Nashville Predators

The NHL's unquestioned best defensive pairing is now no more. 

Wildly heralded as the league's best shutdown pair who could add offense to any situation, Nashville's elite pairing of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter has been broken up. 

Weber, who will turn 27 on August 14, is in his last year of restricted free agency.

Unable to come to a long-term deal with Nashville a year ago, Weber won the biggest arbitration hearing in league history and was awarded a one year contract of $7.5 million dollars. 

If losing Suter wasn't enough, this is terrible news for the Predators.

Suter's paycheck with the Wild has now officially surpassed anything Weber has ever made in his life. 

This is not good for the thrifty Nashville Predators who now have the most amount of cap space in the entire league. 

With only four NHL level defensemen signed for next year, Weber can effectively name his price in Nashville.

In his short career, Weber has quite a hefty resume:

• 2012 Gold Medal Winning Olympian
• Current Captain of the Nashville Predators
• Three All-Star appearances 
• Two time Norris Trophy candidate
• Seven years of NHL experience resulting in 99 goals and 164 assists for 263 points

The ball is completely and utterly in Weber's court.

He holds all the cards, except one—his free agent status.

Nashville has two options:

The organization can make its pitch to him and convince him to stay in Nashville. This, of course, would mean that Weber should and would become the NHL's highest paid defenseman. If Ottawa's Erik Karlsson and Minnesota's Ryan Suter's contracts surprised you, they will not even be close to what Shea Weber could make if resigned.

The other of course being a trade. Should Nashville not be able to sign Weber to anything other than a one year contract, they need to trade him. While this would be absolutely devastating for the franchise's postseason dreams, Weber would bring in a king's ransom on the trade market. 

One only has to imagine what they could get in return for arguably the best defensemen in the NHL. His resume and his age make Weber invaluable to any organization. 

In today's NHL, when a high value player who is about to hit free agency says "I'd love to stay with Team X," it might as be the kiss of death to their current team. You need to look no further than Zach Parise to see that players will say anything to their teams and to the media to increase their value. 

The Nashville Predators entered the July 1 opening of the NHL free agency period with the future of their franchise up in the air, and the most telling moves have still yet to be done. 

However, there was absolutely no shortage of shocking deals that left Preds fans feeling the roller coaster effect at day's end.

With free-agent defenseman Ryan Suter emerging as one of the top two names in the whole field, numbers have soared for a deal that should likely lock him down in one city for potentially the remainder of his career. ESPN reports that Suter is "fielding many calls" and that Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Carolina are all talking to Suter alongside Nashville. 

Talk of Shea Weber's circumstances as a restricted free agent have been hard to find, so it's possible that he could be waiting to see what Suter and other free agents do before exploring his options.

Regardless, the Predators still had a busy day in the headlines. Here are the moves that actually happened that will affect Nashville on the ice next season. 

*NOTE: Results are continuous

Jordin Tootoo leaves Nashville, signs with rival Red Wings

By effectively pissing off the entire rest of the NHL with gritty play and tenacity during his time with the Preds, Jordin Tootoo became a fan favorite and an icon in Nashville. That didn't keep Tootoo from signing with the enemy. 

TSN's hockey insider Darren Dreger broke the story: 

TooToo agrees to Detroit. 3 years $1.9 per

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 1, 2012

Tootoo has seen his fortune turn many times as a Predator. From troubled to focused and from wildly productive to noticeably expendable, many Preds fans couldn't make up their minds on how they felt overall about the 29-year-old.

That said, Tootoo saw his numbers spike overall in 2011-12 as he finished with 30 points, which is a dozen more than his previous high. 

Nashville fans have got to have a bitter taste in their mouth with the thought of seeing Tootoo in the enemy red and white six times next season. 

Chris Mason returns to Predators as proven backup goalie

After trading last season's backup Anders Lindback to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this month, GM David Poile made it obvious that Nashville planned to turn to free agency for backup-to-star goaltender Pekka Rinne.

Mason made perfect sense for a Predators organization that is decidedly familiar with the goalie. The 36-year-old started for the Preds for a brief period of his six-year tenure that lasted between 1998 and 2008. 

