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Over the past 18 years of the Nashville Predators existence, there have been plenty of bad trades or trades that looked good whose players fizzled out and many more others who were lost to free agency, etc. etc. (still miss you, Tomas Vokoun).  But, none have looked as good in the short-term, long-term as the trade of the Preds’ Martin Erat & Michael Latta to the Capitals for Filip Forsberg. In certain circles of the internet where the Capitals fans congregate, even saying Erat’s name still causes fits and hisses 3 years after the fact (mainly Russian Machine Never Breaks comments section, but also other places) because the trade was so lop-sided for the Capitals fans that even the GM who wasn’t GM at the time of the trade apologized for it a year ago.   Michael Latta has been doing pretty good with the Capitals as a member of their 4th line (so it’s not all doom & gloom) and RMNB recently did a Q&A with him and he sounds pretty happy.

Prince Filip, as he has been nicknamed, on the other hand had 26 goals, 37 assists and 63 assists in the 2014-2015 season (his first major season, as 2012-2014 he spent less than 20 games in Nashville and spent most of his time with the Milwaukee Admirals).  He was also voted number four in the Calder Trophy. losing to Ekblad, Mark Stone and Gaudreau in that order, which is still pretty good company. This season, where he also went to his first NHL All-Star Game, he has 26 goals (a career high), 19 assists and 42 points with 20 or so games left in the Predators season. And he also lives on the same floor of the same apartment building with his other Predators Swedish teammates, Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok.

On Tuesday, February 23, he had his first natural hat trick against Toronto (Preds won 3-2 in Toronto) and on Saturday, February 27, he had his second against the Blues (Preds won 5-0 at home, now only 6 points out of 3rd place in the Central Division, righting whatever was happening when they were losing in January).  In his last 11 games, he’s had 12 goals.

Born and raised around the swamps of Northern New Jersey, 6 minutes away from East Rutherford and 11 minutes away from Newark (all with no traffic, of course), she is a giant New Jersey Devils fan whose greatest pieces of hockey memorabilia include a Patrik Elias Team Czech #25 shirsey, a Theo Fleury Calgary Flames action figure and a signed picture of Kevin Weekes smiling for the camera. She learned a long time ago that every Devils player that isn't Patrik Elias who she loves will probably be traded away, sent to Russia or just never get a call from Uncle Lou during contract negotiations and she has learned, after drinking a lot of Kool-Aid, that that is okay sometimes because Uncle Lou will always bring them back for the last year or so of their hockey life. Speaking of, she is also been one of the few women in the Bobby Holik Appreciation Fan Club since 1996 or so.

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