| Nick Obergan. 10th February, 2011 - 8:18 pm
 The big story out of the NHL is the fact that Carrie Underwood?s husband has conveniently been traded to ?Music City?, Nashville. OK, now that the obligatory Underwood reference is out of the way, let?s get back to hockey.
As the Ottawa Senators sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, only one point ahead of the Islanders, it was a foregone conclusion that the club was going to be selling any and all veterans to begin a rebuild. The two players sure to draw the most attention were known to be defenseman Chris Phillips (because he is an expiring rental player) and Mike Fisher.
The Senators took the first step in rebuilding by trading Fisher to the Nashville Predators for their 2011 1st round draft pick, and a conditional pick in 2012. The 30-year-old center had been with the Senators since 1999-2000, and is fifth in the organization?s history with 675 games played.
He has scored 167 goals and added 181 assists in his career, and is a +22 (despite his -18 rating this year). In 75 career playoff games he has 14-14-28. Last season was his best offensively, with career-highs of 25 goals, 28 assists and 53 points; it was the fourth year he scored over 20 goals.
Fisher is also known for his two-way play, having been nominated for the 2006 Selke Trophy as best defensive forward. That two-way style of play should have him fit seamlessly into Nashville?s gritty system, who are always among the NHL?s better teams defensively. He also fills an enormous need for Nashville at the center position. Their big free agent signing from last offseason was center Matthew Lombardi, but he hasn?t played since the second game of the season because of a concussion.
Nashville makes no secret of being one of the more frugal franchises in the business, never spending up to the salary cap?s upper limit. But in that regard, Fisher?s deal fits perfectly: while his cap hit is $4.2M, he will actually only get paid $4M next season, and $3M the year after that. It is his two-way play and cap-friendly contract that had ESPN?s Pierre LeBrun deem this a ?perfect fit.?
Don?t forget that Nashville is currently second in the Central, and just five points behind Detroit, and in the middle of the Western Conference playoff bracket. Adding Fisher makes them a better all-around team, and they weren?t forced to trade anything off of their current roster to make themselves better.
And does adding Fisher show a bigger commitment to winning in the mind of captain Shea Weber, who just so happens to be entering his final year of restricted free agency? Maybe that will help give him hope and reason to stay? It can only help, not hurt.
Grade for Nashville: A
In return for the veteran contributor with good character, Ottawa receives a first round pick in the upcoming draft, which will aid them in their rebuilding efforts. One extra first round pick won?t cure all that ails the franchise, but it?s a good stepping stone in the right direction. The second pick will be either a second or third round pick in 2012, depending on how Nashville does in the playoffs.
On the downside, I?m a little surprised that Ottawa didn?t get a little bit more, like perhaps a mid-tier prospect in addition to the picks. I have no doubt that GM Bryan Murray called every other team in the league to gauge interest in Fisher and see what possible returns were out there, but would waiting until the trade deadline have netted a larger return with a contender panicking?
But there is no need to kick a man while he is down; Murray is doing whatever he can to clean up the payroll and add future assets that will help the team?s rebuilding efforts. He found an offer he liked and he jumped on it, and no one will say that Nashville stole Fisher.
Grade for Ottawa: B+
Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan |
