Consider it a heart transplant.
For those with even a passing knowledge of the Nashville Predators, Shea Weber was known as the heart of the team, the face of the franchise.
Shea was a home-grown prospect, drafted in front of the home fans at the 2003 NHL  Draft held in Nashville. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 6, 2006 against the Detroit Red Wings. On a personal note, that game was also one of the first games I took my then-girlfriend, now-wife, Ashley, to and she decided that new Weber guy would be her favorite hockey player. I told her not to get attached as he may not stay with the team long. She enjoys reminding me of that.
Shea went on to become the best player in Predators franchise history. An outstanding performer and leader who was named team captain in 2010, Shea was a perennial NHL All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada, and two-time winner of the NHL's hardest shot contest.
With all of these accolades, the trade on June 29 that sent Weber to Montreal for defenseman P.K. Subban shocked not only Nashville fans but the hockey world as a whole. Widely regarded as one of the biggest trades in NHL history, reaction was strong from all sides.
Many Predator fans wondered how Predators general manager David Poile could rip out the heart of the team. This was the player that Poile had repeatedly labled as untouchable. It would take a pretty hefty return for him to even consider that move.
Well, for reasons that are still puzzling to much of the Montreal Canadiens fan base and to the hockey world at large, Montreal was willing to offer that return. The Canadiens sent to Nashville one of the biggest superstars in all of hockey.
While Weber has often been a finalist for the NHL's Norris Trophy awarded to the league's best defenseman, Subban actually claimed that title in 2013. Subban is four years younger than Weber and much quicker on his skates. Subban fits much more seamlessly into Nashville coach Peter Laviolette's up-tempo system, a system in which Weber sometimes looked a little out of place. The Predators got an elite player entering his prime in exchange for an elite player showing signs of decline.
Possibly just as important, the Preds acquired a true superstar with a personality that transcends hockey and brings more attention from the hockey world to Nashville than the team has ever experienced. Just a brief stroll down Broadway last Sunday was enought to put the Predators in the spotlight all over the league.
So, yes, the Predators traded away their heart, but they just may have transplanted a younger and more dynamic heart that will bring excitement never before experienced by our local hockey team.