Look around the NHL and you will find that there is no shortage of speculation about how this team or that team is in "great position" either to trade for Shea Weber's RFA rights this summer or to sign him an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Flyers are just one of the many teams that would be involved in the chase.

Right now, if Weber goes UFA next summer, I would think the Vancouver Canucks would be considered the initial front-runners to be the team that lands the British Columbia native. Once the Canucks deal Roberto Luongo and his $5.3 million cap hit to install the more-than-capable Corey Schneider as a full-time starter, they will start to free up cap space that will only increase next off-season when Manny Malhotra ($2.5 million) and Andrew Alberts ($1.25 million) come off the books.

Apart from growing up in B.C. and playing his junior hockey for the Kelowna Rockets, Weber would likely be tempted by the idea of joining a top Stanley Cup contender that is still looking for the first championship in franchise history. The fact that he could be near family and also rejoin former Predator teammate and fellow B.C. native Dan Hamhuis in their native province would be even further incentive.

That's not to say the Flyers wouldn't be in the mix if he'd be willing to come east. Kimmo Timonen's $6.8 million cap hit comes off the books next summer and, as the Flyers showed with their all-out pursuit of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, they are not afraid to get involved in bidding wars.

The main issue I'm wondering about right now, though, is whether Weber is willing to negotiate a long-term extension with ANY team right now. If the Predators feel like they are destined to risk losing him for nothing next summer -- same as just happened with Suter -- they may feel it to better to trade Weber now and try to maximize the return.

Under any circumstances, a Weber trade would fetch a strong return for Nashville. The Flyers and other teams will line up to put in their trade bids for the franchise defenseman. David Poile can extract players who would be considered untouchable in just about any other trade discussion.

However, the price tag on Weber as a one-year rental will still be lower than that if the player expresses a willingness to sign long-term with his new team. The higher the risk Nashville passes on of losing Weber after one year, the less 1992 Lindros-like the various trade package offers will be from other teams.

Likewise, the longer Nashville waits into next season, the lower the trade return they can expect. Trading Weber now would likely bring back more than signing him for one year and waiting for the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the team would deal with the constant distraction of trade rumors around its best player and Weber himself would have to field constant questions about his contract status.

The Weber camp has thus far planted the "wait-and-see" seeds that appear to lead to UFA status come next summer. However, the departure of Suter from Nashville gives the Predators the wherewithal to basically hand Weber a blank check and then work out the number of years. So if he truly wants to stay in Nashville, there will be plenty of financial incentive to do so.

An RFA offer-sheet is a non-option at the point for other teams. Nashville will match any offer, and it's doubtful that Weber would even consider a situation that could tie him into a long-term contract if he's not willing to directly negotiate an extension with the Predators.

As for a one-year offer sheet, the Preds would also match. In fact, with the club currently the furthest from the cap floor of any team in the NHL, there is no potential cap hit for Weber that the team would not take on if it must. I also don't think it would necessarily force the Preds to immediately trade Weber to the offer-sheet club unless he is simply not willing to discuss a long-term deal with Nashville at any price before next summer.

My question to the readers is this: If the Predators make Weber available for trade this summer or near the trade deadline, would YOU want to see the Flyers go all-out to acquire the player?



**************

During the Flyers' prospect camp next week, I will be writing a series of articles for the Flyers' official site. The schedule:

* Feature on Scott Laughton
* Feature on Shayne Gostisbehere
* Feature on Taylor Leier
* Feature on Reece Willcox
* Feature on the 2012 rookie free agents: Konan, Mangene, Johnston & Heeter
* Story related to end of camp intrasquad scrimmage

**************

KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information click here.