Shea Weber apparently isn't going anywhere.

The Norris Trophy finalist and captain of the Predators can be a restricted free agent July 1 but says he's staying in Nashville.

"It's going to get done," he said as the players were leaving to go home after the Preds were knocked out of the playoffs by the Canucks. "Obviously, this is a place I love to play, and you saw how close we were this year to getting to the conference finals, and possibly further.

"This is a place I want to be, and it's going to be a matter of time before something gets done."

The Predators face a summer of making decisions and working on deals with nine restricted or unrestricted free agents.

Weber is the key, and even in a world where NHL managers don't often toss around offer sheets, this guy is 26 and special. A team like the Rangers, loaded with young players that would allow them to deal and lose draft picks, might make such a leap.

However, both sides seem to want Weber in Nashville.

"They definitely want to wrap it up before July 1, and we would also, if all things were equal," said Preds general manager David Poile. "Will we be able to sign Shea Weber? The answer is yes."

The team can keep him for one more year via arbitration, but Weber is important enough to think more than that. The club doesn't need the bad taste of arbitration hanging around going forward.

Clearly, Weber is a key cog for a franchise that has apparently turned a corner and become a hot ticket in Music City.

The Preds finished the season well under the NHL's salary cap, which is set to rise to more than $62 million next season. So Poile has some room to target his key players and also try to improve Nashville's offense.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
The Predators pulled off the first Game 5 and Game 6 victories in franchise history against the Ducks in the first round, thus winning the club's first playoff series. It all ended in the next round, but steps had been taken.

TURNING POINT
The streaky Predators lost five games in a row between Dec. 18 and 28 but then won 10 of their next 12 games, starting with a six-game win streak. That had to make this group of players believe in themselves.

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