Quote:
Originally Posted by John F
And honestly, from the outside looking in, you guys got ripped off.
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A neophyte hockey fan who is not familliar with the Predators' prospect pool would say that. Lucky I'm here to set things straight.
Scottie Upshall - Its not really been a huge secret the Preds management has been rather disappointed in Upshall's lack of progress. They're have been rumors of dealing him all season, he was probably going to be moved regardless the fact it helped them get something actually valuable makes him being dealt inconsequential.
Ryan Parent - A not bad defensive prospect, but for a team that has already had Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, and Dan Hamhuis grow up through its system this wasn't the worst thing to lose. Why? The Predators have another stud defenseman in its prospect pool, Vancouver Giants' Cody Franson. He's a 6'4" stud who can skate, hit, and score besides playing decent defense. Don't forget this team already has Kimmo Timonen and Marek Zidlicky as well as adding hard hitting Vitaly Vishnevski. This team's blueline is VERY solid.
1st round pick - Who cares? This draft is very thin...maybe 15 decent prospects and lots of big ??? Why not grab a proven commodity and grab something later, afterall they do not expect to draft very high in this draft if you know what I mean.
3rd round pick - see 1st round pick analysis.
While the Predators paid a significant price I don't think it is as one-sided as it may sound. Two former 1st rounders and a 1st round pick sounds really painful; but when you look at the prospects the Predators are not losing all that much. Look at Nashville's lineup now?!?!
Arnott, Kariya, Sullivan, Forsberg, Vokoun, Timonen, Zidlicky, (a finally productive) Legwand, Radulov, and Dumont.
That is a SCARY lineup. Hopefully the fans fill up the GEC in appreciation of this bold move. Nicely done David Poile!