June 19, 2010, HockeyPrimeTime.com breaking news story on the Nashville Predators trades of Dan Hamhuis and Jason Arnott

Predators deal Hamhuis, Arnott in separate trades

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Written by Denis Gorman

Saturday, June 19, 2010 18:34

The Nashville Predators made two of the off-season's biggest trades within hours of each other Saturday, first shipping defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Philadelphia Flyers for Ryan Parent, then sending captain Jason Arnott to the New Jersey Devils for forward Matt Halishuk and a draft pick. Annually among the NHL's low-budget franchises, Nashville rids itself of an impending free agent (Hamhuis) as well as its second-highest paid forward (Arnott). The Preds acquire two solid NHL players, a prospect in Halishuk who has scored 51 points in 79 AHL games over two seasons, and a second-round selection in the 2011 Draft. Parent was Nashville’s first pick,18th overall, in the 2005 draft. The 23-year-old did not play a full season in the NHL until 2009-10, posting a goal and two assists as a third-pair defenseman. He also appeared in 17 playoff games during Philadelphia’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, scoring one goal. Parent played in only one game in the series against Chicago before being replaced in the lineup by Oskars Bartulis for games two through six. “Ryan [Parent] came here in the Peter Forsberg trade a few years ago (2007)," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement released by the team. "I think Ryan is a good kid. He is an extremely hard worker. We certainly thank him for his services and his time here. He has a lot of upside as a player and he is going back to an organization that obviously knows him because they drafted him.” Holmgren also said that the Flyers’ “intention is to get (Hamhuis) signed” prior to the start of the July 1 free agency period. Somewhat overshadowed by top-pair teammates Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, the 27-year-old Hamhuis finished 2009-10 with five goals and 19 assists in 78 games with the Predators. He also recorded 49 penalty minutes. In trading Arnott to New Jersey – where he started his career and scored the 2000 Stanley Cup-winning goal in double overtime against Dallas – Nashville sheds itself of $4.5 million in cap room. Arnott played in 63 games for Nashville last season, scoring 46 points (19 goals and 27 assists). Under contract through 2011, Arnott has scored 383 goals and 873 points in 1,099 career games. Outside of top-liner Travis Zajac, the pivot position was a problem throughout the Devils’ 2009-10 season. Zajac was often shuttled between Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk after New Jersey acquired the Russian superstar. Devils general manager and team president Lou Lamoriello admitted as much today when he said in a statement that the acquisition of Arnott “strengthens our center ice position.” Should Kovalchuk re-sign, Arnott provides new head coach John MacLean two high-scoring lines. J.P. Hoornstra contributed to this report. http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/headlines/predators-deal-hamhuis-arnott-in-separate-trades