Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year, $14 million contract. ?Ryan has established himself as an integral part of our team and one of our core players moving forward,? Poile said. ?He has shown the ability to play in all key situations, including both special teams units.? Suter, 23 (1/21/85), established career highs in assists (24), points (31), and penalty minutes (71) in 2007-08, while leading all Nashville blueliners in goals (7) and finishing second in points. The 6-1, 196-pound native of Madison, Wis., has averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time the past two seasons and has only missed six games due to injuries in that span. Originally Nashville?s first choice, seventh overall (first round), in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft held in Nashville, Suter has appeared in all 11 of the Predators' playoff games the past two years and ranked second on the team in average time on ice (21:12) in 2008. He also helped make history in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. Detroit when he scored a game-tying goal that was followed by Jason Arnott?s game winner just nine seconds later. It marked the first time in NHL history that a team has gone from trailing a playoff game to leading it in less than 10 seconds. A graduate of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Suter has played in six national tournaments for the United States and helped capture a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships, the nation?s first title in the tournament.