Predators evaluating offer ramifications

The Nashville Predators released a statement on Thursday morning to acknowledge that they are in receipt of the offer sheet signed by defenseman Shea Weber with the Flyers.

It appears, according to the statement, that this offer will sit for a few days while Nashville evaluates the complexity of the Flyers' attempt at a 'poison pill' offer.

"We are in receipt of the offer sheet signed between the Philadelphia Flyers and Shea Weber," Nashville GM David Poile said. "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."

For their part, the Flyers have rebuffed all media requests and they are refusing to further comment on the offer.

For me, the key to the statement is that the Predators are almost acknowledging the Flyers' shot front-loading the deal. If the contract structure as reported by Rogers SportsNet's Nick Kypreos is indeed true, Weber will be due $27 million in the next 347 days alone. The deal would be worth upwards of $68 million in the first 6 seasons.

In perspective, the Predators' entire franchise valuation was targeted at $163 million in 2011 by Forbes Magazine.

Sure, the Predators would be a much better team in the short-term, as Poile hinted, but would they be better off in the long-term being cash strapped by one player? The other half of their defense corps was already decimated on July 4 when Ryan Suter bolted for Minnesota.

For now, it just doesn't sound like anything definitive will be happening any time soon - perhaps even before the weekend is over.

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers