Filip Forsberg spoke to Swedish paper Expressen in the wake of his trade from the Capitals to the Nashville Predators. In an article by Gunnar Nordström and Adam Eriksson, Forsberg describes his reaction:

“It happened suddenly, I didn’t know anything about it until I read it. I spoke to my agent just now and he said it really went quickly, but that’s what happens in this world. All I can do is accept it.”

Forsberg said that he had not yet heard from Washington or Nashville as of Wednesday afternoon, telling Expressen, “I’ve only spoken to friends so far, so I don’t know anything.”

Forsberg should wrap up his season this week. Before trading him away, McPhee expressed his interest in bringing Forsberg to the AHL as soon as possible. Those plans are now in flux according to Forsberg: ”I don’t know about that either. I’ll answer when I know more.”

“We haven’t heard from Nashville yet, so I can’t say [whether or not they want him over after Friday],” said Forsberg’s agent, Claes Elefalk at CAA Sports. Elefalk was enthusiastic about the trade, saying, ”It shows Filip’s value on the market. Nashville are giving up their best offensive player over the past few years and an AHL talent.”

Translation by Jake Ware

Photo via @SteeChain

When I got home from work tonight, I ate my feelings in homemade Hawaiian pizza (thanks, Ashley). I’m bummed about the Erat/Forsberg trade. As much as I love this team, I worry they are just not that great, getting older, and not actually improving along with their win-loss record. I hoped the Caps would flip some guys in the final years of their contracts for picks and prospects, but instead George McPhee did the opposite: trading part of the Caps’ future, Filip Forsberg, for Martin Erat, a 31-year-old left wing who is 249th in goal scoring and has a cap hit of $4.5 million. The team is better now, but I don’t know about their future.

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who is ambivalent. A few minutes after the trade was announced, Forsberg’s Wikipedia page was defaced. Like five times.

The final paragraph of Forsberg’s biography read like this:

On April 3, 2013, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.[sic] which might go down as the worst trade ever in the Washington Captials[sic] history.

It was then changed to this:

On April 3, 2013, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.[sic] which might go down as the best trade ever in the Washington Captials [sic] history.

And then, my favorite:

On April 3, 2013, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. [sic] which might go down as the worst trade ever in the Washington Captials [sic] history, but there is NO WAY OF KNOWING THIS FOR ABOUT 2-3 YEARS [sic, but a good point].

The page was eventually fixed, but not without some commentary:

On April 3, 2013, Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. Capitals fans are mad, for good reasons.

Personally, I think the Jagr trade is, was, and will always will be the worst in Washington Capitals– and possibly human– history. And really, who knows how Forsberg will develop as he gets older. He might be a plug.

Regardless, McPhee sent a message to his team and its fans: Future be darned; we’re making the playoffs this year. I get that. But it seems I’m not alone in my wariness over this move.

Wow. Check out Filip Forsberg’s Wikipedia page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filip_For… Cc. @dcsportsbog @russianmachine #Caps

— Armin Rosen (@ArminRosen) April 3, 2013

Photo credit: Hannah Foslien

A little before 5pm, the Washington Capitals traded their future in the hopes of winning a Stanley Cup now: Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.

Many people, including us, think that is a bad idea. Erat, while a top-six forward, is aging and well compensated. The Caps are now on the hook for his $4.5 million yearly salary for the next two seasons, with a salary cap that is going down by six million next year. He’s scored just four goals this year.

Washington, it seems, wants to win now. If they don’t — and remember it’s a toss-up and whether they’ll even make the playoffs — this trade will have been a bad idea. George McPhee, therefore, has some explaining to do. He did that Wednesday evening.

“I wasn’t going to sell,” McPhee told Monumental Network. “I wasn’t going to attempt to sell anything. We would add if we could and I think we added a real good piece.”

“With the way our club’s been playing I thought I owed it to our players to help them out,” he added. “I heard the players loud and clear the other day when they didn’t want us to be a seller. We think we have a real good hockey club and we’re going to keep pushing for the playoffs here.”

McPhee insisted, though, that while the Capitals were giving up a highly regarded young prospect, they didn’t think of it as a short-term deal. Instead, it was filling a hole the Caps have: a lack of talented wingers.

“We wanted a top-six forward,” McPhee said of Erat. “We just thought it was a real good fit for our club; it’s hard to get top-six forwards, he’s an established player, he’s got a lot of miles in him.”

“It’s not a rental,” he added. “He’s going to be with us for a while.”

This move, however, is a gamble. McPhee, while confident, acknowledged that to an extent.

“To get a player like Erat, and Latta, you have to give up a good player, and we gave up a good player in Forsberg,” the GM said. “We’re able to do it because I think we’re drafting well. As long as you draft well you can make these moves.”

