Predators Sign Hordichuk, Zanon, Klein, Dietrich and Thuresson

[BGDDYKWL]

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville Predators Executive Vice President/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed forward Darcy Hordichuk (DAHR-see HOHR-dih-chuhk) and defenseman Kevin Klein (KEH-vihn KLIGHN) to one-year contracts and defenseman Greg Zanon (GREHG ZA-nuhn) to a two-year deal. The club also signed 2007 Entry Draft selections Robert Dietrich (RAW-buhrt DEE-trihk) and Andreas Thuresson (an-DRAY-uhs THUHR-eh-suhn) to three-year contracts.

Zanon, 27 (6/5/80), established career-highs in games played (66), goals (3), assists (5) and points (8) last season with Nashville. The 5-11, 211-pound blueliner led the Predators and ranked among NHL leaders in blocked shots (189) and finished third on the club in hits (91). The Burnaby, B.C. native also ranked second on the club in shorthanded ice time per game (4:09) and ranked second among club d-men with a +16 rating.

Zanon’s contract will pay him $700,000 in 2007-08 and $750,000 in 2008-09.

Hordichuk, 26 (8/10/80), has 17 points (8g-9a) and 253 penalty minutes in 127 games with Nashville over the last two seasons. The 6-1, 215-pound native of Kamsack, Sask. posted career-highs in games played (74), goals (7), assists (6), points (13) and penalty minutes (158) with Nashville in 2005-06.

Hordichuk’s contract will pay him $517,000 in 2007-08.

Klein, 22 (12/13/84), skated in three games with Nashville in 2006-07 and scored his first career NHL goal on January 26 vs. Chicago. The 6-1, 195-pound defenseman ranked third among Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) blueliners with 20 points (5g-15a) in 70 games in 2006-07. Klein was originally Nashville’s third choice, 37th overall (second round), in the 2003 Entry Draft.

Klein will be paid $500,000 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the minor-league level in 2007-08.

Thuresson, 19 (11/18/87), registered 15 points (10g-5a) in 49 games with Malmo (Sweden) in 2006-07. The 6-1, 200-pound forward was Nashville’s seventh selection, 144th overall (fifth round), in the 2007 Entry Draft.

Thuresson’s contract is a three-year deal that will pay him $475,000 in the first season, $500,000 in the second season and $525,000 in the third season at the NHL level. He will be paid $60,000 at the minor-league level throughout the length of the contract.

Dietrich, 20 (7/25/86), posted 22 points (3g-19a) in 52 games with Dusseldorf (Germany) in 2006-07. The 5-10, 172-pound blueliner was Nashville’s eighth selection, 174th overall (sixth round) in the 2007 Entry Draft.

Dietrich’s contract is a three-year deal that will pay him $475,000 in the first season, $500,000 in the second season and $525,000 in the third season at the NHL level. He will be paid $50,000 at the minor-league level in the first year of the contract and $60,000 in the final two years of the contract.

[Humpzilla]

Anyone else think Hordichuk is being vastly underpaid?

I mean, this guy is easily one of the most popular players left on the team (besides Tootoo), and is probably the most active & most liked person in that team's community and the organization itself. And beyond this, Hordi plays a huge part in Nashville's 4th line. The guy contributes more than what you see statistically...

[Isles4life]

Hordichuk does do a lot for the Preds, but given the way players of his type are treated around the league currently, he should be happy being with a team that's likely to keep a spot for him on their roster.

[Snipes19]

Originally Posted by Humpzilla

Anyone else think Hordichuk is being vastly underpaid?

I mean, this guy is easily one of the most popular players left on the team (besides Tootoo), and is probably the most active & most liked person in that team's community and the organization itself. And beyond this, Hordi plays a huge part in Nashville's 4th line. The guy contributes more than what you see statistically...

Underpaid? I don't think so.

Popularity among fans doesn't play a factor in what a player is being paid. Yeah, a lot of enforcers are fan favorites, but that doesn't mean that they should get high salaries. Hordichuk may be a good 4th-liner, but he's nothing more than that, so I don't see how 500,000 is "underpaying" him. He's an enforcer. Fighting is his job, so he won't (and shouldn't) get paid that much, no matter how much fans worship him. 4th-liners come cheap - that's reality.

