A Monday morning signing for everyone to chew on, as the Predators signed 34-year old UFA defenseman, Francis Bouillon, to a 1-year deal, reportedly worth $750,000.In 2009, Bouillon played 54 games for the Canadiens, registering 5 goals and 4 assists for the team. He is a smaller defender, who doesn't shy away from body contact, but was plagued with groin problems in 2009, which may have hindered his offensive production. He should be able to draw into the Predators top six, when healthy.
The Predators are remaining as one of the low-budget teams in the league, having now 20 NHL-ready players on their theoretical roster now. The cap hit for this roster is sitting at a reasonable $41.2 million, but will draw in some more entry-level deals, when a couple of their top young players get the okay to play full-time. No cap issues to report about for this club.| Forwards | Defense | Goaltenders |
| J-P Dumont | Shea Weber | Pekka Rinne |
| Jason Arnott | Ryan Suter | Dan Ellis |
| Martin Erat | Dan Hamhuis | |
| David Legwand | Kevin Klein | |
| Joel Ward | Francis Bouillon | |
| Steve Sullivan | Alex Sulzer | |
| Ryan Jones | ||
| Jordin Tootoo | ||
| Jared Smithson | ||
| Ben Guite | ||
| Marcel Goc |
This signing for the Predators is a sign that they may not be confident in a number of their younger defensemen in their system and they want a more veteran presence to play against their Central Division rivals. The team does plenty of young talent to play on the blueline, but it may be that they would feel more comfortable getting another season in the AHL.
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