Preds sign Colin Wilson signs 4-year, $3.9375M AAV

Forward Colin Wilson signed a four-year, $15.75 million contract with the Nashville Predators on Monday, avoiding arbitration.

Wilson's hearing was scheduled for Tuesday in Toronto. The Predators also avoided arbitration with Craig Smith when the forward signed a five-year, $21.25 million contract on July 20.

"Certainly we were hopeful based on the [Smith] signing that [it] gave us a pretty clear position we felt where Colin could fit," Predators general manager David Poile told The Tennessean. "We did make the trip up here to Toronto. We met [Sunday] night with our lawyers to go over the brief and what have you, so we were ready to go to arbitration, but a couple of calls [Sunday] night and one [Monday] morning sort of solidified that we were both in the same place."

Wilson set NHL career highs with 20 goals, 42 points, a plus-19 rating and 172 shots last season. He had five goals, four on the power play, in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which the Predators lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks

"Everybody kind of reaches their potential or blossoms at different times," Poile said. "Colin would be the first to admit that he's getting better every day, more mature with his game. I think [his] consistency is an area that he'd like to improve on a little bit. Once he can get the handle on that, maybe and hopefully last year was just the tip of the iceberg for what he can do offensively for us."

Nashville's first-round pick (No. 7) in the 2008 NHL Draft, Wilson has 77 goals and 178 points in 368 NHL games.

He will be paid $3.75 million in 2015-16, and $4 million in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 for an average annual value of $3.9375 million, according to the Predators.

Is this a good signing for the Predators?