Peter Forsberg Jersey Card

It feels weird to say, but with the Montréal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers now out of contention, the Nashville Predators are now one of a few teams I wish good to (along with the Washington Capitals for Alex Ovechkin, Dallas Stars for Jason Spezza, New York Islanders if Jaroslav Halak comes back and Tampa Bay Lightning for Ben Bishop), and I was more than happy to see them eliminate the Anaheim Ducks, even though I didn't think they would.

I really like Pekka Rinne, Mike Fisher, and Mike Ribeiro, Shea Weber is a terrific defenseman, and Jack Laviolette is a perfect coach to follow up a defensive-minded coach who put a good system in place (as Barry Trotz had), in that he lets the players use their maturity and what they've learned but lets them be creative on offense; it's a complementary system that works well with veteran teams who have just a few young guys come in to give the older players a spark, like when he led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006. He's also be perfect in following a Ken Hitchcock or a Mike Babcock.

And so I pay tribute to the Preds today by showcasing a card of a player most of us forget ever played in Nashville, with a card I hinted to earlier this week, #GJ-FO from Upper Deck's 2014-15 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

That is, of course, Hall Of Famer Peter Forsberg wearing the team's former blue (away) uniform, with a silver game-worn jersey swatch that could very well have come from that jersey (or the Colorado Avalanche's).