Mike Fisher calls the Nashville Predators a "perfect fit" after a frustrating season with the struggling Ottawa Senators.
His trade to the Predators this week was like a parting gift to Fisher, who moves to a city that not only has a playoff-contending team, but where he already has a home with his country singer wife Carrie Underwood.
Ottawa general manager Brian Murray set his rebuilding movement in motion this week when he sent the 30-year-old centre to the Predators for a 2011 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2012 selection.
Fisher had played his entire 11-year NHL career in Ottawa, which drafted him 44th overall in 1998.
"I never requested a trade," Fisher said Friday on a conference call. "I loved it in Ottawa.
"But if I were to be traded, I felt Nashville was a great fit for me."
He said it not only is convenient for his personal life but, "it's a great team where I feel I'll be a perfect fit on the ice."
"Brian knew that, he's a good honest guy. There were other teams, but I think he wanted to do what's good for me and I'm thankful for that."
Fisher leaves a team that was last in the NHL Eastern Conference to join one that is in playoff position in the tight Western Conference.
"Everything happened so quick and it was such a frustrating year, especially the last month and a half," he said of the Senators, whose loss to Calgary on Wednesday was their 11th in a row. "It's been no fun at all.
"This is a fresh start. It'll be great for my confidence. It'll be a transition. I've never done this before. I just want to step in and do what I can on the ice. It's been a tough year. They need to get rid of salary there and rebuild and for me, it's an opportunity to play for a great team."
Fisher, who is to earn US$4.2 million this season and next, moves to a team that had room for him under the salary cap and that can use his scoring ability. The Peterborough, Ont., native has 14 goals in 55 games, after scoring a career-high 25 last season.
