’t make smart decisions when they had the puck. I’d love to be at the next Blues practice.

•  Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider, it doesn’t seem to matter for Vancouver. The Canucks comfortably beat the Wild 4-1 in Minnesota as Schneider played for the first time in 11 days and stopped 22 of 23 shots for the victory. The goalie debate rages in Vancouver, but whenever coach Alain Vigneault flips his famous coin to determine his starter, he never makes a wrong decision. That’s because there isn’t one. But at some point, it would certainly be better for everyone involved if the Canucks finally found a new home for Luongo. For the Wild, meanwhile, despite shuffling the top two lines, it was still another loss -- a third straight -- to fall to 4-5-1. There were boos from the home crowd and the frustration is growing fast for a fan base expecting big things after the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter signings last summer. The Wild have 21 goals in 10 games, the 27th-ranked offense in the NHL. Pretty sure that’s not what owner Craig Leipold had in mind when he shelled out a fortune last summer. Something’s got to give in Minny.

•  Speaking of desperate teams, the Sabres were facing essentially a must-win and got it by the skin of their teeth, Thomas Vanek forcing overtime with less than two seconds left before being one of two Sabres to score in a shootout to beat the Montreal Canadiens in a gigantic 5-4 victory. Vanek (two more goals) keeps looking like Superman, but the guy who might have saved the game was agitator Steve Ott, who suckered Montreal’s Ryan White into a double-roughing minor 7:32 into the third period with the listless Sabres losing 4-2 at the time. Vanek scored on the ensuing power play, which energized the Sabres. It was also Ott who was parked in Peter Budaj’s crease with seconds remaining, making the goalie’s life hell before Vanek tied the game. Is this the turning point for Buffalo? Far too early to tell, but the Sabres needed this one big-time.

•  The Devils beat Tampa Bay 4-2 to move within one point of the Eastern Conference lead. I really hope the Devils keep this up; what a story it would be for New Jersey once again to prove its doubters wrong and make the playoffs despite the loss of Zach Parise. Pete DeBoer is my early-season pick for the Jack Adams.

•  The story in New York was rookie J.T. Miller scoring twice against the Islanders in his Garden debut, but to me it also underscored the Rangers’ lack of depth up front that they’re looking to a kid to help answer their secondary scoring problems. Most notably, captain Ryan Callahan returned and you could see his impact. No shortcuts in his game.

•  The Panthers beat the Flyers 3-2 in a shootout. What’s up with Philadelphia and shootouts? The Flyers were 4-7 in the trick event last season, and all-time (including last night) they are 23-42 in shootouts since the NHL adopted the event in 2005.

•  The Flames edged the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime. Alex Tanguay scored the OT winner and, according to Elias Sports, became only the third active NHLer to have at least four regular-season OT winners all scored in visiting rinks. Dustin Brown and Brad Boyes are the others.

Anyone who doesn’t think the Boston Bruins have their eyes on the big prize after they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs last spring hasn’t been paying attention. With backup Anton Khudobin making his first start of the season to give Tuukka Rask a break, the Bruins got a goal from David Krejci with less than two minutes to go in regulation and went on to defeat Carolina 5-3. The win moved the Bruins’ mark to 4-0-1. They are one of two teams in the Eastern Conference without a regulation loss this season (New Jersey is the other). The win stopped a two-game win streak by the Hurricanes. The principle assist on the Bruins’ winning goal came from rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton who, to the surprise of no one, will not be heading back to junior hockey but remaining with the big club in Boston for the balance of the season.

• The Vancouver Canucks’ stutter start continued Monday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as they blew a 2-0 lead and dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the defending Stanley Cup champs. Roberto Luongo was in goal for the Canucks (2-2-2). The Kings, meanwhile, have won two in a row after going winless in three to start the season. They tied Monday’s game with less than a minute to go on a goal by defenseman Slava Voynov. Jeff Carter was the only player to score in the shootout.

• Word out of Phoenix is that starting netminder Mike Smith is close to a return. But in his absence, the reeling Coyotes got a clutch start from former Rangers prospect Chad Johnson, who stopped all 21 Nashville shots to pace the Coyotes to a much-needed 4-0 victory. Phoenix had lost four of five and had given up 20 goals in its first five games before Monday’s victory. Defenseman Keith Yandle led the way with his first goal of the season and he also added two assists. As for Nashville, the offensive well is bone-dry as the Preds have scored just 10 goals in six games and are tied for 29th in the league in goals per game. For those keeping score at home, Norris Trophy finalist Shea Weber has yet to register a single point in six games.

