[rmjvol]

That's right, the Peter Forsberg trade has landed in Nashville! Forsberg has been traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Nashville Predators.

The deal is Nashville will trade Scottie Upshall & Ryan Parent plus a 1st round pick & a 3rd round draft pick for Peter Forsberg.

A huge pickup for the Nashville Predators as they roll toward the Stanley Cup!

[Lefty Noob]

Wow, shocking news... the question is, does Forsberg have anything left? Will he be able to contribute in Nashville?

[Lefty Noob]

"Peter Forsberg is one of the NHL's most complete players and the ultimate competitor, a consistent winner who has year in and year out been a difference-maker in the Stanley Cup playoffs," Predators general manager David Poile told the Associated Press today. "He strengthens our club up the middle and will provide another battle-tested, veteran voice. Adding a player of this caliber also sends a strong message to our fans that the Nashville Predators are prepared to compete at the highest level."

[Hockey News]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Peter Forsberg never gave Philadelphia a firm answer about a contract extension because of lingering concerns about his right foot.

So the Flyers decided his short-term future for him, trading the star center to the Western Conference-leading Nashville Predators on Thursday night for forward Scottie Upshall, defenseman Ryan Parent and two draft picks.

"I liked it here and everything, it's just hard when I couldn't commit and that's why they had to move me," Forsberg said. "I understand that."

The 33-year-old Swede, in the final months of a two-year, $11.5 million contract, had 11 goals and 29 assists in 40 games for the Flyers this season, his second with Philadelphia after 10 years with Quebec and Colorado.

Decision made: Flyers send Forsberg to Nashville

[blueandwhite]

I said it in the Leafs thread and I'll say it here - i would have been angry if the leafs had been in contention for him. An expensive, injury prone player. I'm tired of paying out for short term and getting squat or less. But nashville - who are doing excessively well - may make good use of him. he's the cherry on their sundae - they are a team deep with talent, and on a very successful roll. Forsberg will only complement them.
He was wasted in Philly.

[rmjvol]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

I said it in the Leafs thread and I'll say it here - i would have been angry if the leafs had been in contention for him. An expensive, injury prone player. I'm tired of paying out for short term and getting squat or less. But nashville - who are doing excessively well - may make good use of him. he's the cherry on their sundae - they are a team deep with talent, and on a very successful roll. Forsberg will only complement them.
He was wasted in Philly.

The local stories here in Nashville are that the Canadian press didn't hardly give Nashville a mention before the Forsberg trade. The implication was that he'd never goto some place called Nashville if he could play for *any* Canadian team.

I know full well that our fan base here in Tennessee is nothing compared to the teams north of the border but it was funny to hear about the media bias.

Anyway, I think this is a really great trade for both sides. Nashville has built thru the draft so we were heavy with young talent before this trade. Even giving up 4 spots for Forsberg, we're still full of young guns afterwards.

[blueandwhite]

As a canadian, I never would have guessed a preference for a Swede to play on a Canadian team before playing in a place called nashville (although the propsect of sundin playing on the same line with Forsberg was the only exciting aspect of him coming to TO). usually the guys who want to be a Leaf grew up in canada. then you get it - home town proud.
That media bias works both ways. Sometimes I think the American media can look upon some of our teams with true disdain.
Then again, so can I.
Honestly, i would think Forsberg would just want to play on a real good team, and he got that. And you're right, it works well both ways - philly needs the young guys right now. the re building thing. i hate seeing Philadelphia rank so bad.

[rmjvol]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

As a canadian, I never would have guessed a preference for a Swede to play on a Canadian team before playing in a place called nashville..

It wasn't the nationality issue, it was more that a great player would *obviously* want to play for a team that was steeped in history and had a rabid fan base. How could one of the best players in the NHL want to play for a small market expansion team in hillbilly TN?

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

That media bias works both ways. Sometimes I think the American media can look upon some of our teams with true disdain.
Then again, so can I.

I'm still kinda new to hockey but I don't understand and I've not seen anything like that. How & where does this come up? Is it a general "USA vs Canada" thing or is it "US hockey vs Canada hockey" or something else?

