The July 1st UFA date is looming and sides are taking positions…

David Poile was quoted extensively over the weekend talking about the demands that Pred UFA’s are making. The agents strike back in a piece in today’s Tennessean… Looking at the critical UFA's, one by one…

Steve Sullivan – Obviously the big one… Discussions are on-going, however, both sides are stating that they are far apart on money and contract length. I expect Sullivan to hit the open market… that doesn’t mean I don’t expect him back in Nashville. I just think he needs to see what the value is, given all he’s been through.

Joel Ward – IMHO... potentially the toughest call of all the UFA’s. He had a breakout year in his first season in the NHL. The Predators are trying to figure out if that was a one-year wonder or the beginning of a solid NHL career. Reports have Ward’s agent demanding triple what he made last year. Now that sounds a bit much, however, he made 500k last year... 1.5 million seems a tad high. If he hits the open market, he’s gone. Ward’s agent, Peter Cooney, is quoted as saying “we have no complaints in Nashville. We just have to have the right number to return.”

Greg Zanon – The Vulcanized Rubber Magnet will make a great addition to another team. The third line d-man will probably get second line money and second line pressure from his next team. I would be shocked if Zanon re-sign’s in Nashville unless NHL GM’s show a monetary restraint that they are not famous for.

Vernon Fiddler – Another role player in a team full of them… the two sides are fairly far apart in their contract ideas. Jeff Helperl, Fiddler’s agent, has indicated that there has not been much contact between the two parties. The cocahing staff loves him, but the demands may be too steep for the business side of the team.

The other UFA’s? deVries, Koistinen, Ortmeyer, Bonk… all probably gone… The interesting one, and one that is getting no press at all is Scott Nichol. One that I would really like to see re-signed, for the right price.

Using the payroll figures from last year… figure the team has about $12 million to fill out around 10 roster spots… that includes RFA’s (Ryan Jones, Cal O’Reilly, Antti Pihlstrom.) If Sullivan takes up three million (pure guess here)… the RFA’s take up another three million together… figure a few rookie salaries (Sulzer, Franson, Wilson)… There’s probably 3.5-4.5 million left for UFA’s… not a big budget in today’s NHL, but the big unknown is how the market will look given the very real possibility of a salary cap reduction coming and the long term deals that have already been signed.

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Interesting to see how David Poile was fairly clear in saying that he has no interest in the Dany Heatley drama in Ottawa.

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The talk continues about potential trades at the draft. Pred Nation was buzzing a bit over the talk of potentially trading up, but GM David Poile squelched that hope a bit with his comments on WKRN News 2 last night, stating that he would be open to trading down if the right player wasn’t available at the 11 spot.

The Predators have 12 picks in this draft… a draft that is looked on as one of the deeper drafts in recent years.

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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating during Pred home games in season with information and explanations from the PA box.

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Join Brandon Felder and me for the fastest hour in radio… HockeyBuzz Radio... Wednesday night’s through July 1st. Start time is 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR, you can listen online at www.wnsr.com or you can download the podcast of the show at www.hockeybuzzradio.com

Wednesday’s show will feature OHL Director of recruitment Joe Birch to give us the lowdown on the players that will be drafted, Eklund will be bringing us the hottest rumors leading up to UFA day and more… so tune in!

Don't forget to check out www.hockeybuzzradio.com for playoff schedules, playoff standings, updates, links to more hockey and Predators information along with our new weekly feature called “On the Mark” featuring opinions on all things hockey from hockey writer Mark McGee.

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