In continuation of a surprisingly eventful few days in the NHL (after the Halak trade), the Nashville Predators made headlines Saturday with two fairly sizable trades. While they aren?t sizable in the number of players switching teams, it was sizable in the importance of the direction each team takes this offseason. In the bigger of the two deals, Nashville traded their captain Jason Arnott back to the New Jersey Devils for prospect Matt Halischuk and a 2nd round pick in 2011. Arnott returns to New Jersey, a team he played for from 1998 to 2002. His defining moment as with the Devils, and possibly while in the NHL altogether, was when he scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in double overtime of the 2000 playoffs against Dallas. That marks the lone Cup that the two-time All-Star (1997, 2008) has won. Arnott has put together a successful NHL career over his 16 seasons, amassing 383 goals, 873 points and 1,176 penalty minutes in 1,099 career games for the Oilers, Devils, Stars and Predators. He has one year remaining on his current contract with a $4.5M cap hit, and when the Preds realized they wouldn?t have the funds available to give him an extension, the best option was to trade him. While Devils? GM Lou Lamoriello maintains that the acquisition of Arnott doesn?t eliminate the possibility of bringing back Ilya Kovalchuk, it certainly appears that the opposite is true. They are approximately $12M under the cap ceiling right now, but they need to resign defenseman Paul Martin, or at least fill his void on the blueline if he leaves in free agency, and either of those scenarios would take up between $4mil and $5M in cap space. So with around $7mil to $8M left after that, they also need to resign restricted free agent forward David Clarkson, a 26-year-old winger with 20+ goal potential that could cost the Devils around $2M per year. The big domino in this is superstar winger Zach Parise, who is approaching the final year of his contract and is due for a raise on his current $5M salary (to around $7M). The Devils have to feel that a top-2 defenseman, a big young winger on the cheap and their superstar provides them with greater team depth and balance than trading those three for one super-sniper in Kovalchuk. Thus, acquiring Arnott may be Lamoriello admitting that they aren?t comfortable with Kovalchuk?s price tag and they weren?t intending on making a strong push for the $8M+ contract Ilya is seeking, and thus filled the temporary void in the club?s offense with a steady veteran with great leadership and Stanley Cup experience. Arnott should fit into the club?s system very well, and doesn?t cut into the team?s long term cap situation that would hinder them from adding more pieces or locking up their important young players. It wouldn?t be out of the question for New Jersey to fill a forward spot within the same salary range with a younger player, but the Devils need to win now while Brodeur is still around, so they went with a sure-thing. Grade for New Jersey: B+ In return, the Predators receive a young forward with decent offensive potential. While he has only three points in 21 NHL games, he has shown flashes in his AHL stints and his junior days (125 points in 107 games in the OHL, plus 37 points in 29 playoff games). But this trade was as much about salary as anything else. Nashville has their own spending limits, which are below the NHL cap ceiling, and they have some key core players to attend to. Patric Hornqvist is a restricted free agent this year, and the former 7th round pick led the team with 30 goals, and tied for a team-best 51 points in his second season. The Preds are notoriously challenged offensively, and it is mandatory that they lock up their sniper for the long haul, which could cost them up to $4M per season. Failing to do so would make this trade a travesty as they need scoring to continue making the playoffs. The other big item on their agenda is locking up star defenseman Shea Weber. Weber is entering the final year of his deal, and the former 20-goal defender with a booming shot and an Olympic gold medal could see a raise on his current $4.5mil cap hit. Most see him assuming the captain?s role on the team, but only if he can be signed to an extension. So while they sit approximately $20M below the cap, they are probably looking at around $12M to spend with their own threshold in play. Locking up these two young pieces ? Hornqvist is 23, Weber is 24 ? is paramount to the team?s future success, and ultimately more important than keeping an aging Arnott on the roster. Grade for Nashville: A- The other deal Nashville made was sending impending free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis to Philadelphia for fellow defenseman Ryan Parent. Hamhuis is one of the more coveted free agent blueliners in this year?s class, and while many had him pegged going to Vancouver, Washington, New Jersey or Pittsburgh, the Flyers obtained the rights to try and reach a deal with him first in what is a surprise move. The Flyers already have a lot of money tied up in their backend, with Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle locked in. In addition to those three, the very sturdy Braydon Coburn is a restricted free agent, so GM Paul Holmgren certainly has his work cut out for him this offseason after a stellar Stanley Cup run. Hamhuis made $2.5M last year and could be looking at a raise up to around $4M per season. He is very durable, as his four missed games this season was the most of his career, and would undoubtedly give Philadelphia the strongest defense corps in the NHL. Yet with $10M in cap room, and now with two defensemen to sign, how is Philadelphia going to get a starting goalie? Look for them to perhaps trade Carle and a forward, or maybe the rights to Coburn along with something to obtain one around the draft, as they seemingly can?t afford everything with the way their roster looks right now. They are taking a big gamble here as Hamhuis ? 27-years-old ? is unrestricted, so if they don?t get him signed before July 1st, they don?t have the ability to match any offer. Thus, losing 23-year-old Ryan Parent would be a huge loss. Grade for Philadelphia: B- Parent was actually a first round pick of the Preds in 2005, and was shipped to Philadelphia in the Peter Forsberg deal. He is a defensive defenseman who has played for Canada in two World Junior tournaments and has spent the last four seasons bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL. Parent struggled some in the playoffs last year, and ultimately lost the faith of his coach and GM. However he was a first round pick for a reason, and it is well known that defensemen take longer to develop. At 6?3? and 200lbs, he brings good size to compliment Nashville?s offensive defensemen Weber and Ryan Suter. Parent is a restricted free agent, and Nashville could lock him up for four years to reach his unrestricted free agency year, and they could do it for relatively cheap ? possibly less than half of what Hamhuis will sign for. Thus, with the contracts they need to sign above, this move definitely helps the Preds and their financial situation. Pretty good deal for a player they didn?t have a chance in resigning. Grade for Nashville: A+ Nick can be reached by email nickobergan@hotmail.com or on Twitter @NickObergan