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For most of their nine-year history, the Nashville Predators' operating philosophy could be summed up in one word — conservative. They were the prototypical do-the-right thing organization, a team willing to draft and develop and slowly shed their expansion label, one prospect at a time.

All that changed in one fell swoop Thursday night.

The Predators landed Peter Forsberg, the most-sought after rental player available on the National Hockey League swap market, from the Philadelphia Flyers — and immediately sent a message to the rest of the league that they are going for it all right now.

The Predators were already the No. 1 team in the NHL without Forsberg. With him in the lineup, they can safely be installed as the new Stanley Cup favourites.

It was a bold move by Predators general manager David Poile who, historically, has been reluctant to part with draft choices or young players in order to win in the here-and-now. The fact that Poile was able to complete the trade without giving up a significant player off his current roster, or the No. 1 young player in the organization, the dynamic Alexander Radulov, makes the deal all the more extraordinary.

To land Forsberg, Nashville gave up Scottie Upshall, a former No. 1 draft choice who hasn't quite found his way in the NHL yet; a bluechip prospect in defenceman Ryan Parent, a two-time gold-medal winner on Canada's national junior team, plus a first-round pick and a conditional third-round pick.

Upshall had only played 14 games for the Predators this season, scoring just three points and averaging under 11 minutes of ice time a night. Parent is expected to evolve into a quality NHL defenceman, but Nashville already has two grade-A young prospects in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter playing for them and another, Cody Franson, on the way.

Forsberg's only connection to Nashville is Paul Kariya, his former teammate with the Colorado Avalanche, who probably lobbied long and hard on behalf of his former teammate.

Presumably, the Predators understood that there was risk involved in acquiring Forsberg, because of his long and colourful injury history. He has been limited to just 40 games this season by a variety of ailments, but mostly because of a foot problem that off-season ankle surgery didn't completely fix. Forsberg spent the season trying to get a skate properly fitted to his foot to provide him the stability to pivot or turn the way he wants. Recently, he's been able to play on a relatively regular basis (12 points in nine games since the All-Star break), a major reason the sad-sack Flyers had been respectable the past few months.

Forsberg's history suggests that he is one of those rare players capable of playing at the highest level, even after missing large chunks of the season. For example, in 2001-02, Forsberg missed the entire regular season in Colorado, made his season debut in the first game of the playoffs, and proceeded to lead the NHL in playoff scoring with 27 points in 20 games. Lifetime, Forsberg has 162 points in 139 playoff games and twice led the post-season in scoring.

For a Nashville team with limited playoff experience, Forsberg's two Stanley Cup rings could be a valuable asset. Recently, Nashville also picked up defenceman Vitali Vishnevski from the Atlanta Thrashers to add toughness to their blueline. Right now, their centre-ice corps consists of Forsberg, David Legwand and Jason Arnott, the only other Stanley Cup winner on the Nashville roster. Forsberg has also played a lot of left wing in his career and may also get a look there when he makes his Predators debut.

It was not immediately clear how much of a factor the Predators' mediocre attendance had to do with their decision. A long playoff could help solidify their fan base, in the same way that both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes became far more viable franchises after they won Stanley Cup championships in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

A lot needs to go right for the Predators to join those teams in the winning circle — minimal injuries, ensuring that Forsberg contributes to team chemistry. Still, on paper, they now have as close to a Murderer's Row lineup as a team can ice in the new collective bargaining agreement, with three lines all able to score, skill on the blueline and depth in goal in case of injury.

Forsberg's addition could be the final piece of the puzzle that turns Music City into Hockeytown - and not at some indeterminate time in the future either.