The Nashville Predators announced Sunday that they had acquired defenseman Cody Franson and versatile center Mike Santorelli from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
It's a huge deal for both teams and the second blockbuster trade to rock the NHL this week.
The Predators, already one of the strongest teams in the NHL, just got a whole lot stronger for their Stanley Cup run while the Maple Leafs, one of the NHL's worst, just took that initial, shaky step forward on their scorched-earth rebuilding path.
"In preparation for the 2015 playoff run, our goal was to add a veteran defenseman who could play in all situations and a proven forward who could move up and down lineup based on the situation," Nashville GM David Poile said in a statement announcing the move. "We were fortunate to do this in the same transaction with players who are in the prime of their careers more than two weeks before the Trade Deadline in order to give them more time to contribute and gel with their teammates.
"Both Cody and Mike were drafted, developed and began their NHL careers here. They know our organization and still have former teammates and friends on the roster. We are fully confident that they will seamlessly fit into our team."
The 27-year-old Franson is a former third-round NHL draft pick of the Predators. He comes from the same hometown as Nashville's stud blueliner, Shea Weber.
Santorelli, 29, is a versatile forward and former sixth-round pick for Nashville. For Toronto, he was putting together a potentially career year this season as he's managed to stay healthy - something that has proven difficult for him in the past. Both players add strength, size and grit to the Preds for their expected run to the playoffs.
For the Leafs and GM Dave Nonis and team president Brendan Shanahan, this move is all about the future. Jokinen is most likely set to be dealt again - he was included only because Nashville needed to move out money to make room for Franson and Santorelli.
The 2015 first-round draft pick will, hopefully, mean another significant prospect for the Leafs' system as they begin their rebuild, and Leipsic is a quality young player described, per TSN's Darren Dreger, as "small and scrappy with great hands," but needs at least one more year of development in the AHL.
Moving Franson, who was playing hardball with the team on an extension, for the pick is huge, as it nets significant value for a player determined to leave the team in the offseason.
