Arnott Back to Jersey

			2009-2010 NHL Statistics				2011 Cap Info
To New Jersey	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Jason Arnott	Forward	35	63	19	27	46	1	$4.5 million
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To Nashville	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Matt Halischuk	Forward	22	20	1	1	2	1	$875,000
2011 2nd Round Pick

The Nashville Predators are in a bit of a sell mode, by the looks of things. On the same day they dealt Dan Hamhuis to Philadelphia, they moved their captain, Jason Arnott, to the New Jersey Devils.  In return, the Predators received prospect forward, Matt Halischuk and a 2nd round pick in 2011's Entry Draft.

This will be Arnott's second stop with the New Jersey Devils, playing there for five seasons and winning a Stanley Cup with the club in 2000.  Arnott will provide some extra leadership to the Devils and will give some added depth in their line-up, also giving possibilities of what may or may not happen with unrestricted free agent Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Predators pick up another young player to grow in their system in Halischuk, who has been groomed to be more of a two-way forward, which plays right into the hands of the Predators style and coaching for 2011 and he might have a better shot at making the NHL on a Nashville team that is redefining their image this Summer.

I think this deal could definitely be considered a salary dump for the Nashville Predators, which could suggest that they have big plans for their Summer, going in a new direction with the club or have a new superstar in mind for their side. With this deal, the Predators now have 15 players signed on to their roster for the 2011 season for an annual salary cap hit of $37.4 million, well below the cap floor at the moment.

The Devils, on the other hand, have now added onto their totals, now having 16 players to their 2011 roster for an annual cap hit of $45.6 million.  That's an awfully big number for a team that wants to re-sign Kovalchuk, so I would assume that the Summer of Change is long from over in the swamp and some more deals must be coming down the pipe.

This deal asks a few more questions moreso than giving answers, like what do the Devils do with Kovalchuk now that Arnott is a large lump sum against the salary cap? What is the Predators motivation for dealing a guy like Arnott away?  I like this deal for the Predators and Devils, I think both teams get more of what they want, the Devils want to win now and the Predators are building with good young players.