NASHVILLE - Nashville Predators General Manager, Tom Poraszka spent several hours in office yesterday and it produced two blockbuster level deals involving the Predators.
Poraszka finally made a significant move after signing on with the Predators several weeks ago and from this point on, he will be under the microscope courtesy of the city of Nashville. After a strong season last year, the Predators qualified for the playoffs but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in a 4 game span that saw the Predators light the lamp only a disappointing 5 times. Poraszka recognized this need immediately and brought in unrestricted free agent Vaclav Prospal to address the concern. However, a change like that isn't going to schedule any parades next July so Poraszka got back to work. Rumours from yesterday concerning a potential deal for the Predators were confirmed this morning when the league approved two deals involving Nashville.
The first deal involved the Florida Panthers in a swapping of defensemen that saw the Predators' number one defenseman, Marek Zidlicky join the Panthers. Nashville dealt Zidlicky to the Panthers along with a 3rd round draft pick in 2006 for Ed "Jovocop" Jovanovski. The deal allows Florida to drop almost $4 million in salary on the Predators while Nashville upgrades to a quality number one defenseman. Zidlicky led all Nashville defensemen last year in points with 41, also good enough for third on the team but in Jovanovski the Predators receive a defensively liable defenseman with a decent offensive touch. Jovanovski recorded 33 points for the Panthers in the inaugural OTHL season and was tied for 17th in the league with 182 hits. He brings a strong physical presence to the blueline accompanied by a well-rounded overall game. However, Jovanovski becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season unless the Predators are able to extend his contract which could make or break this deal for Nashville.
"We're very happy with this deal, whether or not we have Jovanovski for more than a year. We feel we have a very good chance to hold onto Jovanovski and ideally would love to have him captain our team for many years to come. We feel it was a fair team that accomodated to both teams needs.", answered Poraszka concerning Jovanovski's longterm status as a Predator.
Tom Poraszka wasn't done dealing there, after making his first significant deal, Poraszka later completed a large deal with the Los Angeles Kings. The Predators parted ways with defenseman Teppo Numminen, forwards Brad Isbister, Ruslan Fedotenko, their top pick in the 2005 draft, defenseman Ryan Parent and a 4th round draft pick in the 2006 OTHL Entry Draft. In exchange for the large package the Predators received flashy center Pavel Datsyuk and prospect Jeff Tambellini. It has been rumoured for quite some time that Tom Poraszka's favourite players are Simon Gagne of the New Jersey Devils (a player he acquired when he was GM of the Devils) and Jeff Tambellini. In Tambellini the Predators receive a strong prospect at left wing to add to Magnus Kahnberg (acquired for a 1st round pick in 2006 last week) and Timofei Shishkanov, potentially making one of the two expendable. Tambellini, though small, plays a game beyond his size and is capable of making scoring chances out of seemingly harmless plays. His great speed and hands could see him develop into a top scorer in the OTHL and blow this trade wide open in favour of the Predators.
While parting ways with their top defenseman in the first deal of the day, the Predators also dealt their second best defenseman in Teppo Numminen with the second deal of the day. Though dealing two offensive defensemen in one day may seem to contradict the plan to increase offense, bringing in a player like Pavel Datsyuk brings the strategy right back on track. Datsyuk recorded 69 points in 80 games for the team that swept the Predators out of the playoffs last year, the Detroit Red Wings. His 69 points included 35 goals, good enough for 8th in the OTHL and a shooting percentage among the top-10 in the league. The Predators are glad to welcome such an offensive threat to the lineup in hope of improving on last year's performance.
"We're ecstatic to add both Datsyuk and Tambellini to our team and feel they can provide the offensive touch that we have been lacking. We're also comfortable with the fact that the game intends to accomodate their skills more and we feel it will directly reflect upon their production.", said Tom Poraszka on his second transaction of the day.
Next up on the Predators' agenda becomes signing Restricted Free Agents which include Tomas Vokoun, Mika Noronen and plenty others. It appears as though the Predators have taken a step forward in their attempt to improve on last year's early finish to the year and hope to bring an exciting product to the ice this season under new General Manager, Tom Poraszka.