FLORIDA -- It comes as no surprise to see another trade between Florida and Nashville. The only shock is the minor nature of the deal. In the past these two teams have made some blockbuster deals moving the biggest names in hockey.
This week the Panthers acquired 37-year-old winger Jason Blake from the Preds for a fifth-round draft pick in 2012.
Florida general manager IronMike said he made the deal to acquire a veteran forward to help the Southern Cats [18-20-4 through 42 games] in their battle for a playoff spot down the stretch run.
"Jason's a player I've liked for a long time and we wanted to pursue him this past off-season," IronMike said. "But, the speed in which he moved took us by surprise and we never got in the bidding. Currently we have a very short window to get our season turned around. We need to start making up ground and we hope the addition of Blake is the first step."
Mike says the deal was done quickly because of the great relationship between the two general managers.
"It took about 24 hours, we talked briefly and then hammered out the deal the next day. Richard is a class GM. Very easy talks. From our view we get quality veteran leadership before the deadline, we felt Jason was a perfect fit. We wanted a guy to place into our top six and we wanted leadership from a proven NsHL producer."
In 38 games for the Predators this season, Blake scored five goals and 11 assists. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
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