Money not ‘the big point’ for Klein in getting contract extension done

In the final hours of the NHL’s now expired collective bargaining agreement, the Nashville Predators were able to sign Gabriel Bourque, Craig Smith and Kevin Klein to contract extensions. While Bourque and Smith are perceived to be key parts of the franchise’s offense moving forward, Klein has been, and will continue to be, a key component on the blue line. At a players skate on Monday morning, Klein said there was no hurry to get the contract completed before the CBA expired Saturday night. “We were talking before that. There wasn’t really a deadline,” Klein explained. “I talked to David [Poile], and he said if we don’t get a deal done, we would talk when things resume. We came to an agreement, which is nice.” Given the terms of the contract extension, the lack of urgency to get a deal done becomes apparent. While many players cashed in during the offseason, signing extremely long-term deals with huge pay-days, Klein agreed to a five-year $14.5 million contract that will see the de...