It might be the wave of the future for small-market teams in pro sports. Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers pioneered it. The NHL’s Nashville Predators are following suit. Develop a handful of homegrown stars and make a run at a title while they can.
In a way, it’s no different than what the Tampa Bay Rays are doing to great praise in baseball. But the Brewers and Predators have added a twist — they are being overly aggressive in adding talent quickly even if it means burning through the farm system. It shortens the window to compete but gives them better odds in the short term.
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The Brewers traded for ace pitcher CC Sabathia in 2008. That at least got them to the postseason at the cost of several top prospects. Last year they tried to surround sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun with as much talent as possible, trading for pitcher Zack Greinke before the season. They came within two games of the World Series and, as expected, lost Fielder to free agency.
Nashville is in a similar situation. Star defenseman Ryan Suter is an unrestricted free agent. Shea Weber, maybe the NHL’s best defenseman, is a restricted free agent for just one more year. Instead of trading both, the Predators are loading up. They signed star goalie Pekka Rinne to a massive contract. They added veteran defenseman Hal Gill, scoring winger Andrei Kostitsyn and faceoff specialist Paul Gaustad in well-regarded recent trades.
Maybe the moves will convince Weber and Suter the organization is serious and they can afford to sign long-term. More likely, both will leave and Nashville has filled some weaknesses for this year and given themselves a legitimate shot at one deep Stanley Cup playoff run.
