The Nashville Predators still have some work to do this offseason as the team has three key RFAs to deal with. Spencer Stastney, Philip Tomasino, and Juuso Parssinen are all expected to make the team, but all need contracts ahead of the season.
Stastney decided to take his contract situation to arbitration and the Predators and the young defenseman have both exchanged arbitration numbers.
The Predators want to get Stastney on a two-year, two-way deal where the pay is $775,000 at the NHL level both years, but $125,000 in 2024-25 and $175,000 in 2025-26 if he plays in the AHL.
On the other side of things, Stastney asks for a one-year, one-way deal with a $950,000 salary.
The number will surely fall in between $775,000 and $950,000, but the Predators are being conscious of the lack of cap space the team has next season after signing three big free agents combining for $20.5 million AAV and also bringing back Alexandre Carrier at $3.75 million AAV. Saving a couple hundred thousand might go a long way even though it seems like very little. The Predators only have $600,000 in cap space at the moment.
The money both sides have come in with at the NHL level won't make much of a difference, but since Stastney has already played 20 games for Nashville last season, the 24-year-old is ready for the NHL. The one-way deal will make it much tougher for the Predators to send him down at any point in the season and allow him to come away with more money by the end of the year.
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What the Predators are thinking here is that Stastney may not play every night and as a top defensive prospect, he should be. Having the freedom to send him down to play top minutes in the AHL or call him up if there's an injury and a spot in the everyday lineup would help the team and the players a lot more.
In the end, I don't think that Stastney is going to come away with a two-way deal, whether it be for one year or two years. He did have strong numbers in the NHL during his time and belongs there. A move does have to be made, so maybe a player is shipped off from the defense and an everyday spot opens up for him. It would make things easier and the Predators can't afford to lose a talent like this one.
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