[NHL] Forsberg finally traded...

[Rage Of Fury]

to the Nashville Predators!!

Sources tell TSN the Nashville Predators have agreed to trade Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, a first round pick and a third round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Peter Forsbeg.

It is important to note that while the two teams may have agreed on the players involved, the deal is not official until it is approved by the league via a trade call involving both teams and NHL Central Registry. Sources say that call has not been completed, so it is premature to say that the deal has been finalized, only that it has been tentatively agreed to by both teams and it is expected.

Forsberg was on the ice for warm-ups for Thursday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he was scratched from the lineup.

In 40 games with the Flyers this season Forsberg has 11 goals and 29 assists. He is also leads the Flyers with a +2 plus/minus rating.

Forsberg has missed 16 games with a variety of injuries this season including a concussion, an injured groin and a sore back.

Source: http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=196374&hubname=

There you have it! Big Big Trade :|

[KZWings]

Wow. Saying Forsberg stays healthy, this will make it a bigger hill to climb for the Wings and the rest of the playoff-bound teams in the West. Nashville is already leading.

[davemania]

Hmmm, I would've like to see him go back to Colorado.

[Ji@nBing]

Well that's it. Nashville will win the cup this year :(

[.Markus]

yeah same here, Avalanche is not the same team without Peter Forsberg!

[bayrider]

Forsberg has been healthy for some time now, he just hasn't been able to find those magical pair of skates that would wrap around his ankle properly. He's found them, and Nashville will be nothing short of a force now.

[Ji@nBing]

I just hope my Canucks will make it higher than the 8th seed. The longer they have to go without facing Nashville, the greater the chance Forsberg will be injured by then (and he WILL be injured eventually :p).

[xpablo]

Only a moron like Gary Bettman would award a franchise to Nashville, apparently Nashville owners are too blame for this stupid divisional teams playing eachother for 80% of the season..

As a canucks fan i'm not concerned over Forsberg return to the west, unless of course he went back to Colorado, or if Joe Sakic gets traded to Nashville. :no:

[mikebiacsi]

I would have loved to see Forsberg back with the Avs but oh well. Having Forsberg on the same line as Kariya should make for some exciting hockey though! :D

Edited February 16, 2007 by mikebiacsi

[Razorwing]

wow. Sullivan. Karyia. Forsberg. :|

[Matrix XII]

Hmm, Nashville +1 :s

The West just got harder..

Go Canucks!

[Nocstar]

Luongo Is a wall... The NHL should just let the Canucks put a wall to give luongo a breather every now and then. Same effect... that guy is a beast.

[Steffan]

I can't believe that the Panthers gave up on Luongo.

As long as Forsberg stays healthy, then the Preds will be a very hard to beat. You won't be able to trade goals with them.

Go Rangers :shiftyninja:

[mikebiacsi]

Yeah i would not like to be in Manny Legace's skates right now...

I wonder what the other top teams in the west are going to do now with regards to trades. They will have to find someway of beefing up their roster to compete with Nashville now.

[Ayepecks]

Way too much to pay, IMO

[Fred Derf Veteran]

wow. Sullivan. Karyia. Forsberg. :|

David Legwand too. There is some discussion that Forsberg could play LW rather than his traditional Centre role.

Way too much to pay, IMO

Well, it's a win now approach. If Nashville wins the Stanley Cup then it was worth it and if they don't then it wasn't.

They managed to get a premiere player without touching their active roster. Whatshisface #1 Scottie Upshall was a former 1st rounder (6th overall, I believe) whose value had faded significantly. He is now projected to be a checking line player and not a top 6 guy. The other guy Ryan Parent is a solid blue chip defensive prospect but Nashville already has two young defensemen (Shea Webber and someone else Franson) and a third guy Klein in the system somewhere. Nashville's 1st round pick will probably be so late that it could almost be considered a 2nd round pick and the 3rd round pick is conditional somehow on something.

Sorry, lots of vague references there because I can't be bothered to reference it properly. That's the gist of it however. It seems like a good deal to me. It does give Nashville a legitimate shot to put them over the hump and win it all. Of course, Forsberg needs to stay healthy but he has shown that he can take off large gaps in time and still be effective. He missed one regular season completely and came back to lead the playoffs. 27 points in 20 playoff games as I recall.

Then again, it could all be for nothing. You can't blame them for not trying however. It is a decidedly nonconservative move from a traditionally conservative team.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Fred Derf
updated using the names provided by bayrider

[bayrider]

Way too much to pay, IMO

Not really.

