Predators' Mike Ribeiro: Top-six spot in jeopardy for next season

The Predators plan to keep Ribeiro around next season, though general manager David Poile said the forward "really needs to have the summer of his life to regain his position back on the top two lines," The Tennessean reports.

Analysis:

Ribeiro only had two points through two playoff rounds, and Preds coach Peter Laviolette went as far as benching him against the Sharks in Games 3 and 4 of the conference semifinals. Perhaps the biggest knocks on the 36-year-old are that he doesn't always give it his all in the defensive zone and isn't much of a scoring threat at this juncture. His seven goals in the regular season counted as his lowest output in 13 seasons, though he did manage to set up 43 goals. Ribeiro has one year left on his contract with the Predators. He'll garner $3.5 million next season, but it sounds like he'll be shown the door if he doesn't step up in 2016-17.