Once again, the Nashville Predators are bringing a former player of theirs back into the fold, trading Dan Hamhuis to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Ryan Parent, who was originally drafted by Nashville in 2005 (last summer, they brought in Francis Bouillon for a second stint as a Pred). With Hamhuis headed to free agency, and a contract that the Predators cannot afford, this deal mimics the 2007 trade that sent Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to the Flyers. Preds GM David Poile is at least getting some value back as “Hammer” leaves to make his fortune.
Parent is due to become a restricted free agent on July 1, having made $765,000 last season.
Follow after the jump for the team’s press release and reaction…
From the Preds:
Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Ryan Parent from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Dan Hamhuis and a conditional pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
Parent, 23 (3/17/87), was Nashville’s first pick, 18th overall (first round), in the 2005 Entry Draft, and was sent to Philadelphia on Feb. 15, 2007 in the trade that brought Peter Forsberg to Nashville. He spent his first full season at the NHL level in 2009-10, posting three points (1g-2a) while averaging 14:46 of ice time in 48 games for the Flyers. The Prince Albert, Sask., native also appeared in 17 playoff games during Philadelphia’s run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, scoring one goal.
For his career, the 6-3, 198-pound blueliner has played 102 career games at the NHL level. Parent played his first professional contests for the Milwaukee Admirals – Nashville’s primary developmental affiliate in the American Hockey League – during the team’s run to the 2006 Calder Cup Finals. He is slated to become a restricted free agent on July 1.
According to Broad Street Hockey, if the Flyers can’t sign Hamhuis to a new deal, Nashville will also throw in a 7th-round draft pick in 2011.
What Ryan Parent Brings to Nashville
By a stroke of good fortune, Broad Street Hockey just wrote up his season review today, so here’s an excerpt:
What is there to say about Ryan Parent? It’s all been said before. He had a really bad (not quite terrible) regular season, got injured, came back and continued his really bad season. This then turned into a terrible playoffs for Ryan Parent, eventually leading to him being benched and then scratched.
Let’s move on, shall we?
From his profile page, let’s check the scouting report:
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| Flaws |
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One big concern with Parent is his durability. Unlike Hamhuis, who was a steady presence in the lineup, Parent has battled groin troubles for over a year, playing just 48 games last season.
By the looks of it, I’d say Parent would be targeted for 3rd pair and penalty-killing duties. His overall results in 5-on-5 play look pretty awful, his PK work not so much. In the playoffs, he was sheltered by the coaching staff, playing less than 7.5 minutes per game.
In this situation, it’s not about trying to obtain equal hockey value in trade for Hamhuis, but at least getting something back into the organization. Clearly, the Predators believe there’s still potential for Parent, and his left-handed shot could prove a nice complement to guys like Kevin Klein and Cody Franson.
Steve Sullivan has already chimed in via Twitter: “Sad to see we have lost a great teammate. Hope it works out for Hammer, he deserves it! Welcome back to Nash Ryan Parent.”
Hamhuis was the Predators union representative, and their nominee this year for the King Clancy Award for his community service and off-ice leadership.
What do you think of this trade?
| Thumbs up! | 87 |
| Thumbs down. | 56 |