[blueandwhite]

I was just talking about this with a friend. My thinking is, Americans love their football, basketball, and their baseball. Those are the major sports. Canadians don't do well at those, in general, in major leagues - we couldn't keep a basketball team in Vancouver, our football is different and the league (CFL) here is small and gets made fun of a lot, by other Canadians mostly. Montreal lost the Expos and the jays have poor attendance - a long way from the pennants we won in the 90s.
What we do well at is hockey. that is the sport we are very proud of, like we own it. so often we conflict as nations because we get our backs up about anybody thinking they are better than we are and Americans in general -and i do mean in general - don't like it when someone beats them at something.
Outside Canada, Canadians are seen as polite. Except when it comes to hockey and then we are pigs. And the media acts this out for us.
During the Olympics it is most obvious. usually the only people who seem above this are the players themselves - except when we won the gold four plus years back, Chelios was pretty nasty about saying we make too big a thing out of it ie sore loser.
The silly thing is, the players are from everywhere. just like in baseball - the Dominicans won those pennants for us back in 92 and 93. And Sundin the Swede is our hugely loved captain.
I LOVE that nashville is doing well. Doing well means more people want to see hcokey means it becomes popular somewhere else. And kariya deserves this.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

I think he gets a better tax break in Nashville...

Honestly though, I would think most people (with talent) would rather play in Canada where there is a bit more passion for the game...why not?...nothing against Nashville, but they are fairly new to hockey, and football is king there...why rate it over a Canadian city.

[rmjvol]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

I was just talking about this with a friend. My thinking is, Americans love their football, basketball, and their baseball. Those are the major sports. Canadians don't do well at those, in general, in major leagues - we couldn't keep a basketball team in Vancouver, our football is different and the league (CFL) here is small and gets made fun of a lot, by other Canadians mostly. Montreal lost the Expos and the jays have poor attendance - a long way from the pennants we won in the 90s.
What we do well at is hockey. that is the sport we are very proud of, like we own it. so often we conflict as nations because we get our backs up about anybody thinking they are better than we are and Americans in general -and i do mean in general - don't like it when someone beats them at something.
Outside Canada, Canadians are seen as polite. Except when it comes to hockey and then we are pigs. And the media acts this out for us.
During the Olympics it is most obvious. usually the only people who seem above this are the players themselves - except when we won the gold four plus years back, Chelios was pretty nasty about saying we make too big a thing out of it ie sore loser.
The silly thing is, the players are from everywhere. just like in baseball - the Dominicans won those pennants for us back in 92 and 93. And Sundin the Swede is our hugely loved captain.
I LOVE that nashville is doing well. Doing well means more people want to see hcokey means it becomes popular somewhere else. And kariya deserves this.

Gotcha. Yes. Hockey does mostly play a backseat to the other sports here. And even college football (& sometimes college basketball) is bigger than NHL in this area. OTOH, Nashville is packing the stadium every night now. We know a bandwagon when we see it! It's not like we're ignoring it. Would be a huge amount of celebration if we can actually win the Cup.

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

I think he gets a better tax break in Nashville...

Honestly though, I would think most people (with talent) would rather play in Canada where there is a bit more passion for the game...why not?...nothing against Nashville, but they are fairly new to hockey, and football is king there...why rate it over a Canadian city.

Point well taken. TN is one of few states with no state income tax. As I said, Nashville is starting to be pretty hockey friendly. If the Preds stick around Nashville another 20 years or even 5 years, there will be more & more of us that get into the sport. The fan base will continue to grow.

A championship would very likely casue exponential growth in the fan base & excitement level.

[Hockey News]

Nashville landed Forsberg and added him to a lineup that already had the best mark in the Western Conference and entered the weekend within a point of first overall.

"Of course I'm happy to go to one of the best teams in the league, but on the other hand this is a new situation for me," Forsberg said Thursday. "This is not a fun day."

The Predators are making a run now, taking a chance that Forsberg and his troublesome right ankle are good to go and that he can lead them to a championship before the center reaches unrestricted free agency this summer.

"Has there ever been a better player traded at the trading deadline than Peter Forsberg?" Predators general manager David Poile said. "My answer is probably not, and the price we paid was very high. We did it because we believed it was a necessary ingredient to give us that much better of a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup."

Forsberg was the highest-profile player thought to be on the block before the Feb. 27 trade deadline. With a big chip changing hands more than a week before the dealing must stop, it could start a series of moves trying to keep up with the Predators.

Predators hope Forsberg trade brings Stanley Cup to Opryland