Kevin Allen of USA Today lays out the numbers of the deal on Twitter: 

Chris Mason will be Pekka Rinne's backup in Nashville. One year deal for $1.25 million plus bonuses.

— Kevin Allen (@kausatoday) July 1, 2012

Mason went 8-7-1 last season with a diminished role in Winnipeg. 

Playing in 73 games last year, Rinne undoubtedly needs a bit of a weight lifted off his shoulders. A proven and reliable backup should be the answer for that.

Francis Bouillon re-signs with former team, Montreal Canadiens

The Preds and Canadiens have been very busy with each other in the last six months with multiple trades that brought in Andrei Kostitsyn and Hal Gill, and they continued their inter-mingling on Sunday.

Free-agent defender Francis Bouillon signed a one-year deal with his former team, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie. 

Francis Bouillon signs in MTL for one year, $1.5M.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2012

Bouillon has proven reliable as a solid second or third-line defenseman with his stint in Nashville, and should be a solid addition in Montreal.

He becomes far more expendable to the Preds if they are able to work out deals with Suter or Weber. And with a high-ceiling group of youngsters at the position, this move was no surprise. 

Enforcer Brian McGrattan remains in Nashville

Brian McGrattan didn't lace up too often for Nashville last season, but he was a force to be reckoned with when he did. 

One of the NHL's fiercest enforcers will remain in Nashville to the tune of a one-year, $600,000 contract (per Josh Cooper of The Tennessean) to protect his star players and keep the "smash" in "Smashville." McGrattan took to his personal Twitter account to verify the reports.

the big ern is back in smashville!!!!!

— brian mcgrattan (@bigern10) July 2, 2012

McGrattan is a solid piece to Nashville's puzzle and should prove to be valuable when things get chippy and the "Big Ern" is required to pull out the haymaker. 

-- Stay tuned to this article for more news on the Preds' wild free agency period

-- Follow me on Twitter: @StevenCookBR

With the 2012 NHL unrestricted free agency period slated to begin at high noon on Sunday, the feeling around the league is a lot like the old west; no one is sure to make of it, but it’s bound to be wild.

This isn’t the deepest class of free agents, but the crown jewels of this group could stand up against any of the best in the league. The biggest prize of 2012 is undoubtedly stellar two-way defenseman Ryan Suter.

As much as Suter has claimed that he wants to be a Nashville Predator, there is a belief around the league that he will be fielding all calls. The following is the breakdown of the star defender’s likeliest new homes.

Favorite: Nashville Predators

While Suter is ready to test the market, the Nashville Predators are convinced that the star will see the other offers and realize his best fit is right where he was before.

Besides the defender's devotion to his family and making their lives as easy as possible, Suter has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want to go to the Eastern Conference. While that’s a bit odd, familiarity is something important to many players

With Suter expressing no desire to meet with any of the teams courting him yet, this is obviously a long-term decision that the All Star will take his time making. How Suter handled this whole situation is just further proof of how great of a person a team will get if they sign him.

Top Contender: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been clearing cap space for a huge free agency move this offseason, but there are only two players worth the kind of cash they have freed up.

As great as New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise is, it looks like the team is pushing for Suter as the long-term addition the team is missing.

TSN NHL insider Bob McKenzie is reporting on Twitter about the Penguins intent when dumping salary with the Jordan Staal trade:

I assumed when PIT made big moves to clear cap space, it was for a run at UFA Parise but it seems UFA Suter is more likely primary target.

—Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 23, 2012

While this shouldn’t come as a shock to most fans that saw Pittsburgh get destroyed defensively by a faster and more skilled Philadelphia Flyers team in the playoffs, the popular belief was that Parise was the team’s target.

Let’s hope for the Penguins’ sake that Suter thinks about it at least; they need all the defensive help they can get.

Dark Horse Candidate: Minnesota Wild

While there are a plethora of teams looking to acquire the services of Suter, the dark horse candidate in all of this talk has been the Minnesota Wild.

With family ties to the state and a small-market hockey feel in the Western Conference, this outcome is much more likely to be a viable threat than thought before.

