David Poile is willing to forgive. He has been ever since he signed Mike Ribeiro last summer despite well-publicized concerns about the veteran center's character.

The Nashville Predators general manager also is willing to forget, though.

Poile said Tuesday afternoon that Ribeiro, the Predators' leader in assists last season, had a firm deadline to accept the team's latest contract offer or the team would move on to other options when the free agent signing period opens Wednesday.

"We've had some negotiations in the last couple of days," Poile said. "We have not been able to come to an agreement there. â¦ We want him back but we'll have to see how the negotiations go in that area.

"We're confident that if we're able to sign him he can be a key part of our team moving forward."

He feels that way even with renewed concerns about the 35-year-old's past that have been raised in recent months.

A former nanny filed a civil suit against Ribeiro and his wife in February claiming she was assaulted more than three years ago while she worked for the family in Dallas and Washington D.C. Graphic allegations of sexual misconduct by Ribeiro against the girl, a teenager at the time, were levied in a more definitive statement submitted two weeks ago.

Poile said Ribeiro made the team aware of the accusations last summer, before he signed a one-year, $1.05 million contract and well before the suit initially was filed. That deal was set to end Tuesday and Ribeiro was scheduled to become a free agent.

"We just wish this would go away and hopefully it will," Poile said. "I'm not a lawyer and I'm not qualified to say any more than I've said. All I can say is that talking to the Ribeiros, talking to the NHL, talking to law enforcement people we are comfortable with where this situation is.

"â¦ The point to reinforce is that we were aware of this when we signed him a year ago, that there was an alleged incident and that there was going to be a civil case. We talked about it and with what we were told, we were comfortable about it."

When Ribeiro did sign with Nashville he vowed that he was a changed man after the Arizona Coyotes had bought out his contract and labeled him a character risk.

Nothing that took place on or off the ice during the last season contradicted his assertion in any way. Not only was he different, he was a difference-maker for the Predators, who returned to the playoffs following a two-year absence.

He spent most of the season as the center on the team's top line, played all 82 games and finished with 62 points (15 goals, 47 assists). He also was a popular and influential teammate.

Poile said his contract offer, which Ribeiro had not agreed to, was based strictly "on my budget, what I have available" and was not affected by the lawsuit or any potential public backlash over an athlete who faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

"We've seen him as a good person this year, both on the ice and off the ice, and we think that he and his family are doing really well and are comfortable here," Poile said. "That's why we hope to sign him.

" â¦ We don't have our heads buried in the sand here. It's not like we're not discussing this with Mike. It's not like we weren't aware of it. We can only go by what we know and what is said. You hope that the past is in the past and that this will not be any problem in the future."

(Photo: Getty Images)