NHL Trade Deadline: Andrei Kostitsyn Traded to Nashville for Picks

The first trade of the NHL Trade Deadline is one that came from nowhere.

The Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens were pretty quiet in talks, but when the deadline hit, they finalized the first trade on Deadline Day.

Nashville receives Andrei Kostitsyn, whose younger brother Sergei already plays for the Predators. The Kostitysn brothers will bolster the Predators' offense.

Playing in the Central division, Nashville is looking to move out of the five spot in the Western Conference and get the home ice advantage against Central division rival St. Louis Blues. Kostitsyn will instantly add some scoring punch to a line-up that can be stagnant at times.

Montreal, in return, receives a 2013 second-round pick, and the pick that the Predators received in the trade for Hal Gill.

Montreal is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and are looking to rebuild so they can be a contender in a few years. The Canadiens knew that the playoffs were out of the question this year, and thus wanted to get the most bang for their buck with the players they have now. 

The NHL Trade Deadline is always an exciting time. The first trade of a day started out absolutely nowhere, and now the Predators are making moves to make a final push into the top of the Western Conference.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the NHL reacts, and who else is dealt at the deadline.