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Weber excited about Preds’ future

Shea Weber

Shea Weber #6 of the Nashville Predators awaits a face off against the Phoenix Coyotes in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Jobing.com Arena on April 27, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Predators 4-3 in overtime. (April 26, 2012 - Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

Defenseman Shea Weber inked a 14-year, $110 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer, but the Nashville Predators ultimately exercised their right to match the contract.

Now, barring a trade, Nashville and Weber are stuck with each other through the 2025-26 campaign. However, even after his team finished with the fourth worst record in the NHL, Weber insists he wants to stay in Nashville.

“For sure, definitely,” Weber told The Tennessean. “I’m committed to everything here — committed to the team and coaching staff and my teammates, and committed to being better for them and getting back to the postseason.”

Weber had the opportunity to talk to Predators GM David Poile and the team captain expressed confidence in Poile’s abilities.

“I know I’m going to be here, and I’m excited about that,” Weber said. “With the direction we’re headed with the young guys and the guys coming back next year, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Poile also seems upbeat going into the summer. It helps that they won’t have to deal with a situation similar to last year when attempting to retain Weber and Ryan Suter consumed much of the team’s focus.

“That was a situation where we were paralyzed by that,” Poile said. “We got to July 4 or 5, and when all the dust settled, there was nowhere to go in terms of adding players or changing things around.

“Virtually all the guys we would have any interest in had gone in a different direction, so that hurt us from an improvement standpoint.”

Nashville has plenty of cap space and would like to spend it on acquiring “dynamic” forwards. The Predators scored an NHL-low 111 goals in 2013.