Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli traded to Nashville

First a quick admin note, there won’t be a goal breakdown for last night’s game. Naturally, I spent the day with my girlfriend for Valentine’s Day, and she takes precedence over the Rangers. Yea, I said that. So you can use this to discuss the game.

Also, the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2015 first round pick, prospect Brandon Leipsic, and Olli Jokinen (throw in for money issues). This trade works out for both teams, as NSH gets serious forward depth in Santorelli, and Franson will help them deal with the injury to Ryan Ellis.

Toronto gets a first rounder, and a close to NHL ready prospect. They weren’t getting more than a first rounder for Franson, and then flipping Santorelli for Leipsic makes sense, as Leipsic is likely worth more to the Leafs than a late second round pick.

For the New York Rangers, this means Santorelli is off the board, as they were interested. Since he was certainly cost effective, it may mean looking off the board at someone we haven’t heard about yet.

It must stink to be Jokinen though, going from Nashville to Toronto. Ouch.