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about using the young prospects turning pro this season as a strategy to lure the top free agents to Minnesota, including Suter:

"This is a start of a new era. The fact they're turning pro is significant. It's not just down the road anymore. We can actually see the road now. What's exciting for me is when you look at it now, just from a prospect standpoint, you look at the forwards we have, the goaltenders we have, the defensemen we have, it's a well-rounded prospect pool. Our best days are ahead of us. We all want to get there tomorrow. But if we have a little bit of patience here, we're all going to be rewarded in a big way."

There is no way the Wild can be considered a favorite at this point, but they have the money to match any team’s deal in this process. If the team can convince Suter of his future in Minnesota, everything else would work itself out.

Check back for more on the National Hockey League as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s NHL page to get your fill of all things hockey.

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While the possibility of Ryan Suter leaving the Nashville Predators has many teams and front offices salivating, the reasons for him to stay in the Preds organization should outweigh any reasons to leave.

Suter's NHL career got off to a flying start, but he's just now entering his prime. Officially a free agent on July 1, Suter will have a wide variety of suitors ready to back up a dump truck of money on his front door and slap their team's sweater on him.

The American is hands down the best defenseman on the market and one of the top players overall available in free agency. So Nashville has a steep task of retaining him. General manager David Poile believes the Preds have been "loyal" to Suter, and they definitely want to keep him, per Smashville 24/7.

Suter finally notched his first All-Star selection in 2011-12 after years of stellar play, and he was an alternate captain for the U.S. team that won a silver medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Let's take a look at the reasons why Suter should remain in Nashville.

He's Able to Remain (Somewhat) Anonymous

Predators defenseman Hal Gill said it best in May, per NBC Sports: The lack of fan pressure in Nashville is unlike many other markets, and some of that alleviates the stresses that can jeopardize solid play.

Nashville's fanbase is not small and does not give away trophies for losing, but it's nothing compared to the pressure from big markets. Hockey isn't everything in Nashville like it is in Suter's potential landing spots of Detroit or Pittsburgh, and Preds players have indicated in the past that not being noticed very often in public is surprisingly refreshing.

Personally, I'd love if people flocked toward me and wanted my autograph. But I can also see how it would be annoying after a while.

Playing Next to the NHL's Best Defenseman

Shea Weber got robbed of the Norris Trophy this year, and there's an argument that he should already have multiples of them.

Weber's defensive presence allows for an amazing combination with Suter. The big-bodied Weber can suffocate forwards while Suter's quick, elusive defense helps to get the puck out of the zone and into an attacking motion.

Their chemistry aside one another has been on display for many years. There's arguably no active defensive duo that has played together longer. 

If there's one thing that is certain, it's that Suter's next linemate (if he's to leave Nashville) won't be as talented as Weber.

A Chance to Win With the Team That Drafted Him

Suter has had high expectations as a Nashville Predator since they drafted him with the seventh overall pick in 2003. It's safe to say that he's shattered those expectations, but winning a Stanley Cup in Nashville would be the cherry on top.

He could've bolted from Nashville long ago if he didn't believe in the team's chances of hoisting a Cup in the near future. After a letdown of a postseason, Suter could be doubting those earlier beliefs, but it's also important to notice how the Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn situation adversely affected their chances.

With the strong core of team-first forwards coming back next season, the Preds should be relatively strong in the goal-scoring department, with the one hole at defense. If Suter wants to win in Nashville, he'll be best set to sign a deal quickly so that his teammates can do the same.

Without Suter signing quickly, many other Preds free agents could lose hope and sign elsewhere.

We're just days away from July 1, which means that Ryan Suter will soon be figuring out the destination of the team he'll be playing for the 2012-13 season, and perhaps beyond.

Although a potential NHL lockout could be just around the corner, free agency will hit with time left for every team to make a big move. Suter has been one of the most prominent names on the trading block for some time, and the chances of him leaving Nashville seem much higher than before, after their second-round exit from the playoffs this season.

The American made his first All-Star game during his 2011-12 season and has steadily become one of the league's top defenseman. He's undoubtedly the top blue liner of free agency this year and one of the top skaters available in general.

Suter's been linked to several teams since rumors began to heat up after the Predators' season ended. Here are the odds for each team in the running for him.