• How bad are things for Nashville? Well, Monday’s loss coupled with Columbus’ 2-1 win over Dallas dropped the Preds into last place in the Central Division. The Blue Jackets continue to get solid goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 24 of 25 shots. And while their offense remains anemic at best, the two goals the Blue Jackets sneaked past Stars netminder Kari Lehtonen were enough to give them the win and stop a 0-3-1 slide. Offense continues to plague the 2-3-1 Stars, who have just 12 goals in six games. On a positive note for the Stars, Monday did mark the return of Jamie Benn. The newly signed restricted free agent center added an assist and played 20:47 in his first game.

• Speaking of unrestricted free agents with Benn’s return and the announced signing of P.K. Subban by the Montreal Canadiens on Monday to a two-year deal worth $5.75 million, only Colorado’s Ryan O'Reilly remains unsigned of the big three post-lockout free agents. Given that Edmonton waxed Colorado 4-1 Monday, the pressure will continue to mount on Colorado GM Greg Sherman to get a deal done with the hard-as-nails center who led the Avs in scoring last season. The Oilers scored three power-play goals through the first half of the game to stake the Oilers to a 3-0 lead and Devan Dubnyk was again solid, turning aside 37 of 38 shots to move the Oilers to the top of the Northwest Division standings with a 3-2-0 record. The Avs, meanwhile, have lost two in a row and have scored just 10 goals through their first five games.

Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and a list of other Russian and European NHLers, as expected, have found temporary lockout homes in their home countries.

But just where the North American-born stars will end up always provides more intrigue.

Eight years ago, during the previous NHL lockout, Joe Thornton enjoyed playing in Davos, Switzerland -- heck, he met his wife there -- and it should surprise no one that he’s headed there again.

"Yes, just because my wife is from there, she has a home there, we go there five weeks in the summer to see her family and I actually train with Davos when I’m over there," Thornton told ESPN.com over the phone Monday. "I know the team real well, and they know me. It’s a natural fit for me to go back there and play."

Thornton said he’s planning on flying to Switzerland by the end of the week and could play as early as this weekend.

"Hopefully the lockout ends sooner rather than later, but I have to go play," said the San Jose Sharks captain.

Rick Nash joined Thornton in Davos last time around and appears to be doing so again, sources told ESPN.com's Katie Strang. They both had a blast eight years ago, making the most of the lockout.

"If you find the right spot, it can be a real good experience, you meet some nice people and you get to keep playing hockey," Thornton said. "It worked out well for us I thought."

Other big names we checked on Monday:

• Of course, you have to start with Sidney Crosby, who told us last week playing overseas was something he was contemplating depending on how long the lockout lasted. Nothing new as of Monday. "Since the question is repeatedly asked about Sidney’s plan to play in Europe now that the lockout in is play, at this time Sidney will continue his training, however, if this status (lockout) continues, he may be exploring other options, but for the moment there is nothing to report," Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, told ESPN.com via email.
• Star center and Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews told ESPN.com via text that, yes, he’s thinking about Europe as a possible option but at this point no decisions have been made.
• Star center Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers told ESPN.com via text message that he’s unsure of his plans. "I just want to play hockey," Giroux said. "Hopefully the NHL is back very soon, if not I'll have to start thinking of another place to play."
• New York Rangers star Brad Richards, via text, told ESPN.com that playing overseas was unlikely at the moment, preferring to focus on his workouts on this side of the ocean. But obviously that can change depending on the length of the lockout.
• Sharks center Logan Couture told ESPN.com via text that he's likely headed to Geneva of the Swiss League. The deal wasn't done yet Monday but that's where he was hopeful to end up.
• Agent Jarrett Bousquet, who along with Kevin Epp at Titan Sports Management negotiated a whopping $110 million, 14-year deal for Shea Weber, told ESPN.com on Monday that playing overseas at this point was an unlikely option for his client, citing costly insurance. The good thing for Weber, by the way, is that his $13 million signing bonus is already in the bank and can’t be touched by the lockout.
• Weber’s old defense partner, Minnesota Wild star Ryan Suter, is also staying put for now. Suter’s agent, Neil Sheehy, said via email that Europe was an unlikely option at this point, although it was too early to call.
• Jamie Benn’s agent, Rich Evans, said via email that his client, the No. 1 center for the Dallas Stars, will stay here for now.

