Nashville Predators, Poile Fairly Quiet at the Trade Deadline
Fish is Back
He is officially back.
Mike Fisher finally resigned with the team. The 37-year-old center inked a 1-year deal, worth $1 million. Before announcing his retirement back in the summer, Fisher had spent 7 years with the Predators.
Injuries kept Fisher from ever playing a full season with Nashville, however in three of the four seasons that Fisher played 70+ games, he tallied 42 or more points.
After being named the Predators captain before the 2016-2017 season, Fisher helped lead Nashville to its first Western Conference Championship and first ever Stanley Cup.
He finished the regular season and playoffs with a combined 18 goals and 28 assists.
He is expected to center the 4th line, however, it’s not sure exactly who he will play with yet. The bottom half of the Predators roster is crowded and is often changed around on a nightly basis.
Fisher brings a strong sense of veteran leadership to a team that is still fairly young, along with some physicality and a hint of scoring.
Nice to have the ol’ cap back
Headed to Edmonton
Sunday, the Predators announced that they had sent winger Pontus Aberg to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for winger Mark Letestu. The team then turned around and sent Letestu to the Columbus Blue Jackets, in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Aberg was a player who just could never crack the Predators roster full time.
Last season, Aberg only saw 15 regular season games, however, seemed to be breaking out in the playoffs. After Ryan Johansen and Kevin Fiala both went down for the remainder of the postseason, Aberg tallied 2 goals and 3 assists in 16 games. He saw his ice time go up by almost two full minutes, and seemed poised for a breakout campaign this season.
It never happened though, as Aberg only managed 2 goals and 6 assists in 37 games this season. He never could get in a rhythm, and was bounced around on many different lines.
That being said, this trade helps Nashville. With the acquisition of the 4th round pick, Nashville now own five picks in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Ejdsell for Hartman
Monday morning, the front office announced that the Predators had dealt forward Victor Ejdsell and a 1st and 4th round pick in this year’s draft, to the Chicago Blackhawks. In return, Nashville gets forward Ryan Hartman and a 5th round pick in this season’s draft.
Hartman, the 4th year winger, is a very solid skater. In his first full season in 2016-2017, Hartman tallied 19 goals and 12 assists in 76 games. He’s followed that up with 8 goals and 17 assists through 57 games this season.
Hartman has put up very solid numbers in his first two seasons, especially considering the fact that he’s on the bottom half of an offensively-talented Chicago team. He’ll add some depth to the Predators offense, along with some scoring on the fourth line.
Ejdsell signed an entry-level contract with Nashville last season, but has been playing in the SHL with HV71 this season. There, Ejdsell has recorded 17 goals and 13 assists in 44 games.
I personally like this trade a lot. Ejdsell was not close to cracking the Predators roster, and Hartman can play now.
Strengthening the Farm
Just before the trade deadline on Monday afternoon, the Predators announced a multi-asset deal with the Arizona Coyotes. In this trade, Nashville sends forward PC Labrie and defenseman Trevor Murphy to Arizona, in exchange for forward Tyler Gaudet and defenseman John Ramage.
The deal has little NHL implications, as the four players have a combined 22 NHL games under their collective belt. What it does is add depth to the Predators’ system, give assets to the Milwaukee Admirals. You can never have too much depth.
This move won’t make too many headlines, as there is a small chance that Gaudet or Ramage will ever see the ice in Bridgestone Arena, however, this is a great trade that strengthens the farm system.
No Surprises
Today was a very calm day compared to what many expected. There were talks of blockbuster trades that involved Nashville, that never amounted to anything. Personally, I am very happy about that. This team seems to have all the components it needs, to beat anyone in their way.
When the Nashville Predators play their best hockey, they are an awfully dangerous team. Pekka Rinne is having a career year, the Nashville blue line is among the best in the league, and the offense is lethal when it’s clicking.
Despite little action, today was a good day for the Predators. Mike Fisher finally resigned, bringing some needed veteran leadership back into the locker room. Nashville moved around some draft picks. The Predators added depth and skill on offense, and capitalized on a solid farm system, to help future needs.
Next: Nashville Predators: Top Five Teams In Franchise History
As Ice Cube once said, “Today was a good day”
It might not have been as exciting as we thought, but overall it was a good day.
Go Preds Go.