By Ron Wynn
Whatever additional trades or moves are being planned by the Predators, Colton Sissons will be on the team for years to come. He signed a seven-year deal Tuesday worth $20 million. The new pact keeps the Predators from going to arbitration with him, something that often turns nasty and leaves permanent bad feelings between player and management. Sissons was a restricted free agent, so the Predators had the right to match any offers he might have gotten, but the new deal also prevents another team from theoretically offering him a much bigger contract that they would either have to match or lose him.
“He’s a heart and soul player who is versatile and can fill many important roles on our team, including the penalty kills and power play,” Predators general manager David Poile said in a statement. “Colton is an up-and-coming leader in our organization, which something we value strongly.”
Sissons is also 25, and has been a member of the team since 2012, when he was a second-round pick. Last year he had his best offensive season, scoring 15 goals and getting 30 points. He also won over 53 percent (53.1) of his faceoffs. Sissons also has a record for durability, and was among the rare team members last season who avoided the injury bug. Though not quite an explosive scorer, Sissons’ consistency is the thing that the Predators valued the most.
Now they hope he can take things up a notch, and become an even more prolific goal scorer.