For so many of these high-end players, insurance is such a factor. For KHL-bound Evgeni Malkin, for example, a source told ESPN.com that he’ll need to pay about $250,000 per year for two years’ worth of coverage on his $9 million salary, although it’s believed the premiums will be paid monthly and can be cancelled without penalty once the NHL lockout is over.

Still, it’s a huge chunk of change and that’s why NHL stars will tread carefully before heading over. Remember, as I wrote in Friday’s blog about the rules of the lockout, an NHL team has the right to suspend a player without pay once the NHL season resumes until he’s fit to play if he injures himself while playing in another league during the lockout.

• Shane Doan has agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Coyotes but is waiting for the sale of the team to Greg Jamison to become official, the veteran told radio station XTRA 910 in Phoenix according to multiple reports. Doan confirmed in the interview that Jamison has the funds to buy the team and that the NHL has said all is good, but a lease agreement with the city must still be worked out -- again.
• Bobby Ryan told The Orange County Register that he regrets an interview he gave earlier in the summer in which he said he didn't care if the team moved him because he was the one being blamed when things went wrong.
• The Vancouver Canucks have asked all of their players --including Roberto Luongo -- to return to Vancouver next week for a charity golf tournament, according to The Vancouver Sun.
• Shea Weber has returned to Nashville and was on the ice with teammates at Centennial Sportsplex on Thursday morning, according to The Tennessean.
• Devil GM Lou Lamoriello told The (Bergen) Record that Ilya Kovalchuk has recovered from back problems that slowed him in the postseason and is in Russia working out.

• Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban does not have a contract to play next season, but he says his top concern with a lockout looming is making sure the fans don't get hurt, according to The Canadian Press.
• Shea Weber's 14-year, $110 million offer sheet was formalized into a contract with the Nashville Predators, but the team did not add a no-trade or no-movement clause, Weber's agent told The Tennessean.
• Lubomir Visnovsky presented his case to an arbitrator on Tuesday as he tries to block his trade from the Anaheim Ducks to the New York Islanders, according to the New York Post. A decision is expected before Sept. 15, according to the report.
• Henrik Zetterberg said he would be "honored" to follow Nicklas Lidstrom as captain of the Detroit Red Wings, according to NHL.com. "It's something that you always hope you'd have a chance to do in your career, especially with a team like this in a city like this, with the past and the ownership and the history we have. It would be a true honor," Zetterberg said, according to the report.
• Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette skated on Wednesday with his son as he tries to stay ready for the season despite the Flyers' practice facility being much less crowded than usual, according to The Courier-Post.
• Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek said he is considering going back to the University of Michigan to work toward finishing his degree if there is a lengthy lockout, according to the National Post.
• Detroit Red Wings prospect Damien Brunner will play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL if there is a lockout instead of returning to Switzerland so he can adjust to the North American game, according to mlive.com.
• The NHL has drafted guidelines and templates for letters for teams to deal with season-ticket holders if games are missed because of a lockout, but individual teams have been given latitude to enact their own policies, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

Video courtesy of PredsTV

Some snippets from today:

Shea Weber: "It is a very exciting time for the Predators organization and myself. It is a big step in the right direction. The ownership showed a commitment here obviously in the last week. Going forward, now I can focus on the important stuff: getting ready for the season and getting ready to go this year."

"I love the city of Nashville. I love the fans. I love my teammates."

Barry Trotz: "This is the biggest signing in franchise history. Going forward it was a huge message not only to our own team but to the rest of the league that we are serious about contending every year and we have the team to do that."

David Poile: "It was a very interesting four or five days. If anything, I think it brought our organization even more together than it was. At the end of the day, when we knew what we were going to do, I think it really galvanized our whole organization. Everybody thinks we made the right decision. I know we made the right decision."

"Every great team that's been competitive for a lot of years or won Stanley Cups always has had a top defenseman, and Shea is here. You pair that with Pekka Rinne, who's one of the best goaltenders in the National Hockey League, you have a chance every night, every year, to compete."

"The owners have been fabulous. Every time there's a tough decision to make, they've always made the right decision. They're making all of the decisions that are helping this franchise be successful on and off the ice. ... This year at the trading deadline we did more than any other team. Now this decision to sign Shea Weber for 14 years, their commitment is right there. This franchise is tracking as well as any franchise in the National Hockey League and that's because of our ownership."