Latta, meanwhile, is a young, quality minor-leaguer who has registered 34 points in the AHL this season. The deal obviously isn’t centered around him, but McPhee likes what he’s getting.

“He’s a gritty kid who plays the game hard,” said McPhee. “I think he’ll be a good fit for us in the near future.”

Time will tell whether this trade filled a hole that was preventing the team from ultimate success or was a short-sighted move that mortgaged their future.

Photo credit: Jeff Gross

Wednesday’s trade deadline was pretty tame for the Washington Capitals until a few minutes after 3 PM, when we heard Mike Vogel that the team had “something brewing.”

Then… about two hours of speculating and waiting. The Capitals were “incredibly mum” according to Bob McKenzie. The Caps Report video special with Alan May, Mike Vogel, and John Walton went into extra innings– vamping to fill time until the news broke. George McPhee declined to name the trade until all involved players were named.

Those players  turned out to be Martin Erat, a 31-year old RW lefty from Nashville, and Caps prospect Filip Forsberg. Nashville threw in Michael Latta as well.

Erat takes big minutes for Nashville and drives play, but has had a rough season with the Predators this year. Erat makes $4.5M each year with two years left on his contract. That’s a hefty price tag for a top-6 player, and under a constricting salary cap it raises some quandaries for the Caps next season.

McPhee and Leonsis both recently called Forsberg the future of the franchise, a talented young forward from Sweden expected to join Hershey this month.

This is a bad trade.

Press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 3, 2013

Capitals Acquire Martin Erat and Michael Latta from Nashville

The Czech Republic native ranks second in Predators history in career points, goals, assists and games played

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have acquired forwards Martin Erat (mahr-TIHN EE-rat) and Michael Latta (MIGH-kuhl LA-tuh) from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Filip Forsberg, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Erat, 31, has recorded 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) and 26 penalty minutes in 36 games with Nashville this season. He ranked tied for first on Nashville in points and led the team in assists at the time of the trade. Erat ranked second among Nashville forwards in time on ice per game (18:55) and tied for second among Nashville forwards in power-play time on ice per game (2:41). He was named an alternate captain for Nashville this season.

The native of Trebic, Czech Republic, currently ranks second in Nashville franchise history in career points (481), goals (163), assists (318), games played (723), game-winning goals (26) and ranks third in power-play goals (42). He recorded a career-high 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) last season for Nashville and has eclipsed the 50-point plateau in five of the last six seasons. The three-time 20-goal scorer has represented the Czech Republic in the World Championships (three times), World Junior Championships (twice) and the Winter Olympic Games in 2006 and 2010.

The 6’, 196-pound forward has registered 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 46 career playoff games with Nashville, ranking second in playoff scoring, games played, assists and fourth in goals in Nashville postseason history.

Erat was drafted by Nashville in the seventh round (191st overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has played all 723 of his career NHL games with Nashville.

Latta, 21, ranks second on the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) in points (34) and first in assists (26) among active players. He compiled a plus-9 rating and 184 penalty minutes (led the team) in 67 games played this season. In 122 career AHL games with Milwaukee, the St. Clements, Ontario, native has recorded 23 goals, 41 assists and 286 penalty minutes.

The 6’, 215-pound center was drafted by Nashville in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He will report to Hershey.

Forsberg (center) celebrates Leksand’s promotion to the Elitserien with his teammates. (Photo credit: Aftonbladet)

Last Friday afternoon, Capitals General Manager George McPhee discussed the organization’s top prospects, including 2012 first-round pick Filip Forsberg. McPhee made it clear that he’d like the 18-year-old Swede to join the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears after his season is finished with Leksand on April 5th.

But if Leksand General Manager Tommy Salo has his way, Forsberg will stay in Sweden for one more season.

While speaking to Aftonbladet’s Per Bohman (and lovingly translated by Jake Ware), Salo said of Forsberg, “[He] is getting better every year. He is our key player and we hope have him on loan for one more year (from the Washington Capitals).”

When reminded of his opinion earlier in the season that Forsberg needs another year in Sweden to be ready for the rigors of the NHL, the former Islanders goaltender responded, “Yes, that’s absolutely true. There is of course a difference in quality between the Allsvenskan and the NHL. He is young, has his entire career ahead of him, and we want to keep him for one more year.”

Forsberg admitted he wasn’t ready to discuss the future when Aftonbladet spoke to him during the team’s on-ice celebration.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Forsberg said. “It’s great that Tommy wants to have me back, but I can’t talk about it so soon after the game and our promotion.”

Great diplomatic answer, Filip.

With or without Forsberg, Salo is sure that his current group is good enough to do well in the Elitserien next season. His focus is now on getting the key players to stay.

“That’s how it’s gotta be,” Salo said. “We will work with the players we have.”

