Shea Weber's work ethic guides Preds back to playoffs

Shea Weber grew up the son of a sawmill worker and a hairdresser, the kind of people that appreciated an honest day's labor.

The values they instilled in Weber — one earns the money one makes — were set in place long before the Predators defenseman signed his 14-year, $110 million contract during the summer of 2012.

All of which goes a long way toward explaining the frustration and disappointment Weber felt at the end of the previous two seasons, when the Predators failed to qualify for the playoffs.

He was the team captain, the veteran leader, not to mention the player with the biggest paycheck. So what was it saying about Weber that his team wasn't even reaching the postseason?

"You're losing and losing, and there comes a point where it just builds up and you get so frustrated," Weber said. "So you look at yourself in the mirror to see how much better you can contribute, not only on the ice but off.

"(But) my dad always taught me that hard work was the first thing, and that's what's going to make you successful. I've always committed myself to doing everything as hard as I can and trying to get better. You can choose to be what you are now, or you can choose to keep getting better and become something great."

In a few days the fruits of Weber's labor this season — and that of his teammates — will start to pay dividends. The Predators will begin postseason play for the first time in three years, the first time since the biggest personnel decision in franchise history — matching the gargantuan offer sheet the Philadelphia Flyers tendered to Weber.

Though simply reaching the playoffs is hardly the final goal, it's a step in the right direction, a welcome relief for Weber following the disappointments of the past two years.

"Anytime you can put yourself in a position that we've currently put ourselves in, you know that for a leader like Shea it has to be satisfying," said Predators defenseman Cody Franson, who grew up with Weber in the small town of Sicamous, British Columbia.

"He's the kind of guy that will never say he's satisfied, but it is nice not to have that weight of not being in the playoffs kind of follow you around. As a leader, you take that to heart more than anybody. I think right now he's definitely in a good frame of mind."

So much has changed for the Predators since they last reached the postseason, and it's hard to imagine anyone feeling the impact more than Weber, who's in his fifth season as team captain and has played all 685 of his NHL games in a Nashville uniform.

He saw his longtime defensive partner, Ryan Suter, leave for Minnesota during free agency. He witnessed the firing of Barry Trotz, the only NHL head coach Weber had played for. He watched as close friends Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling were traded away.

More than half the playoff roster from 2011-12 is no longer on the team.

"I think anytime you go through a lot of change it's difficult," Weber said. "There were guys that I'd played a lot of games with. But sometimes things like that have to be done, especially when you're not winning."

Weber's excellence, however, has been a constant for the Predators as the different faces have come and gone since the last playoff contest.

He's averaged more than half a point per game in each of the past three seasons, led all NHL defensemen with 23 goals last season, and is likely to be nominated — for the fourth time in the past five years — for the Norris Trophy, given to the league's best blueliner.

"I'm prejudiced, but when I look at Shea's game, including this year and the past four years, I would say he's been the best overall defenseman in the NHL," Predators general manager David Poile said. "I thought he should have won the Norris last year and it's regrettable he hasn't won it yet. But again, over the past four years, I think he's been the most consistent NHL defenseman and the best."

Weber has also displayed that hard-work ethic off the ice in plenty of ways.

"I know how he trains, and he's really a man among boys in the training facilities," Franson said. "Just the amount of weight he lifts when he's squatting or dead-lifting, or his explosiveness with anything plyometrics, or pulling sleds or running hills. You go through any type of training charts that this organization has, and I'm pretty sure you see his name at the top of pretty much — if not every — category."

All of Weber's leadership and skills weren't enough to propel the Predators into the playoffs the past two years, marking the only two seasons since he entered the league in 2005-06 that he'd failed to participate in the postseason.

But true to the lessons he learned from his father, Weber never stopped trying to make himself better, and he's helped move his team in that same direction.

"Hopefully in June we can sit here and look back and, if we've got the Stanley Cup here, it's a successful season," Weber said. "But everyone realizes that if you don't win the Stanley Cup, it's not a successful year. So every year, 29 teams don't have a successful season and only one goes home happy."

The hard work, it seems, has just begun.

Reach John Glennon at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @glennonsports.

SHEA WEBER BY THE NUMBERS

2 — Olympic gold medals with Team Canada

4 — NHL All-Star game appearances

5 — Seasons as Predators' captain

6 — Seasons with at least 15 goals

108.5 — MPH of his slapshot during NHL Skills Competition