What the Washington Capitals got in return for Filip Forsberg was a short-term fix. What the Nashville Predators got was a franchise cornerstone.
Back in 2012, Washington sent Forsberg to Nashville in a deal that brought Martin Erat and Michael Latta to the Capitals. At the time, the move was aimed at helping a playoff push, with Erat expected to strengthen the forward group and add depth for the run.
The immediate returns in Washington were modest. Erat played 62 games for the Capitals and finished with 27 points. Latta appeared in 113 games, scoring four goals and adding 13 assists for 17 points.
Forsberg, meanwhile, turned into something much bigger in Nashville. Through 862 career games, he has scored 358 goals and added 398 assists for 756 points, becoming one of the best players in Predators history.
It is hard not to wonder how different things might have looked if Washington had kept him. Without the move for Erat, the Capitals may have been in danger of missing the playoffs, and the alternative could have been a rebuild. Nashville, for its part, might have remained stuck in the middle of the pack without a player like Forsberg to build around.
Washington did get a strong finish to the 2012-13 season after Erat arrived, but the bigger verdict still leans toward the Predators. The Capitals went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2018 without either Erat or Forsberg, while Nashville has reached the Stanley Cup Final only once. Even so, the trade itself is still one of those what-if moments that makes you think Washington might have been even better off if it had held onto Forsberg a little longer.
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