Nashville Predators: What GM David Poile's Latest Comments Mean for Ryan Suter

The biggest uncertainty for the Nashville Predators this season—more so than their on-ice play—has been the question marks surrounding the futures of both Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Preds GM David Poile chimed in Monday on his efforts to re-sign Suter, who is an impending unrestricted free agent. 

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"Our first and foremost goal is to sign Ryan. We’ve been trying to do that all season long. I’ve not accomplished that to this point, but we’re hoping to continue discussions and get that done at some point. We’ll be prepared, if we feel that we weren’t going to be able to sign Ryan, and if we thought we were in a position that we had to or should trade him. I’m certainly hoping that doesn’t happen, I don’t want that to happen, but I want to be prepared for that." - via The Tennessean

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I smell something fishy with Poile's latest comments. To me, it translates to "we're still sitting pretty in the playoff hunt, but if that changes, we're dealing Suter at the trade deadline (Feb. 27)."

The Predators have the lowest payroll in the league and have already signed goaltender Pekka Rinne to seven years, $49 million. The team likely won't have the capital necessary to re-sign both Weber and Suter to long-term deals.

Both stars are in the prime of their careers and each rank in the league's top five in ice-time per game, so it's safe to assume that both players want a big payday before next season's commencement.  

It's no secret to Predators fans that the front office is working their collective tails off to ink both of their star defenders before the offseason, while other teams are already drooling at the possibility of adding the blue-liners to their roster. While Weber undoubtedly gets the bulk of the attention, trading Suter this season would give Nashville a huge return.

When Weber went down with a concussion in December and Suter was left to captain the defense for four games, they averaged an impressive 2.25 goals against. Weber's attention for his dominance and charisma on the ice is well-deserved, but this top-heavy defense could fall apart without Suter.  

Predators hype is at an all-time high in Smashville, as Bridgestone Arena is selling out at record breaking fashion. Losing Suter while the Preds are still in playoff contention might not only cripple their chances of a Stanley Cup run, but deflate a city that desperately needs the Preds playing at a high level.

It seems like Monday's comments from Poile is part of a chess match. It's a message for other teams to start getting their deals ready.