Forsberg hugs a teammate sensually. (Photo credit: Aftonbladet)

Photo credit: leksandsif.se

Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee spoke with Mike Vogel on Thursday to discuss a variety of issues. He covered his plans for the upcoming trade deadline (more on that later) and his vision for the club in the future. That vision certainly includes first-round pick Filip Forsberg, a talented winger who was recently named the HockeyAllsvenskan’s best under-20 player and was a World Junior Championships All-Star. McPhee announced today that he’d like Filip Forsberg to join the Hershey Bears when his season concludes on April 5th.

Forsberg, whose Swedish team Leksands IF is playing in the Kvalserien (a ten-game tournament to decide which teams get promoted to the Elitserien next season) is currently second in the tournament’s goal-scoring race and fifth in points.

When asked who the 18-year-old prospect would play for next season, McPhee replied, “I’m not sure. I’d have to see him this year in Hershey. I’d like to take a look at him this year to be able to project ahead and see where he should be.”

McPhee, who hasn’t seen Forsberg play since the World Junior Champions, also said that “Our scouts have watched him. He’s doing well, so we’ll see.”

Thursday, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said of both Forsberg and Kuznetsov that the two players are “budding top six forwards, and will add speed, skill and star quality to our lineup.”

It seems the future of the Washington Capitals is arriving sooner rather than later.

Photo credit: svenskafans.com

Filip Forsberg was impressive in Leksands IF’s first game of the Kvalserien, scoring two goals in a 3-1 win over Michael Nylander’s Sodertalje SK. On Thursday, the 2012 first-round pick was at it again, this time tallying two more goals in a 8-3 blowout win over Timra IK.

His first goal is at the 22-second mark. His second begins at 56 seconds.

With five goals in seven tournament games, Forsberg is second in the Kvalserien goal-scoring race and fifth in the point race with eight. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

The blowout win was also important because it basically guarantees Leksand a promotion to Elitserien, Sweden’s top hockey league, next season. With three games to go, second-place Leksand is nine points ahead of the third-place team Timra. Even if Leksand loses all three games and Timra wins all three, their points will be equal at 18. Leksand has a ridiculous 24-goal advantage over Timra in the tie-breaking goal differential (+17 for Leksand and -7 for Timra), so it is almost impossible for Timra to qualify.

Forsberg’s last game is scheduled on April 5th. After that, he is eligible to join the Capitals organization.

Filip Forsberg: so good he gets his own t-shirt.

Photo credit: Leksand Facebook page

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Photo credit: Chris Gordon

When the Washington Capitals let Alex Semin walk last summer, they left a big hole in their top six. That hole has not been permanently filled yet, but there are two talented draft picks who might be a good fit in the future: Evgeny Kuznetsov and Filip Forsberg.

While Kuznetsov is still more than a full season away, Forsberg could be donning a Washington Capitals or Hershey Bears jersey as soon as this year.

A few weeks ago, when restricted free agent Ryan O’Reilly signed an offer sheet with the Calgary Flames, it almost set off a bizarre series of events, revealing how convoluted the NHL’s waiver process is. Since O’Reilly played two games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk after the NHL lockout had ended, the 22-year-old center would have had to go through waivers before joining the Flames. Instead, the Avalanche matched Calgary’s offer sheet and he immediately joined the team.

Forsberg’s situation is much different.

While the 18-year-old Swedish prospect played in 38 games for Leksands IF of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan league (half of which played during the NHL season), a Capitals spokesman confirmed he is eligible to come over this year because of something called a European Loan.

“Forsberg is under NHL contract and on assignment to his Swedish team,” the spokesman said. “He is eligible to come over mid-season to play for Capitals or Bears sometime after his season is over in April.”

The three-year entry-level contract that Forsberg signed with the Capitals during Development Camp in July put the Capitals in the driver’s seat regarding when he’d start his professional career in North America. Once Leksands IF’s participation in the Kvalserien ends in a few weeks (a ten game round-robin tournament which determines which teams play in the Elitserien), it’s decision time for George McPhee.

The Capitals could opt for Forsberg to stay at home, rest, and prepare for his second Caps development camp in July. They could also have him join the AHL’s Hershey Bears, a move once made for John Carlson. On November 13, 2008, Carlson signed his ELC and then was loaned to Dale Hunter’s London Knights. Following the OHL playoffs, Carlson joined Hershey during their playoff run and played in 16 games. Because he was in the minors, Carlson did not lose the first year of his entry-level contract.

McPhee also could have Forsberg join the Capitals. While Washington’s roster is cramped right now, the NHL trade deadline is coming on April 5. A transaction before then could open up a spot for the young Swede on the roster. Forsberg can play in only five games — including the playoffs — before burning a year of his entry-level deal, which is exactly what happened with Chris Kreider and the New York Rangers last season. While Forsberg could gain some invaluable experience with the team during their march towards the playoffs, it’d be a waste of his cheap entry-level deal.

