Top Trades
The general manager's bread and butter consists of draft choices and trades. With draft choices, scouts comb the world looking for the best and brightest. With trades however, the general manager is the key to finding players and making deals. Here are the top five trades GM David Poile has pulled off over the past two seasons:

1. C Cliff Ronning & D Richard Lintner for J.J. Daigneault
   Even the casual fan realizes the impact Cliff Ronning has had for the Predators since he joined the team on Halloween 1998. He is on track to repeat his role as the team's top scorer. Nashville also acquired a very promising defenseman in Richard Lintner who has already seen alot of icetime with the Preds. The Coyotes traded Ronning to give young C Daniel Briere more ice time. The Coyotes received "future considerations" so it is only speculated that veteran D Daigneault was part of the trade.

2. G Tomas Vokoun & C Sebastien Bordeleau in expansion draft
   When Mike Dunham went down with a groin injury, the importance of acquiring young Tomas Vokoun was spotlighted. Atlanta fans can appreciate the importance of goaltending depth as they have suffered prolonged losing streaks while missing their top netminder. Nashville also acquired speedy center Bordeleau from Montreal as compensation for not selecting a defenseman in the expansion draft. Poile clearly chose the best available players here.

3. C Greg Johnson & RW Sergei Krivokrasov in expansion draft
   This duo provided much needed offense, especially prior to the arrival of Cliff Ronning. Greg Johnson was a proven commodity as a second or third line center. Sergei Krivokrasov was well known as a talented but inconsistent scorer. Krivo thrived in Nashville during the first season and became the first Predator All-Star. He was traded toward the end of the second season after scoring only nine goals. Still, Poile made the most from this trade by not selecting Chris Terreri in the expansion draft.

4. C Petr Sykora & RW Alexandr Krevsun for RW Doug Brown
   Chalk this one up to making the best of a bad situation. The Predators acquired Doug Brown from Detroit in the expansion draft thinking he would like the increased ice time on an expansion team. Brown disagreed and refused to play for Nashville. To avoid bad chemistry, Poile engineered a trade to acquire a good goal-scoring prospect and a draft pick for keeping Brown in the Motor City.

5. C Randy Robitaille for LW Denny Lambert
   In theory trades are supposed to benefit both teams. While Lambert does bring toughness to a hockey club, it hardly seems comparable to the AHL's MVP. Although suffering inconsistancies at times during the season, Robitaille has shown glimpses of greatness and is a good point player on the power play.

Promising Prospects

1. David Legwand
   The potential cornerstone of the franchise has been able to hold the weight so far. While not a Calder candidate, Legwand has shown an impressive degree of strength, speed, skill, and maturity in such a young player.

2. Karlis Skrastins
   Poile's scouts really did their homework when they chose Skrastins in the ninth round, 229th overall in 1998. The big Latvian defenseman has proven his worth with skill and strength for the Preds. He is making himself an important piece of the franchise's foundation.

3. Jan Lasak
   It's hard to argue about Lasak's future. Nashville's 2000 second round draft selection has won Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month honors in the ECHL. He also has the most wins of any goalie in the league and is in the top ten in other goaltending statistical categories. He is also an ECHL All-Star. Poile cleared the way for Lasak in the IHL next season by trading Corey Hirsch.

4. Marian Cisar
   Nashville's first ever player acquistion has yet to make his debut in Tennessee. But with his hat tricks and team leading goal scoring in the IHL, it shouldn't be long before Nashvillian's see Cisar.

5. Denis Arkhipov
   Everyone has heard about Legwand, but few people in the US have seen Nashville's second ever draft choice. Arkhipov is a stong and skilled skater and goal-scorer. His Russian team won the gold medal in the 1999 World Junior Championship where he scored five goals. However, there has been trouble signing Arkhipov to a contract which places his future in some doubt.

Fantastic Free Agents

In reality, most hockey free agents are in the twilight of their playing careers and are more likely to sign with a Stanley Cup contender than an expansion team. Also, one superstar cannot achieve much unless the team is adequately stocked with other talented players. Here are the top free agent signing through the first two seasons:

1. Patric Kjellberg
   Many fans were willing to give up on Kjellberg after the first season. He produced moderately well (11 goals, 20 assists) but did not show the level of skill or effort many expected of the second leading scorer in the Swedish Elite League. Credit Poile for sticking with him. With a season of North American hockey under his belt, the Swede adapted to the longer, more physical hockey season. He is now one of the few Predators able and willing to go to the net and is tied for the team goal scoring lead with Cliff Ronning.

2. Tom Fitzgerald
   Fitzgerald has never been a top scorer, but he has brought his work ethic to the leadership role. It's hard to quantify his importance to the team, but considering the Predators defeated every Western Conference team and finished with the second best inaugural season expansion team record in the 1990s gives some indication of his value. Consider also that former Thrasher captain Kelly Buchberger was viewed as expendable after a diasterous first season.

3. Rob Valicevic
   There was one franchise first that was not achieved until November 10th in Nashville's second season. Valicevic established that franchise first after scoring three goals in the first period against Chicago - the first Predator hat trick. Rob's road to the NHL led from Lake Superior State, through the swamps of the Louisiana Ice Gators, to the IHL Turner Cup champion Houston Aeros, and into Nashville as the third ever Predator acquisition. He is a character player and a hard working grinder who has earned his spot on the roster.

4. Mark Mowers
   While Valicevic took a more torturous route, Mowers graduated from the University of New Hampshire where he was the team captain and signed with Nashville as the fourth Predator acquisition. Although Mark failed to score a goal in his 30 games with the Predators in the inaugural season, he has managed to light the lamp four times so far this season. His development may not be fast, but he is a fleet and hard-working skater.

5. David Gosselin
   He couldn't work out a contract with the Devils who drafted him in the third round, but Gosselin has found a home within the Predators organization. The skilled pivot showed some promise in 1998-1999 and has improved to the point of making the trip down South. Like so many other acquisitions by this young franchise, only time will tell who will excel and who will fail.