Fisher Dealt to Nashville

			2011 Season				2011	Remaining
To Nashville	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Mike Fisher	Forward	30	55	14	10	24	$4.2 million	2	Same
--------------------------
To Ottawa	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
2011 1st Round Draft Pick
2012 3rd Round (Conditional) Draft Pick

The countdown to the trade deadline has kicked off with a bang over the past 24 hours, including a deal that dropped early on Thursday afternooon between the Senators and the Predators.

The Predators, who sit 5th in the West going into Thursday night's action, are looking to make a splash in the playoff race and in the playoffs themselves with the acquisition of Mike Fisher from the Senators.  Fisher will bring some versatility to the Predators down the middle, being able to line-up in either a second-line or third-line centre role, giving some defensive stability and a bit of offensive pop to the position.

Fisher has had some success in the playoffs with the Senators and he should be able to bring that experience to a Predators team that is a little short on that kind of experience, so this could be a very good move for them.

Somewhat of a bonus to this deal is that Fisher is also signed on for another couple years at a reasonable-to-high cap hit, but if he can bring the certain characteristics that the Predators are looking for, the cap hit turns back into just being reasonable for a couple more seasons.

The Senators, on the other hand, have fallen out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, now sitting 14th in the East, well out of sight and the future is all they have to look forward to.  A non-lottery 1st round pick this coming Summer and a conditional pick in 2012 should go a long ways to re-working the Senators foundation to build from.

The price for Fisher might be considered high, but in the tight marketplace for Stanley Cups, versatile players are going to cost teams looking to improve.  Just look at the cost of defensemen last year, it was awfully high.

The Predators, taking on an immediate cost of Fisher's $4.1 million annual cap hit, which works out to be about $1.3 million against their hit this season, will just get thrown in a relatively empty bucket, carrying the team's cap in the 2011 season.  Even annually speaking, the Predators cap hit works out to be only $48 million, so they have room to spare.

In 2012, I now have Nashville sitting at $38.6 million for 15 players signed, which is awfully good shape.

The Senators have now relieved their cap hit by a fair chunk of change, helping out their bottom-line for the end of the year.  Dumping salary won't hurt this team, but this deal also helps themselves dump some salary for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, making themselves a little more flexible.  I have the Senators with 14 players and 3 buyouts in 2012 for $38.2 million, which is fairly flexible as well, very close to the Predators situation.

In the pools, Fisher is represented in both, being picked by Don D. in the draft and is a member of Box 19 on the sheet.  The Predators are a little bit more offensive, in terms of goals for, in the 2011 season, which likely will mean good things for Fisher and his poolies.

Don currently sits in 7th place in the standings in the draft, 20 points out of the money and could use a bit of a boost from his 11th round pick this year.