Tom Cigarran: "Shea is our leader and we did what it took to keep him a Predator," Cigarran said. "The Predators are not here just to survive, but to be an elite franchise that competes for the Cup every year. Our players, players with other organizations around the league and those organizations can now see that the Nashville Predators will not be pushed around by teams from bigger markets."

The Nashville Predators have Shea Weber locked up for 14 years. The face of the franchise is safe. The Predators' only concern now is writing the checks to add up to $110 million. Weber Watch is over (unless he demands a trade down the road, i.e., Rick Nash).

But 14 years is a long time. Weber will be 40 years old when the deal expires. The league will have been through multiple collective bargaining agreements. At least one realignment plan will likely have gone through. Even Justin Bieber will be 32 years old.

As owners try to eliminate these long-term deals in the current CBA negotiations, they still keep handing them out like candy on Halloween. But are teams getting a treat with these deals or is it all a big trick?

Think about some of the names who have signed deals longer than a decade: Rick DiPietro, Alexei Yashin, Roberto Luongo, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Vincent Lecavalier.

Not much needs to be said about DiPietro and Yashin. The Flyers shipped Richards out of town. Carter pingponged from Philly to Columbus to Los Angeles. The Canucks are trying to get rid of Luongo. And don't you think Lighting GM Steve Yzerman would like to have Lecavalier's $7.7 million annual cap hit to work with?

Ilya Kovalchuk quieted his critics this season, but his 15-year, $100 million contract caused plenty of issues (and a summer of drama) in New Jersey. Alex Ovechkin is getting $124 million over 13 years, but the Capitals haven't gotten any closer to winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Ilya Bryzgalov certainly hasn't solved the Flyers' problems in net with his nine-year, $51 million deal.

Yet none of these tales scared off teams this offseason.

It is hard to see what other moves the Wild can make in the future after doubling up with Zach Parise and Ryan Suter for 13 years. The Penguins must have been certain that Sidney Crosby's concussion issues are behind him to give him a 12-year, $104 million contract. And the Hurricanes showed how important brotherly love is by signing Jordan Staal to a 10-year, $60 million extension.

Here is the question: Are long-term contracts smart business? Would you sign a player for longer than a decade?

Tell us what you think in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter @ESPN_NHL or @sarahgold8.

• More than a month after being traded to the New York Islanders, Lubomir Visnovsky filed a grievance with the NHL players association contending his no-trade clause was still valid and the Anaheim Ducks did not receive permission to trade him, according to Newsday.
• Shea Weber's agent Kevin Epp said he has no idea whether or not the Nashville Predators will match the offer sheet Weber signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Epp added that the process may be slowed down because of they size of the Predators' 10-person ownership group. Weber is said to be anxious to have this resolved and has not spoken to the Predators since signing the offer sheet, according to the paper.
• The Winnipeg Jets offered Evander Kane a six-year, $29 million contract and the forward is thinking over the deal with his camp, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. Talks between the two sides have been "creative and flexible," according to the paper.
• Mark Flood will play in the KHL next season, but he said he would prefer to be playing in the NHL, according the Winnipeg Sun. Flood told the paper he only signed with the KHL after realizing he wasn't going to get the deal he wanted in the NHL. “I haven’t been over there (to Europe) before and you hear some mixed reviews about it, so I thought I would try it out,” Flood said, according to the Sun. “We’ll see what happens and hopefully it works out. By no means am I shutting the door on the NHL."

