David Legwand had the blessing and curse of being the first player ever NHL Entry selected by the Nashville Predators, 2nd overall waaaaaaay back in 1998.Despite the fact that the sale of the Preds is in limbo, and many other contracts were slashed and traded to greatly reduce payroll, the Preds seemingly had no problem coming up with the cash to lock Legwand down to a 6-year/$27mil deal.
"This is the first step moving forward under new ownership and is a sign of commitment, a desire to win and a desire to keep the core of our young team together in Nashville," said GM David Poile in a team statement.
Legwand is tied for second on the team this season in points (21) and assists.
Last season, he posted career-highs in points (63), goals (27) and assists (36), helping the Predators to their best finish in franchise history
$4.5mil per season for Legwand? That seems pricey, especially for someone know to have been a career underachiever.
Well, under the radar of most hockey fans, including myself, Legwand has greatly improved and developed over the past season-and-a-half, and has put up 84 points in his last 104 games.
From 1999 to mid-2006, Legwand was basically a guy with a lot of tools, but no toolbox to put them in. Putting up about a point every two games, Legwand was far from the franchise player that he was drafted to be, and was basically ye olde average player. Then, last season, Legwand finally found the spark and made the leap to being an impact player offensively, as well as a dependable defensive presence.
Legwand isn't a star by any stretch of the imagination, but he is important to the Nashville franchise, and his production merits a long-term deal of this nature. Let's not forget that Legwand is only 27 years of age, and still has many productive years ahead of him. Perhaps, he'll bring his game to another level and get to where he can reach the 70-point plateau.
After the Nashville Predators 
