The only Swede in Tennessee?

Imagine what Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya could do if they ever played together outside of that one season in Colorado which was wildly forgettable…

Dream no more, my friends. The Nashville Predators acquired Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday in a deal reminiscent of the old days when an already-loaded Colorado or Detroit would upgrade the firepower.

Let’s be realistic about this: Nashville is already in first place overall, with six forwards poised to notch 65-plus points this season, an all-world goaltender in Tomas Vokoun (flanked by backup Chris Mason, whose numbers are better than Vokoun’s), and one of the nastiest young blue line corps in ages. Thursday morning, they were Stanley Cup contenders to say the least, and probably prohibitive favourites.

Thursday evening, the Preds announced the acquisition of Forsberg -- two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, one Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, and one of a small handful of first-ballot Hall of Famers still playing. I think it’s safe to say things are looking up in the Music City.

Before we go any further with this, all of the good Forsberg can bring to this team is hinged on his health. If Forsberg stays healthy the rest of the way, and if Forsberg is healthy throughout the post-season, then Nashville’s owners had better be prepared to have some rings and a banner crafted.

Chances are Forsberg will get hurt. But, with the Predators use of one-A and one-B scoring lines, Forsberg won’t be logging the minutes he normally would, and the Predators will certainly do everything they can to keep him healthy. It’s tough to say for sure what role he’ll play. The Preds have two solid centres in David Legwand and Jason Arnott, and good checking-line centres, so it is possible Forsberg could move to a wing to reduce his defensive responsibilities, and the physical price he’ll pay. It’s also possible he’ll join Steve Sullivan and Paul Kariya on the top line. Legwand has done a very good job as the Preds’ top centre this year, but a guy like Forsberg could really fire up that line. Legwand would then move to a third line with Scott Hartnell and rookie Alexander Radulov and really get that third unit going.

Nashville gave up a very good young forward in Scottie Upshall, and a highly-touted junior-age defenseman to make this deal happen. But no matter how you slice it, the Predators just became the team to beat this season.