from Jeremy K Gover of Section 303,

The prizes of this free agency class are defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Zach Parise. Some think it will take roughly $9 million to sign each player. Using that number, let’s take the best case scenario and say the Preds sign both (again, purely as an example). That’s a whopping $18 million tied up in just those two players. But guess who’s still not even at the salary cap floor.

It’s also assumed that team captain, restricted free agent and back-to-back Norris Trophy finalist Shea Weber will get at least an equal contract to Suter, if not a little more. So, based on the number we used for Suter ($9 million), let’s assume he nets $9.5 million. Poile and company sign their captain and still have $7.8 million left over per year to sign four or five more players. And what are Poile and company best known for this time of year? Shrewd signings.

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note: the numbers listed at the site have changed just a bit with the just announced signing of Paul Gaustad