If Forsberg re-signs, I think it will be a win-win. Why?

1. Scottie Upshall: The guy was a first round pick, but hasn't amounted to anything more than a 1/2 point per game player tops. With Upshall gone, this also opens up a roster spot for Alex Radulov to play a more important role on the top 2 or 3 lines.

2. Ryan Parent: He's touted to be a pretty good defenseman but he's no Jack or Erik Johnson. To add to that, Nashville has so many D prospects right now that are doing really well, losing Parent is no big loss. Zidlicky, TImmonen, Weber, Suter, Vishnevsky and Franson & Klein in the minors. Nashville is stacked on defensive prospects

3. Nashville's 1st round pick: Nashville will probably be picking 29th or 30th in this year's draft, so it's not like they're giving up a high draft pick, even if it's a 1st rounder. Also keep in mind that this year's draft is a relatively weak one. Don't expect to see many players in this year's draft amount to much.

4 Nashville's 3rd Round Pick: no big deal!

If Forsberg can bring Nashville the Cup, or go very deep in the playoffs, I'd say it's worth it. In perspective, Nashville isn't giving up much.

[Ayepecks]

Not really.

If Forsberg re-signs, I think it will be a win-win. Why?

1. Scottie Upshall: The guy was a first round pick, but hasn't amounted to anything more than a 1/2 point per game player tops. With Upshall gone, this also opens up a roster spot for Alex Radulov to play a more important role on the top 2 or 3 lines.

2. Ryan Parent: He's touted to be a pretty good defenseman but he's no Jack or Erik Johnson. To add to that, Nashville has so many D prospects right now that are doing really well, losing Parent is no big loss. Zidlicky, TImmonen, Weber, Suter, Vishnevsky and Franson & Klein in the minors. Nashville is stacked on defensive prospects

3. Nashville's 1st round pick: Nashville will probably be picking 29th or 30th in this year's draft, so it's not like they're giving up a high draft pick, even if it's a 1st rounder. Also keep in mind that this year's draft is a relatively weak one. Don't expect to see many players in this year's draft amount to much.

4 Nashville's 3rd Round Pick: no big deal!

If Forsberg can bring Nashville the Cup, or go very deep in the playoffs, I'd say it's worth it. In perspective, Nashville isn't giving up much.

I highly doubt Forsberg will resign, which is the problem. I would not give up two high draft picks and two players you're pretty high on (Nashville is high on those players, make no mistake) for an injury-prone rent-a-player.

[bayrider]

I highly doubt Forsberg will resign, which is the problem. I would not give up two high draft picks and two players you're pretty high on (Nashville is high on those players, make no mistake) for an injury-prone rent-a-player.

The draft picks are not high. Nashville will probably pick 29th or 30th in the 1st round. Unlike the NFL, a 1st rounder isn't guaranteed to amount to much, and most analysts are saying that this years draft is exceptionally weak aside from the top 5-10. So giving up a very late first rounder, in a very weak draft isn't much. And a 3rd rounder in the NHL is virtually a crap shoot to even make the lineup.

Upshall hasn't proven his 1st round worth and Nashville couldn't care less because Upshall gone, this leaves room for the highly touted Radulov to play a more important role on the team. The kid has 11 goals (23poitns) in 40 games playing on the bottom line with Nashville's worst players. This guy scored 152pts in the minors in 62 games.

As for Parent, like I said, it was a sacrifice Nashville could make because they're so loaded with defensive prospects and rookies its not even funny. Not too many teams could give up a prospect like Parent, who is not touted to be anywhere near as good as Marc Staal or Luc Bourdon.

[Ayepecks]

Bayrider: 1st and 3rd round picks are high, regardless of where they are in the round -- that was what I meant. I wasn't referring to their specific place, just the round they're in.

And I'm not sure what you're smoking... Parent is 19 years old. He's Crosby's age. That's what you guys don't seem to comprehend. He has plenty of time to grow and mature. He and Upshall were both first-round picks, so Nashville is essentially trading away three 1st rounders and a 3rd rounder for Forsberg, who likely won't play there next season.

Upshall is still a work-in-progress, most definitely. But the Predators were trying to finally work him into their roster -- something they haven't been able to do. I'm not sure why you think this makes Radulov (who is definitely a great prospect) get a ton of playing room, since Upshall only played in 14 games this season. He wasn't getting played regularly, and they were waiting to integrate him into their system.

Forsberg will be gone unless the Predators win the Cup this season. Mark my words. And even if they win, I don't think that's a lock for him coming back -- it could increase his value depending on how he does in the playoffs.