• New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer said he is in no rush to name a new captain now that Zach Parise had departed but he is happy for Parise, according the The Star-Ledger. "He’s such a great kid and he stands for all the right things. ... This league allows you to feel sorry for yourself for about two minutes then you have to pick yourself up and come up with a plan moving forward," the coach said, according the report.
• Shea Weber's agent, Jarrett Bousquet, told TSN Radio 1050 that the price for Weber went up after Ryan Suter signed a 13-year, $98 million deal with the Minnesota Wild. Bousquet added that they had to be sure he was signing with a team he wanted to play for 14 years and that the Nashville Predators were set back a few years by Suter leaving. "He'd like to play with the Philadelphia Flyers because we all feel that he's just another piece in the puzzle to take them to the next level," Bousquet told TSN. "He doesn't want to go through a rebuilding process again."
• Assistant general manager Laurence Gilman said the Vancouver Canucks were willing to go all-in for Weber but didn't see a scenario in which they would get him, so they never made a formal offer, according to The (Vancouver) Province. “We looked at it 16 ways to Sunday,” Gilman said. “But we couldn’t come up with scenario where we were going to get the player. And if you can’t get the player, what’s the point?”
• The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs had so much interest that they scheduled two alumni games for the 2013 Winter Classic. Now Tie Domi confirmed to TSN Radio 1050 that he and Mats Sundin were asked to participate and will likely play.
• Scott Gomez hit a hole-in-one at his own golf tournament in Anchorage to win a new $50,000 SUV, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Gomez said he doesn't know what he will do with the vehicle, but right now he is driving his sister's old car when he is in Alaska.

Shea Weber signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers for 14 years and $110 million, sources confirmed to ESPN.com. Now the Predators have seven days to decide if they will match it.

Weber would receive $80 million in the first six years of the deal, a source told ESPN the Magazine's Craig Custance.

Nashville GM David Poile released a statement saying: "Due to the complexity of the offer sheet, we will take the appropriate time to review and evaluate it and all of its ramifications in order to make the best decision for the Predators in both the short and long-term."

He added that they don't anticipate making any more statements on the matter.

If the Predators don't match the offer, they will receive four first-round draft picks from the Flyers.

What should the Predators do?

Statement from Nashville Predators general manager David Poile on Shea Weber signing offer sheet:

"We are in receipt of the offer sheet signed between the Philadelphia Flyers and Shea Weber. Under the rules pertaining to an offer sheet, the Predators have one week to decide whether to match or accept the compensation. We have stated previously that, should a team enter into an offer sheet with Shea, our intention would be to match and retain Shea. Our ownership has provided us with the necessary resources to build a Stanley Cup-winning team. Due to the complexity of the offer sheet, we will take the appropriate time to review and evaluate it and all of its ramifications in order to make the best decision for the Predators in both the short and long-term.

“We do not anticipate any further comments on this situation until we make our decision within the next seven days.”

• The Red Wings are close to signing Kyle Quincey and hope to avoid arbitration with the free agent defenseman, GM Ken Holland told The Detroit News. Negotiations are also going well with Justin Abdelkader, which is why he did not file for arbitration, according to the Detroit Free Press.
• Coyotes GM Don Maloney said it might be weeks before Shane Doan makes a decision on where to sign but the team does not mind waiting, according to The Arizona Republic. Maloney also told the paper the team has "regular communication" with Doan and is confident they can re-sign him.
• The Red Wings made "a hell of an offer" to the Blue Jackets for Rick Nash, but Columbus appears to have no interest in trading their star forward to Detroit, according to mlive.com.
• Predators GM David Poile said he talked to Shea Weber's agents on Monday about the team's future and hopes to talk to them again this week, according to The Tennessean.
• The Jets are working on a long-term deal with Evander Kane that could lock up the forward for up to six years, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
• The city of Edmonton is looking for ways to reduce the cost of building a new arena, but Mayor Stephen Mandel wants to make sure that quality isn't sacrificed, according to the Edmonton Journal. “We have heard time and again from citizens they don’t want us to build something for crap ... I think it’s important for council to make a decision for 30 years, not 35 minutes,” Mandel told the paper.
• Chris Mason decided to sign with the Predators because he wanted to be on a winning team instead of one that was rebuilding, and he said Ryan Suter's departure hasn't made him regret his decision, according to The (Nashville) City Paper.

And so, now the hockey world eyeballs Shea Weber and wonders what the big guy will do.

My ESPN The Magazine colleague Craig Custance did a great job breaking that down Wednesday. A restricted free agent, the Nashville Predators captain will be a major storyline all summer long, regardless of his decision in the wake of Ryan Suter's departure.

"He's still in disbelief," Kevin Epp, one of Weber’s agents at Titan Sports Management, told ESPN.com Thursday. "They were so close this year in terms of the team’s chances. They really had a shot. Shea believed there was a good chance that Ryan would stay there. So right now, Shea is still processing this news."

At this point, anything remains possible. Weber could conclude that the Predators are still contenders, especially depending on what they do to replace Suter, and maybe Weber does sign a long-term deal this summer.

