The Philadelphia Flyers have signed star defenseman Shea Weber to an offer sheet, the team confirmed early Thursday.
The deal is for 14 years and is worth about $100 million, a source confirmed to ESPN.com. Weber will receive $56 million in the first four years of the deal, a source told ESPN The Magazine NHL Insider Craig Custance.
A restricted free agent, Weber has spent his entire career with the Nashville Predators, who have seven days to match Philadelphia’s offer, which was first reported by TSN of Canada.
If the Predators decide not to match the offer, they would receive four first-round draft picks from the Flyers, according to TSN.
“We have stated previously that, should a team enter into an offer sheet with Shea, our intention would be to match and retain Shea,” Predators general manager David Poile said. “Due to the complexity of the offer sheet, we will take the appropriate time to review and evaluate it and all of its ramifications in order to make the best decision for the Predators in both the short and long-term.”
Weber’s departure would be a devastating blow to a team that already lost All-Star defensemanRyan Suter, who signed a 13-year, $98 million deal July 4 with the Minnesota Wild.
The Flyers were exposed on defense in a five-game, Round 2 loss to New Jersey, and since have lost defenseman Matt Carle, who snared a six-year, $33 million deal with Tampa Bay. Weber would fix a lot of those problems.
Meanwhile, Weber would fill the void left by Philadelphia defenseman Chris Pronger‘s absence. Pronger — a key cog in the Flyers’ run to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals — has been battling concussion problems and missed most of last season. He finished with one goal in 13 games as the Flyers bowed out in the second round to New Jersey after a promising, 103-point regular season.
A three-time All-Star and the Predators’ captain for the past two years, Weber scored 19 goals and had 49 points this past season while anchoring one of the NHL’s top defensive teams.
Weber, 26, has 99 goals and 164 assists in his seven-year NHL career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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