Edited Nov. 16, 2019 at 1:27 p.m.
Quoting: GMs
NSH is taking all of it lmao if Weber retires at 39 yo, 24.5M in caphit is going to NSH lmao I will try to find a link for you, Poile take a big risk on that trade
The risk was in signing the contract, more than in trading it. Biggest contract in Nasville hockey history. Kept the team on the map. WIthout that signing, they'd have had neither Weber nor Subban for their run to the Finals a couple years ago, and I don't think they'd have gotten there.
Even with Weber, Nashville had typically operated with an "internal cap," meaning they couldn't afford to spend up to the cap because they didn't have enough fans. Now they have enough fans to spend up to the cap, and they still have a GM who has proven he can win without doing so. 24M in cap hit over how many years? If it's all at once, it might force them to tank a bit. Otherwise, seems like they made the right move in signing Weber, compared to not signing him, not getting to trade him for Subban, not making the finals, and still staying 10M below the cap every year in case nobody in Tennessee bought ice hockey tickets.
ETA: they also just traded Subban for, like, three high 2nd picks (one of whom was already an NHL 3C) and a recent 7th. That and a trip to the Finals should be worth having to tank some random year, if Weber retires before he's bought out. It'll still be frustrating at the time, if it happens, but there's also a chance that Weber wants to play forever and gets traded to a cost-conscious team looking to stay above the floor and add a player/coach for some leadership. Have to think Ottawa will be out of the basement by the time the wheels fall off of Weber, but some team doing what Ottawa's been doing lately could be thrilled to add an Olympic hero with an 8M cap hit and a 2M salary.