Nashville Predators

According to Josh Cooper of The Tennessean, Suter has found his home in Nashville and it could prove to be difficult for any team to sway him from the ties that he's built in the South.

Since being drafted seventh overall by the Preds in the 2003 NHL Draft, Suter has slowly worked his way up the team's depth chart and now finds himself a vital part of the three-headed monster that is Nashville Predators hockey. With partner Shea Weber and netminder Pekka Rinne, he's surrounded by a strong core that could vie for a Stanley Cup if surrounded by proper skaters. 

Although, Suter's growing price as the No. 1 defenseman on the market could prove to be too much for a Predators team that has trouble spending and already has to have a hefty sum ready for restricted free agent Weber. 

Suter is a level-headed player who will likely take his time to make his decision, according to Josh Cooper of The Tennessean. But you have to wonder at this point whether the Preds have proven to him that they can vie for the Stanley Cup that he's desperately searching for and give him the money that he wants.

Predators Odds: 35%

Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings fans have been donning Ryan Suter as the heir apparent to Nicklas Lidstrom for some time, and that was only amplified when the Predators spanked Detroit out of the first round in five games.

George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Red Wings are major players in the hunt for Suter, and this should come as no surprise. The Detroit team that the sports world has revered as a consistent contender is getting older and desperately needs to bolster its talent defensively. 

The money that Detroit is likely ready to throw at Suter makes them strong contenders, and a chance to replace one of the all-time greats and cement his status as the team's top defender could both be enticing to Suter.

Besides, the Red Wings will do anything to keep from having to face off against Suter half a dozen times per year (possibly more) if he stays at rival Nashville.

Red Wings Odds: 45%

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have been cutting cap space in recent weeks in order to make a big move in free agency, which could very well be Suter.

After trading away Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes, they created enough room to bring in Suter or Devils forward Zach Parise. Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that the Penguins are making a hard push for Suter, who would greatly bolster a team that desperately needs it.

Look no further than the Penguins' first-round exit in this year's playoffs to see how much they need Suter. They couldn't shut down the Flyers one bit, and have nowhere to go but up defensively.

But the Penguins still have a big contract for Crosby looming, which could be the biggest in NHL history. It'll be hard to match the type of money that Detroit and even Nashville may offer.

With the interest he has in Detroit and Nashville, as well as the Penguins' lack of cap space, Pittsburgh has slowly become an most unlikely destination. But they still have a chance.

Penguins Odds: 20%

The Nashville Predators are going to find themselves in a delicate situation July 1.

The start of free agency is likely to have an impact on the franchise and it's not going to be a good one. Defenseman Ryan Suter, the Preds' No. 2 defenseman behind Shea Weber, is looking for a major salary upgrade during the free agency signing period. While New Jersey forward Zach Parise is likely to be the top free-agent target, Suter should be right behind.

Suter can both carry the puck and shoot it. He's not going to challenge Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara like Weber does, but Suter has an excellent shot. Suter scored 7 goals and 39 assists in 2011-12. He's also a solid positional defender, who finished with a plus-15 rating last year.

The Predators are going to make an effort to re-sign him, but published reports indicate that he will be pursued aggressively. Suter has said that he wants to stay in the Western Conference, but there is at least one Eastern Conference team that is likely to put on a strong push.

The Pittsburgh Penguins already made a big splash on the trade market by moving center Jordan Staal and defenseman Zbynek Michalek. It seems likely that the moves were made largely to clear cap space so they could go after Parise and Suter. They have strong connections to both players.

Sidney Crosby and Parise would combine to form one of the most dynamic pairings in recent memory. Both are highly motivated superstars who play with an edge and want to put the puck in the net. However, general manager Ray Shero was the Preds' assistant general manager in Nashville when Suter when he was in Nashville and the two know each other well, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

However, Suter's preference to play in the Western Conference may make Pittsburgh more difficult to sell. That's why Shero may not just depend on his previous relationship with with Suter to entice him to Pittsburgh. He is rumored to be putting together a package to get the Preds to move his right to the Penguins.

The Flyers are another Eastern Conference team that has an interest in Suter, but he reportedly does not want to play with them, according to CSNPhilly.com. The Flyers added to their defense by trading James van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn, but Paul Holmgren still wants to do more.

