Once the 2011-12 season began, the NHL world was well aware that the next twelve months could either shape or decimate the Nashville Predators organization. Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne, far and away the team’s best players, were all looking for long-term contracts, and the franchise’s financial limitations have long been obvious. Suter and Rinne were set to enter unrestricted free agency, while Weber was anxiously watching his teammates’ proceedings as he entered his final offseason as a restricted free agent, the organization knowing full well that what happened with Suter and Rinne would have a big effect on Weber’s decision. Well on Thursday, November 3rd, the Predators struck early and with authority by locking up their franchise goaltender Pekka Rinne to a seven-year, $49M contract extension, by far the biggest contract in franchise history. Nashville used its 8th round pick in 2004 on a little-known Finnish goalie. They then slowly developed him until he was absolutely ready, playing in only three NHL games from 2005-06 to 2007-08. But since the 2008-09 season, Rinne has taken hold of the team’s #1 goalie job and never let go, putting up impressive numbers that culminated with a Vezina Trophy nomination last year after he went 33-22-9 with a ridiculous 2.12 GAA and .930 SV%. But this deal was about far more than his numbers and his place among the elite. This was about sending a message to the organization’s top players that they will be rewarded for their play; that they won’t just be peddled off for cheaper talent because of their financial restrictions (they are currently operating with less than $50M in salaries, almost $15M below the cap) . This was about sending a message to Suter and Weber, saying: “We know it isn’t going to be easy to pay all three of you, but we will go down trying.” The players deserve it, the organization deserves it, and most importantly the fans deserve it. The fans deserve to see their favorite players staying with the team for their prime years and for the team to continue to build on their recent success. This is about sending a message to the other GMs and organizations around the league, a message that Nashville won’t just be their factory for drafting and developing well only to let other team’s reap the rewards of their efforts. And with the way Nashville is set up right now, they can afford to pay all three if they choose, because their books are very clean: Beyond next season they only have two contracts on the books totaling $9M. They can afford to (attempt to) sign all three of their marquee players and do their best to fill the other holes on the roster with younger, cheaper talent as well as veterans who may be willing to take pay cuts for a successful team. Does that mean they will be able to keep all three? Not necessarily. Rinne could very well be the only one of the three to sign; or maybe he is just the first of two, or of three. But at least Nashville realized what they had to do, and did right by their player(s) and their fanbase. Grade for Nashville: A As much as this agreement is a win for Nashville, it is just as much a win for Rinne. For one, he doesn’t have to enter free agency, where he may not have many bidders, because as great as he is, there are barely any teams with a clear need for a #1 goalie next year that can a) afford him and b) have a roster spot; it is hard enough for goalies to find backup jobs lately. There also has to be a great deal of comfort in Nashville for Rinne. There, he is out from under the scrutiny that many other goaltenders are under because of huge markets and big media followings. Rinne can simply focus on winning and not getting hung out to dry by the press and fans if he has one bad game. Lastly, can you call any deal a loss when it makes you the highest paid player at your position? The contracts that Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov received may be worth more over the life of the deal, but Rinne will now have the highest cap hit among goalies at a clean $7M, just eclipsing Henrik Lundqvist’s $6.875M. Rinne’s agent deserves a great deal of credit for getting Nashville to agree to make him the highest paid annually at his position (Weber is also the highest paid defenseman, for what it’s worth). Rinne could also be sending a very clear, very positive message to his pair of All-Star defensemen with this contract as well, encouraging them to stay and help the franchise build on last year’s success in the playoffs (and not leaving him out to dry and face 40 shots a night if they both leave…) Grade for Rinner: A Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan