A Look Inside the Arnott Trade… Jason Arnott did a lot for the Preds organization in his four seasons in Nashville – the 107 goals and 229 points speak for themselves – but at 35 years old (he’ll turn 36 right around Opening Night) it’s tough to judge just how many more top end seasons he has remaining. Since posting 72 points in ’07-08, Arnott has seen his point totals dip each of the last two seasons. Last year he failed to reach 50 points for the first time since ’02-03 and missed the 20-goal plateau for the first time since ’97-98. Arnott missed 19 games due to injury last season and 17 the season before; many of those 36 games lost were due to concussion-like symptoms. The injury history, production last season, age, made for a tough decision for the Preds heading in to ’10-11. Poile indicated that during his end of season exit meeting with Arnott it appeared the team and player were not on the same page … a big problem for a team built around unity. Many people wonder how the Preds will survive without Arnott, but last season the team managed just fine, going 13-5-1 (.711 points percentage) in four stints without Arnott in the line up – which was actually better than the .579 mark the team posted with Arnott (34-24-5). Nashville started two key season-changing swings with Arnott on the sidelines, a 4-2-0 stretch in late October to end the team’s early season five game winless streak and a 5-2-1 stretch late in the regular season to secure a playoff spot (including the playoff clinching win at Detroit on April 3). Don’t forget about Matt Halischuk in this trade. He’s only 22 years old and already has 21 games of NHL experience in an organization that – much like the Preds – likes to see its young players rise through the AHL ranks. In this year’s The Hockey News Future’s Watch, Halischuk was ranked among the top-10 prospects in the Devils organization. He plays an all-out physical style that is likely to earn him high marks with Coach Trotz and staff (a Halischuk/Tootoo pairing, for example, would not be a fun combo for opponents next season). (click here for more) --Jay Levin, NashvillePredators.com

Nashville, Tenn. (June 19, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has sent captain Jason Arnott to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Matt Halischuk and New Jersey’s second-round selection in the 2011 Entry Draft.

Halischuk, 22 (6/1/88), split the 2009-10 season between New Jersey and Albany (AHL), posting a pair of points (1g-1a) in 20 NHL games and 22 points (11g-11a) in 32 AHL contests. In his rookie professional season of 2008-09 the Toronto, Ont., native amassed 29 points (14g-15a) in 47 games for Lowell, and also made his NHL debut with the Devils, notching one assist.

A 5-11, 172-pound right wing, Halischuk scored the game-winning goal at 3:36 of overtime in the Gold Medal Game of the 2008 World Junior Championships, lifting Canada past Sweden, 3-2. He is also a former OHL Champion and Memorial Cup participant – he paced the OHL in goals during the 2008 postseason, and ranked fourth in points (20gp, 16g-16a), playing on a line with now-Predator forward Nick Spaling.

The additional second-round pick gives Nashville multiple second rounders for the second time in three drafts. The Predators selected Zach Budish and Charles-Olivier Roussel with back-to-back picks (41st and 42nd overall) in last summer’s Entry Draft.