The Detroit Red Wings figure to make a big push for Suter. Future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom recently retired and the Red Wings could use a stud defenseman to at least partially fill his shoes. It seems clear that the Red Wings will go after Suter with a big barrel of money.

The Minnesota Wild also appear to have a big interest in going after Suter. They are also likely to make a push for Parise, a Minnesota native. But they have needed a big-time defenseman since they traded Brett Burns a year ago. Radio station KFAN said on its "Wildblog" that Chuck Fletcher covets a player who can anchor the blue line for them.

Update: Thursday, June 28 at 12:55 p.m. ET

Sidney Crosby will sign a 12-year contract extension with the Penguins July 1, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The new deal reportedly will pay Crosby $104.4 million over its term.

That will give the Penguins a salary-cap hit of $8.7 million per year. That will not hurt the Penguins when it comes to making an offer to Suter, the top propect among defensemen in this year's free-agent class.

If the Penguins are successful in landing Suter, head coach Dan Bylsma might choose to pair him with Kris Letang, the team's best blueliner. 

 

Position: Center

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 187 pounds

Shoots: Right

DOB: Nov. 5, 1993

Team: Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Colton Sissons isn't going to blow you away in any one area of the game, but he is a complete player that is going to be a very valuable asset in the NHL.

Standing at 6'1", 187 pounds, Sissons has the build of a prototypical National Hockey League power forward and, indeed, his game reflects his size. Aside from his effectiveness in all three zones and ability to contribute on both special teams, the Vancouver native is a high-energy forward who drives the net, loves to hit and loves to score. Sissons uses his build to his advantage on the ice and when you have the kind of size he does, the advantage is valuable. 

What scouts love about Sissons—beyond his game—are his leadership qualities. He was named captain of the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets as a 17-year-old last season, and was also named captain of Team Orr at the CHL Top Prospects Game. He stands up for his teammates, sacrifices his body for the good of his squad and takes responsibility for his team's defeats, qualities that are going to make him an NHL captain some day.

In 58 games with the Kelowna Rockets this season, Sissons scored 26 goals with 15 assists for 41 points; while his points production didn't improve from 2010-11, the numbers showed enough to solidify his place as one of the top prospects in the draft class. He also racked up 62 penalty minutes, displaying his nastier side, but also recorded a minus-13 rating—though this is more representative of the strength of his Rockets team than of his defensive ability.

It isn't Sissons' point production, however, that is going to make him a valuable player in the NHL, but rather his leadership, unselfishness and determination. Sissons' ability to make those around him better is a sought-after quality, and whoever drafts him will be lucky to secure his services.

Central Scouting had Colton Sissons ranked as the 14th-best North American skater in the draft.

Analysis: Sissons could have been handmade for a role on an NHL third line. He will anchor a checking line in his future and will be a strong power-play specialist and penalty killer.

Position: Winger

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 194 lbs.

Shoots: Right

DOB: Sept. 23, 1993

Team: Djurgården (Elitserien)

For a team wanting a purely offensive talent, there were few better options in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft than Djurgården's Swedish winger Pontus Åberg.

A dynamic sniper, Åberg's best quality is no doubt his rocket slap shot. Fast and accurate, Åberg's shot has allowed him to become one of the most dominant young forwards in the Swedish Elitserien. 

Åberg is also a very good skater, with good acceleration and a high top speed, and he is willing to get physical to win puck battles. Like most young Swedes, Åberg is also a responsible defensive player, who can be an effective penalty killer.

Off the ice, Åberg is a humble, hard-working kid who is just the kind of down-to-earth personality you would want in your locker room.

Åberg spent the season with Djurgården in the Elitserien, where he rapidly established himself as one of the team's go-to players despite being an 18-year-old boy in a predominantly men's league. In 47 games with the Stockholm team, Åberg scored eight goals and added seven assists for 15 points, to go along with just six penalty minutes.

Unfortunately, Åberg missed the 2012 World Junior Championships due to injury, effectively missing the only chance he had to showcase his skills against others his age in front of scouts.

That said, Åberg is mature beyond his age and had shown enough through his impressive performance with his club team to solidify his status as a first-round pick. Because of his size and strength, Åberg could likely be in the NHL as soon as next season, but contract obligations will keep him from North America for one or two more seasons.

Pontus Åberg was ranked as the No. 6 European skater by Central Scouting before the draft.

Analysis: Åberg projects as a top-line power forward and a relied-upon offensive force. He will be able to contribute on both special teams.  

On November 3, 2011, the Nashville Predators signed their Goaltender Pekka Rinne to a seven-year deal worth $49 million, which was also the largest contract in team history.

Despite looming concerns on the contract statuses of the team's top pair of defencemen— Shea Weber and Ryan Suter—the team and GM Poile handsomely rewarded their starting goaltender of the previous three and a bit years to solidify him as the team's defensive cornerstone.

Fast forward seven months however, and discussions about Pekka Rinne or his contract are the last things on people's minds when it comes to the Predators. 

The hot topics revolving around Nashville's hockey team are:

• Will the team deal Suter ('s rights)/Weber?
• Can GM Poile keep them both?
• How will he sign all of the Predators' other free agents?

Considering Nashville's owners and their well publicised stinginess, it appears that GM Poile cannot offer max deals to Suter/Weber to stay in Tennessee.

Unless he can work some fantastic magic to convince them both to stay long term it's looking increasingly likely that one of, if not both Suter/Weber will no longer be Predator defencemen.

If that were to happen, questions will start to be asked.

Not only about why the team couldn't afford to offer them big-money deals, but also about whether or not the contract that Rinne received last year should've been used to keep Nashville's trio together.

Even if both Suter and Weber leave, I will maintain that GM Poile made the correct decision back in November.

Nashville are and have been now for the past five years give or take (cough 2008-09) a playoff team.

This means their aspirations (like every other team) of winning the Stanley Cup are actually realistic.

What's the most important piece to that championship puzzle?

Clue: The semi-finalists of this year's playoffs all had a top one.

That's right it's a top Goaltender.

So did previous Stanley Cup winners; LA had Jonathan Quick, Boston had Tim Thomas, Pittsburgh in 2009 had Marc-Andre Fleury, etc., etc.

Whilst a strong defence is helpful, it's almost impossible to win the Cup without strong goaltender play, be it from a career star or someone who's got hot at the right time.

And Nashville is not a team with the depth of the Red Wings in '08 especially on offense.

Since becoming Nashville's starting goaltender in 2008, Rinne has career averages of .921 save percentage and a GAA of 2.35.

If that doesn't say "elite" I'm not sure what does.

Rinne has a proven track record, playoff series victories under his belt (he'd have more if it wasn't for the Predators' anemic offense) and with the prime age for goalies being over 30, Rinne, who will be 30 later this year, has yet to hit his prime.

That's the type of player I want to build my team's defence around.

Your goaltender is the only player who plays all sixty minutes in a hockey game and even the best defence is permeable.

Locking up a Top-Five goalie in the league for his prime years is a great way to maintain that winning formula.

Elite goaltenders don't grow on trees, so Nashville did well to secure theirs.

Elite defenders in the mold of Shea Weber don't either and a loss like his to the team's defensive corps would impact the team a great deal.

Yet, Nashville boasts one of the league's deepest prospect pools in all areas and that (along with excellent scouting) means that a loss the size of Weber's/Suter's would be tough. However, the team does have a large number of NHL-ready prospects coming through to fill the gaps, see: Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Jonathon Blum.

Along with some solid free agency moves, a lot could be done to preserve the team's strength in depth if one of the two choose to leave.

That cannot be done for the players between the pipes however. Anders Lindback was unproven as is Magnus Hellberg.

The situation Nashville finds themselves in isn't remotely ideal. However, they have secured arguably the most important part of their defence in Pekka Rinne.

You cannot win hockey's greatest prize without someone of Rinne's caliber playing goalie and while losing Suter/Weber would be a huge blow to the team, losing Rinne would be even more detrimental to the team's success. 

If locking Rinne up means the team loses either Ryan Suter or Shea Weber, I'll stick with David Poile on his decision making.