Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff
How can an aging, injury prone (as of late) veteran center be traded for two players and two draft picks?
Easily....
Peter Forsberg was traded for Scottie Upshall (who has only played 14 games for Nashville), Ryan Parent (who has missed 23 of 55 games for the Guelph Storm and is currently out of their line-up now with a bulging disk) and a first and third round draft pick - that's how.
Forsberg, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has missed 16 games for the Philadelphia Flyers who currently sit last in the NHL with 38 points.
Nashville is looking for that extra push heading into the final month and a half of the regular season. The Preds currently sit a top of the Western Conference and the league with 81 points (Buffalo is a close second in the league with 80).
Who gets the benefit of this trade more, the Predators or Flyers?
Isnt it Baseball season yet?
It'll help the Preds this year but since Forsberg will probably not re-sign with Nashville it will ultimately benefit the Flyers.
Peter seems to be over his foot/skate problem but if that flares up the Preds won't get anything for mortaging some of their future. Worth it to roll the dice in a year when no team is totally dominant...
Well, it was pretty much known that whatever team got Foppa was going to have give up the farm, and that's pretty much what Nashville did. They gave up 2 #1 picks (Parent and the #1 for this year), a good roster player and the 3rd rounder. The jury is still out on whether or not this trade will be worth it. If the Preds do not go far in the playoffs, this trade was a bust. If they get to the Cup finals, its worth it, and with the Cap increasing, they will have a decent shot at resigning them.
IMO, if Foppa stays healthy, Nashville has a better than 50/50 shot at winning a Cup. And with most of their guys under long term deals, and the cap going up allowing them to keep #21, they could dominate the NHL for years to come.