Anyways, this is great news for the Predators. Hordichuk is one of the more entertaining fighters in the league, and seeing as how the Preds team is getting completely ruined, they deserve at least some excitement, and Hordichuk will provide that. You always love to see a team sign a heavyweight, so it's good to see that there's one staying in Nashville. They should be one of the tougher and more physical teams in the league once again.

[Humpzilla]

Originally Posted by Wes McSnipes

Underpaid? I don't think so.

Popularity among fans doesn't play a factor in what a player is being paid. Yeah, a lot of enforcers are fan favorites, but that doesn't mean that they should get high salaries. Hordichuk may be a good 4th-liner, but he's nothing more than that, so I don't see how 500,000 is "underpaying" him. He's an enforcer. Fighting is his job, so he won't (and shouldn't) get paid that much, no matter how much fans worship him. 4th-liners come cheap - that's reality.

Considering how the Preds franchise has completely **** on their collective fan base in every way possible this off-season, I think it should. Hell, its not like they don't have the free cap space to spend a little extra when its appropriate....

Well my argument is this -- there are many other players who are enforcers who're getting more then the league minimum. Tough guys like Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, George Parros, Jody Shelley, Todd Fedoruk and Josh Gratton are all making more money a year than Hordi is next season, yet he can play just as solid a shift, if not better than they can. He's also just as dedicated to throwing down and protecting teammates as they are. Look no further than the 2005-06 season; Hordi can put up points as long as he receives decent playing time from Trotz, which he didn't this year. He was even a +9 a couple of seasons ago.

To me, this is just more bull**** from an organization which is seemingly cutting every corner possible now that they know its a matter of time before the ship goes down for good....

[HordiBrusk29]

Originally Posted by Wes McSnipes

Hordichuk may be a good 4th-liner, but he's nothing more than that, so I don't see how 500,000 is "underpaying" him.

Yet Josh Gratton is getting paid $550,000. At the end of the day I don't care what either guy is making as long as two guys like Hordichuk and Gratton are in the league. But it does seem strange that a guy like Gratton would be making more than a veteran like Hordichuk. It's not like Gratton really brings anything more to the table than Hordichuk.

[bustoff]

That in itself makes the Blues-Preds games worth watching for the coming season. I expect King and Hordi will get to know eachother real well this year.

[BrianTheAdsFan]

Finally some signings and good ones at that. I agree Darcy should be getting paid more, but not much more. If he was the one true enforcer on the team, I would say he's well underpaid, but that's what makes the Preds a little different. There are quite a few players on this team that aren't afraid to rile stuff up on the ice and back it up by dropping 'em. That being said, the Preds are going cheap with the signings they have made (and the ones they haven't) to stop the financial bleeding that has been going on there. As far as crappin all over the fan base, they understand what's going on and the situation the club is in (possible sale...possible move). From hearing all the doom and gloom, one would think they won't draw 5,000 a game next year. They had a rally for the team in Nashville not too long ago to show support for keeping them there and it drew 20,000 people. Nashville fans realize their backs are agianst the wall and won't go down without a fight. The corporate side of the area is seeing this and support on that end is definately growing (Sommet stepping up with naming rights for the arena being just one example). Don't be surprised if Nashville gets past that 14,000 season ticket mark and can actually take a benefit in full revenue sharing. Once returning into the black, I can see this team once again spending more for high end players. As for the short term, don't count this team out. They have a fine goalie between the pipes, a young and talented blueline, (something alot of teams can't boast about) some very talented people up front coming into their own, and a proven coaching staff. Will they win the cup? Doubtful. It would be a fairy tale if they did, but this team won't finish last either. Tough times mean tough decisions and the current ownership and fanbase are doing what they have to do to dig themselves out of this hole.

[DaveBrown69]

Glad he got signed. I think he deserved a little more though. Just my opinion and it is skewed towards his type of player.