Filip Forsberg, Capitals castoff, has Nashville in NHL Finals

PITTSBURGH — Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson remembered the talent.

Over the course of 47 games of Milwaukee Admirals hockey, Nashville’s minor-league affiliate, Watson was impressed by the talent Filip Forsberg displayed during the 2013-14 season.

At the time, Forsberg was only 19, freshly traded to the Predators less than a year after he was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round. The Capitals had selected Forsberg, a native Swede, with the 11th pick in the 2012 draft.

“His skills were unbelievable,” Watson said. “They were better than anyone probably we’ve ever seen come through there. It was a matter of him figuring out that North American game. The space is a little tighter, just figuring out how he could use his ability in it.”

Forsberg did figure it out — and his presence on the ice has haunted Capitals fans since.

The deal that sent him to Nashville — Forsberg for veteran Martin Erat and prospect Michael Latta — at the 2013 trade deadline was meant to help the Capitals make the playoffs and put together a run for the Stanley Cup.

At the time, not many would have guessed Forsberg would make the NHL Finals before Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

And in an ironic twist, Forsberg and the Predators will see if they can fare better against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have dashed the Capitals’ postseason hopes the last two years.

Forsberg and the Predators lost 5-3 to the Penguins in Game 1 on Monday. Game 2 is Wednesday at 8 p.m.

“It’s obviously the way it turned out,” Forsberg said about the Capitals’ postseason misfortunes. “It’s not something I really pay too much attention to.”

Forsberg has been a force in this year’s playoffs. He has eight goals and seven assists and leads his team in plus/minus with +16, meaning the Predators are 16 goals better with him on the ice.

Five of those goals came in the Western Conference Finals against the Anaheim Ducks — meaning Forsberg has five more goals past the second round than both Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.

The 2013 trade took Forsberg by surprise. In a March 2017 post on NHL.com, Forsberg recalled how one of his friends initially texted him a few days before the trade deadline to prank him he had been traded to Nashville. Days later, the same friend repeated the same claim, only he wasn’t joking.

There was initial shock. Long before they reached the Stanley Cup, Nashville was barely a hockey town. The team struggled on the ice and there were questions whether the market could support even a winning franchise. Coming from Sweden, Forsberg’s only familiarity with the team was from playing EA Sports’ NHL video game.

But Forsberg said Monday he got over the trade quickly. He was barely with the Capitals for them to create any lasting memories.

“I didn’t do anything in Washington other than (training) camp,” Forsberg said. “So it was just the future dream that changed.”

Forsberg’s dream went from leading the Capitals to a Stanley Cup to helping build a winner in Nashville. And he quickly made an imprint in the NHL, taking home the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2014-15 for best rookie. By the time Forsberg was 21, he locked up a six-year, $36 million extension with the Predators. He’s scored at least 30 goals in each season.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette said Forsberg embraced the opportunity.

“Again, just with opportunity, he’s really shown himself as somebody who wants to be the guy on the front of the rope pulling it, a leader,” Laviolette said. “I think he’s a mature kid for his age. He was back two years ago. So you get somebody who seems like they’ve got experience and maturity. They have a skill set on the ice. Everybody was impressed with him.”

The trade hasn’t worked out as well for the Capitals . Erat scored just two goals in 62 games and demanded a trade less than a year later after he was demoted. Latta had three goals in two seasons with Washington and now plays in the minors.

Or to put it another way, Forsberg had the same amount of goals in the Ducks series that Erat and Latta had during two seasons in Washington.

But in Game 1 against the Penguins, Forsberg and the Predators saw firsthand the maddening team Pittsburgh can be. Like the Capitals, the Predators spent most of the night outplaying the Penguins.

The Penguins, who beat the Capitals over seven games in Round 2, went 37 minutes without a shot on goal, but still managed five goals on 10 shots. In the first period, Forsberg was ruled offside, reversing a PK Subban goal that would have given Nashville a 1-0 lead.

To Nashville’s credit, the Predators went on to tie the game. However, the Penguins won because their last two shots resulted in goals. After, Predators star PK Subban said as long as they put a 60-minute effort together, they can win. (Sound familiar?)

But the series is still in its infancy. If past history is any indication, Forsberg and the Predators have grown from each experience. Forsberg went from losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round his rookie season to losing in the second round the following year. Now, they’re in the finals.

Forsberg said he and his teammates are ready to take the next step.

“It’s obviously tough. It’s a lot of tough games and the games are so important that you just have to stay focused,” Forsberg said. “Everything outside of hockey is on pause until after the playoffs. And yeah, it’s exciting.”

Unlike the Capitals, the man they traded away is still playing.