The Forsberg Deal

It finally happened. After month of build-up, meeting after meeting with Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, and countless Lyle Cherry appearances, Peter Forsberg was dealt to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, and two picks. Forsberg is said to be suiting up for tonight's game against St. Louis.

Now, this deal can work one of two ways-- first, it can work out that the Preds get a healthy Forsberg which will help them get that much closer to the Cup. Or, it could mean that the Preds get an injured Forsberg after a couple of games, then lose him back to the Flyers due to the UFA deal he has going on.

There are plenty of people who think the Preds overpaid for a rent-a-wreck like Forsberg, and they could be right. However, Upshall really hasn't reached the potential that was build up for him and has been passed over numerous times during the camps. Secondly, the Preds are so deep in young defensemen, they needed to do something or else there would be a huge logjam that no team would want. They would have been traded off eventually, but to do it for someone who is considered to be the best player in the world when healthy-- you take the risk.

Even if Forsberg gets injured, what would it matter to how the Preds are doing now?? They are second in the entire league in points, they have forward depth coming out of everywhere (like a 3rd line center with 20 goals, right David Legwand??), and neither Parent nor Upshall really had much to do with their success. So, should this whole experience go flat, it's not really a loss in the grand scheme of things.

Another theory is that Forsberg's skate boot problems will magically disappear now that he's in Nashville. That's a decent one, but I don't think Forsberg was really holding out to play in Music City, USA-- he is legitimately hurt.

As it stands, the Predators are a better team now then they were 24 hours ago, on paper. The sad thing is-- Forsberg alone outscores the Predators roster in playoff points. If he can stay healthy throughout, the Preds could become the front-runners....more so.