What You Need to Know July 20

Welcome to another edition of What You Need to Know. This edition is coming to you from the mountains just outside of Montreal. It's been a crazy week around the NHL so let's get you caught up.

Today we'll start with the biggest move and a scenario that would pretty much ruin the Nashville Predators. Chances are you've heard of Shea Weber, the heart and soul of the Predators and their captain. On Thursday morning news broke that Weber had signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers. The good news for Predator fans, is Nashville still has an opportunity to match that offer sheet and keep their captain in the music city. Only problem, the offer sheet is huge. How huge? 14 years $110 million. What makes this even worse for the Predators is they just lost Weber's friend and defence partner Ryan Suter to the Wild. The Preds stand in danger of losing both of their top two defenceman (ones already gone) and their captain, not a scenario you want to face. Of course they could always match the offer sheet, but do they really want to spend all that money on Weber?
If the Predators fail to match the offer sheet, they will receive four draft picks in exchange. Could this be the start of a massive rebuild?

Not a major surprise but unrestricted free agent Shane Doan has still not made up his mind on whether he will return to Phoenix or "take his talents elsewhere." Whats he waiting for? He is waiting for some clearer information on the ownership of the Coyotes. News that could take months to come! Doan has spent the last 16 seasons in Phoenix, and has been the captain since 2003. He has submitted a list of teams, and received a $30 million offer from one team (rumoured to be the Sabres). Only time will tell if Doan stays in the desert.

Stepping away from free agency and signing for a minute. More news on the 2013 Winter Classic. Leafs alumni Mats Sundin and Tie Domi both announced they will play in the Winter Classic alumni game. The two will join former Leaf Darcy Tucker. All three donned the blue and white together for several seasons.

What is Gary Bettman doing right now? His sole focus right now is trying to get a new collective bargaining agreement in place and avoid the third lockout under his control.  Bettman said he was "Focused on making a deal"and that he wants the deal done with the NHLPA prior to September 15th. But NHLPA head Donald Fehr wasn't as fond of the deadline his counter part set. Fehr commented that business can stall go on even after the deadline:

"The law doesn't require that the industry shut down if you don't have an agreement. Somebody has to chose to shut it down. At the moment, I see no reason to do that. Hopefully they don't either." ~ Donald Fehr

Talk about a loaded gun. This is basically Fehr's way of saying "If there is a lockout, it wasn't my idea". It will be interesting to see how much of a fight the NHLPA is willing to put up. But do the players really want to take a year of hockey?

Back to the signings. Buffalo Sabres first round draft choice Mikhail Grigorenko has finally signed his three-year entry-level contract. Grigorenko is now Sabres property and can not go and play for the KHL. But here's the kicker, if Grigorenko fails to crack the Sabres roster out of training camp he can't go play for the Rochester Americans because of his age. Grigorenko would have to go back and play in the QMJHL.

Tis the season to add coaches.
Next to free agency one of the busiest things about July is teams switching assistant coaches.

The New Jersey Devils have added Scott Stevens as an assistant coach. Stevens played 13 seasons in the NHL and was one of the most feared defenceman. He captained the Devils to three Stanley Cup championships and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. Decent resume eh?
Stevens will be in charge of the Devils defence.

The Chicago Blackhawks have added Jamie Kompon to their coaching staff. Kompon brings along a Stanley Cup ring from his days behind the Los Angeles Kings bench, where he spent 6 seasons prior.

Modano Return?
How much of an impact did the signing of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise have? It was big enough to convince Mike Modano to possibly come out of retirement and play one more season. Is there any truth to this rumour? Well Modano did start working out again on Monday, and didn't rule out the possibility of returning when he was asked.

"I don't know," he said. "You look at things and you wonder, 'What's the worst thing that could happen?' I mean, I get in better shape, one more year? That kind of intrigues me."

Mike Green returns to the Capitals
Mike Green is going to be seeing a lot of green after signing a three year extension with the Capitals. The two sides agreed to a three year deal worth $18.25 million, which will see him make $6 million for the next two years and then $6.25 million in the last deal. What do you think, is Mike Green worth the money?

That'll do it for this weeks update. Catch ya'll next week!