Despite some blockbuster trades taking place on the floor of the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh tonight, the Nashville Predators stood pat and watched the first round go by without any activity on their part. The draft picks up with the second round tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Central, with the Preds currently holding two picks in that round.
But wow, check out those trades:
New York Islanders-Ducks Trade: Lubomir Visnovsky for 2013 2d-Round Pick – Lighthouse Hockey
What a beauty pickup for the Isles. It’s an instant injection of talent and experience, along with a fat $5.6 million salary cap hit (to help them reach the floor) but only a $3 million salary next season.
Caps Acquire Mike Ribeiro – Japers’ Rink
Well, at least he won’t rip up the Preds so much any more.
Pittsburgh Trades Jordan Staal to Carolina for 8th Overall Pick, Brandon Sutter – PensBurgh
This, after Staal declined a 10-year extension from the Pens. Now, he joins his brother Eric in Carolina.
Predators & Penguins Just Talking
Fans following the draft on Twitter got all excited about word that David Poile spoke with Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero on a few occasions. Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review at least let us know what those conversations were apparently about:
Told #pens are looking into rights to Ryan Suter. They tried similar with Hamhuis 2 years ago #nhldraft
— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) June 23, 2012
Of course, David Poile has made a great show of declaring that he will not trade Suter’s rights ahead of July 1, as a sign of “loyalty”, but you have to wonder what the offer might have been.
For a host of stories coming out of tonight’s draft, head over to the SB Nation NHL Draft hub, which ties together articles from all around our hockey network.