This is a big decision for McPhee. Forsberg, who was named the HockeyAllsvenskan’s best under-20 player of the year and an All-Star at the 2013 World Junior Championships, is a very talented forward. His development — along with Kuznetsov’s — could make or break a Capitals’ Stanley Cup run.

Forsberg’s forechecking and defense is what makes him stepping into the NHL as a teenager a possibility. During Development Camp last summer, Forsberg blocked two shots during the final scrimmage of the week, impressing his coaches.

“After seeing him at Development Camp and World Juniors as well, I think he’s a pretty complete player,” Hershey Bears head coach Mark French told me on a phone call last month. “A lot of the Swedish players seem to be pretty well-rounded.

“I think he has tremendous upside as a two-way guy. You see his god-given skill that he has. He has the ability to make big plays with the puck at high speeds every time he’s on the ice. If it’s a physical game or he needs to play defensively, he seems to be able to answer the bell. I’m not sure we’ll ever get the chance to coach him here [in Hershey]. He looks like he’s pretty NHL ready.”

He’s not the only guy who believes in him.

“Foppa (Filip Forsberg) is probably the most skilled player I’ve ever played with and ever will play with” – Michael Raffl

— Jonathan Larsson (@JLarsson6) March 21, 2013

Michael Raffl is Forsberg’s teammate on Leksands.

Additional reporting by Fedor Fedin.

Photo credit: dt.se

After winning the HockeyAllsvenskan’s regular-season championship, Leksands IF and Caps prospect Filip Forsberg secured a place in the Kvalserien — a 10-game round-robin tournament featuring the four best Allsvenskan teams and two worst Elitserien teams. The franchises duke it out to decide which two clubs will play in the top-tier Elitserien next season.

Leksand got a few weeks of rest before tourney while other teams fought for wildcard spots. The break sure seemed to help Leksand, who beat Sodertalje SK and the Nylanders 3-1 in the Kvalserien’s first game in front of a sizable crowd (6,772). Forsberg showed off his skill and speed, scoring twice in the win. His second goal was the game-winner.

Forsberg’s first goal came just 53 seconds into the contest. After a picture-perfect breakout from their zone, Forsberg took a pass at center ice, then turned on the jets to beat a Sodertalje defenseman. The 18-year-old then teased a shot on his forehand before deking and scoring on his backhand.

Four minutes later, Forsberg scored again. This time, after shooting, Forsberg went hard to the net, collected his own rebound, and then beat the Sodertalje goalie to the left post. Scoar. The HockeyAllsvenskan’s Best Under-20 player then celebrated by taking an Ovechkin-esque jump into the glass.

On Saturday, Leksand will face Orebro HK in the second game of the tournament.

See. We told you this team has some high-end talent coming.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Photo credit: hockeyallsvenskan.se

Washington Capitals 2012 first round pick, Filip Forsberg, received a prestigious honor today. The forward was named the best under-20 player of the season in the HockeyAllsvenskan. Forsberg, who finished the season with 14 goals, 17 assists, and a plus-minus of plus-14, also captained the Swedish World Junior Championship team which won the silver medal this year and did the Gangnam Style dance multiple times to utter perfection.

“Lots of players have played well in the league, but of course I’m really happy to win the award,” Forsberg was quoted by the league and translated by friend-of-the-blog Jake Ware. “I’m a bit shocked as the competition was tough. I though Mikael Wikstrand was the favorite with all the points he’s put up.”

Here is Leksands IF’s press release announcing the award as translated by Jake.

The Golden Cage to Filip Forsberg

Viasat and HockeyAllsvenskan announced today that Filip Forsberg has been awarded the Golden Cage, the award given to HockeyAllsvenskan’s best junior.

Honor aside, the prize means that the club’s youth program will receive a check of 100,000 kronor.

It will be presented during the home game against Malmö on Saturday.

Also, here is the league’s justification for giving Forsberg the award.

Filip Forsberg has taken on big responsibility both on and off the ice. He has this season produced at nearly a point per game, and has developed into a leader. Filip has improved his floor and has particularly impressed in his ability to play one-on-one. He was team captain for the World Juniors, being selected to the All-Star Team, and is a big contributing factor as to why Leksand are HockeyAllsvenskan champions 2012/13.

Filip is also a warm and positive person off the ice and is always the first to help out his teammates.

The 100,000 kronor go to Leksand IF’s junior program as an award for the club’s successful use of its young hockey talents.

Forsberg, already signed to a three-year entry-level deal with the Capitals, is eligible to play for the Capitals this season or next.