Or after further pondering, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist might instead come to the realization that it’s time to move and turn down any long-term offers from the Preds. That, of course, would likely force Nashville’s hand on a trade.

Then there’s the whole offer sheet business ...

But at this point, no such decision has been made either way. The Suter news is too fresh.

"We’re not in any hurry," Epp said. "There’s no deadline to this. We’ll take our time and figure out the right thing to do."

Elsewhere:
• Don’t be surprised if the Red Wings come calling on Phoenix for Keith Yandle after losing out on Suter, but I’m not sure there’s a fit there. For starters, it would take a strong offer for the Coyotes to move Yandle, especially given that the money handed out to defensemen over the past week or so makes Yandle’s contract suddenly look like a bargain. Yandle has four more years at a $5.25 million cap hit, less than what Matt Carle signed for in Tampa on Wednesday night ($5.5 million average salary) and the same as what Dennis Wideman ($5.25 million AAV) got in Calgary. I like Wideman and Carle (I think Carle in particular has always been underrated), but they’re not Yandle.

However, if the Coyotes get a serious enough offer for Yandle, my guess is they’d rather move him to the Eastern Conference, where several teams have been nibbling already.

With Carle gone, the unrestricted free-agent market for defensemen thins out in a hurry. The best bet would be Carlo Colaiacovo. Detroit and Nashville would be among several clubs to have some level of interest. He’s a good puck-mover and solid character guy.

• The Penguins struck out on Zach Parise and Suter, yes, but let's settle the facts here. Pittsburgh did not trade Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek on draft weekend with the specific purpose of clearing cap space to lure Parise/Suter. Of course, the Pens were going to try to sign the star-studded UFA duo, but knowing the competition for the pair they didn’t hang their entire offseason plan on it. First of all, they never intended on dealing Staal. They really wanted to sign him long term (hence the 10-year, $60 million offer to him), but they were forced to deal him. That wasn’t part of the plan. It was always understood within the front-office walls in Pittsburgh that either Michalek or Paul Martin would be moved to allow one of the many young D-men in the organization to have a shot on the big team, whether that’s Simon Despres, Joe Morrow, Brian Strait, Roberto Bortuzzo or Scott Harrington. As is stands, Matt Niskanen has proved more than capable to pick up Michalek’s minutes on his own in the top four.

Now, does that mean the Penguins won’t inquire on Yandle in Phoenix on defense or Rick Nash in Columbus to find a winger to play with Sidney Crosby? No, of course not. I think the Pens will definitely inquire on both and see it through if there’s a chance on Nash, for sure. But the Penguins are not desperate. They’re not going to overpay for the sake of doing something. This is a good team no matter what happens from here on out.

• If Florida and Vancouver conclude a Roberto Luongo transaction this summer, I’m guessing the Canucks would insist on Jose Theodore being part of the package. He’s a quality veteran who would provide terrific insurance while Cory Schneider takes on the No. 1 role for the first time in his career. However, two sticking points: 1) Would Theodore want to be a backup after being a starter most of his career? 2) Theodore has a limited no-trade clause that lists 10 teams the Panthers can trade him to without consent. The Canucks, a source confirmed to ESPN.com, are not among those 10 teams, which means he would have to agree to a trade to Vancouver. Now, having said that, Theodore’s best seasons were in Montreal, when his goalie coach was Rollie Melanson, who just happens to be the goalie coach in Vancouver right now.

Food for thought.

• The Carolina Hurricanes were eager to get into the Rick Nash sweepstakes but after finding out what the price would be to get him, they have withdrawn from those sweepstakes, a Hurricanes source told ESPN.com Thursday.

The sticking point? The Blue Jackets were insisting on Jeff Skinner. Um, no thanks.

As one Western Conference team executive told ESPN.com Thursday, "There's a deal to be made there on Nash if the Jackets would accept a double. But they're looking for a home run."

• Matt Carle’s contract breakdown with Tampa:
Year 1: $3 million signing bonus+$2 million salary=$5 million
Years 2-3: $5.75 million salary
Years 4-6: $5.5 million salary
The key is that Carle has already pocketed $3 million no matter what happens on the NHL labor front, plus if half the season is wiped out he only loses about $1 million in salary given the base in Year 1. Smart deal by agent Kurt Overhardt.

• I leave you with this: How in demand was Parise? I’m told he generated 16 or 17 official offers while about 20 teams inquired. Whoa.