Breaking News: Shea Weber Signs 14-Year Offer Sheet With Flyers; Rangers Were In Apparent Trade Talks For Weber

Alright, let me just get this out of the way no: Wow. According to reports from Darren Dreger, Shea Weber has signed a 14-year offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Nashville Predators will have a chance to retain Weber, as they have a seven-day window to match the Flyers' 14-year offer. The financial terms have not yet been officially released, but it's rumored to be in the range of $100 million, and could be even more than that figure. If the Predators were to let Weber walk to the Flyers, they will receive four, count em', four first round picks from the Philadelphia Flyers. We'll explain how all that mess works out after the jump.

There is more to all of this funny business though. Apparently the Predators were in some serious trade talks with multiple teams, in regards to Shea Weber. Also according to Dreger, among the teams in talks with Nashville about Weber, were the New York Rangers. We don't know any sort of offers, players involved, or anything of that nature, we just know for a fact that the Rangers were one of the teams in on Weber, and they were serious about acquiring him. The other teams involved, including the Rangers, were the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, and obviously the Philadelphia Flyers.

Follow after the jump for more.

As for this whole compensation debacle, it was first noted by Dreger that it will cost the Flyers four first round picks. He shortly retracted his statement, and said that it would than cost them two first round picks, a second, and a third round pick. There was much confusion surrounding the actual compensation value, but our friends over at Broad Street Hockey cleared that up, and perfectly at that.

Depending on the exact figures, the cap hit might be under $6,728,781 (which typically means a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick) or between $6,728,781 and $8,410,976 (which typically means two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd). However, this is misleading; the compensation for long deals is not based on cap hit, but on one-fifth of the total value of the contract. For a package of over $100 million, that means it would be treated as a $20 million/year offer, which is obviously in the top group and would cost the Flyers their first round pick in each of the next four years.

Now for more about all of this trade talk. Apparently the Flyers had contacted the Predators numerous times regarding Shea Weber, and the talks began to take a tail spin. The Flyers eventually grew tired of waiting for the Predators to make a move, and they made a move on their own. Weber agreed to sign the deal with Philadelphia which now puts the ball in Nashville's court. Do the Predators match this lucrative offer?

I honestly think they do. The Predators recently lost their other prized defenseman, Ryan Suter, to the Minnesota Wild and they cannot afford to lose another. In fact, I think this almost solidifies his career in Nashville. It's been noted that the Predators will likely match any offer that is thrown at Shea Weber, and this is the type of scenario they were talking about. The terms may not be so pretty, but the Predators have more than enough cap space to bring back Weber.

Not to mention, there was almost no mention of talks in regards to Weber signing an extension in Nashville. Management wants to keep him, Weber likely wants to stay, and as I stated before, the have the cap to do so. I know that sounds silly saying that Weber wants to stay, after signing an offer sheet with the Flyers. But think about it for a second, could this be a ploy to get him that massive contract in Nashville?

We will never know for sure, but all we know is, the next seven days ahead will be very hectic, and interesting at the same time. If Weber does wind up in orange next season, knock the Atlantic Division up a notch. It just got that much harder for the New York Rangers.