Report: Matt Duchene, Predators to Agree on 7-Year, $56M Contract

Matt Duchene has agreed to join the Nashville Predators, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

"As others have also speculated, while nothing can be signed until Monday, Matt Duchene slated to join Nashville," LeBrun tweeted. "Contract can't be officially negotiated until Monday but sounds like $56 million over seven years is what has been discussed."

Speculation that the Predators were frontrunners to land the 28-year-old center intensified when Nashville traded P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils on June 22:

That speculation was fueled by several moving parts that have been coming together for years, as The Athletic's Adam Vingan wrote:

"The coming together of Duchene and the Predators has been destined for some time. There's a widely held belief that Duchene has long desired to play in Nashville. His love of country music and the fact he owns a rental property in town have been used to support that belief.

"The Predators also haven’t been shy about their interest in Duchene.

"'It's no secret that we talked to Colorado for a long, long time about Duchene,' [president of hockey operations and general manager David] Poile said in November 2017 after helping to facilitate Duchene’s departure from the Avalanche in a three-way trade with the Ottawa Senators."

Poile told NHL.com's Dan Rosen that the Subban trade was partially because "we felt it was necessary to clear up cap space this way."

The Predators used that space to finally sign Duchene.

The 2009 first-round pick is on the move less than five months after the Ottawa Senators traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Once he arrived in Columbus, Duchene scored four goals and registered eight assists in 23 games. 

Overall last season, Duchene tallied 31 goals and 39 assists in 73 games.