The Nashville Predators are in the midst of strategizing one of the most important offseasons in the recent history of the franchise.
Which led to thinking about one of the worst trades in the history of the franchise, made right around this time. So let's take a walk down memory lane and remember a trade we tried to forget.
It's the summer of 2007. The Predators made an all-in move, trading a first-round pick, a third-round pick, Scottie Upshall, and Ryan Parent to the Flyers for Peter Forsberg. He was an offensively impactful player to finish out the regular season and in the playoffs, but that run only lasted 5 games. Upshall became an effective NHL bottom-six journeyman, playing for five other teams over the course of his 15-year NHL career. Parent barely passed the 100 games mark and flamed out.
Forsberg decided to hang 'em up (but not for long), but would only suit up another 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche, and the Predators were in a bit of a lurch. Without a 1st round pick, they were in a bind and called up the Flyers again.
The Flyers fleeced the Nashville Predators. The Flyers sent the negotiating rights of Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to the Flyers in exchange for the 1st round pick they had originally sent to the Flyers for Forsberg.
For those of you keeping track, the Predators have now sent 4 players and a draft pick for 22 games of Peter Forsberg, and their original first-round pick back. It is a very heavy price to pay. There was a lot of pressure riding on making the right pick with the reacquired 23rd overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft. Timonen and Hartnell would go on to have lengthy NHL careers, both becoming key cogs during a series of Flyers successes that saw them be a regular playoff team, and almost grasp a Stanley Cup.
Who was that pick? Don't remember? Yeah, that's not a very good sign, is it? If the name Jonathon Blum means something to you, it's probably because you're family, or he's cost you money somehow. Blum was the player the Predators took, who had the look of a cornerstone defender. He was named both the WHL and CHL defenseman of the year in 2009 and seemed ready to leave junior hockey behind him and blossom into a full -fledgedNHL defenseman.
It never happened. He was a solid AHL contributor, but never got his footing in the NHL. His Predators career ended up being parts of 3 seasons, totaling 91 games, 7 goals and 15 assists, and -11. He wasn't tendered an offer after his ELC, and ended up spending parts of 2 seasons on the Minnesota Wild, barely playing. He's been out of the NHL since 2015.
He's been staring over in Europe since then. The last handful of years, he's been anchoring the defense for Munich EHC in the DEL, aka the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, which is the highest division of pro hockey in Germany, and one of the better leagues overall in Europe.
All of this is. written out to say that, as long as Barry Trotz doesn't make a panic trade, he has a good chance of starting this offseason better than the one from 2007.