A few days after we'd clinched the promotion, me and some of my friends were hanging out just talking about the rest of the season. There was still a couple games left to play. Winning or losing them wouldn't matter much in the standings, but of course we still had to play them.
It was getting close to midnight when one of my teammates and buddies, Jacob de la Rose, a Swede who is in the Montreal Canadiens organization now, sent me a text that said:
"Hey, I'm following the deadline. You might get traded."
I'd forgotten the NHL Trade Deadline was on April 3, because the League was playing a lockout-shortened season and everything got pushed back. Still, being traded was a ridiculous thought. The Capitals had drafted me in the first round the year before, and I'd signed my entry-level deal a month later before heading back to Sweden.
I sent him back a message: "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
Maybe 10 minutes goes by. He texts again:
"YOU'RE TRADED."
"You're just kidding."
"No, really. You're traded!"
I got a weird feeling in my stomach, but I still was more annoyed that he wouldn't give this up. It couldn't be real. I pulled my phone back out and started to go to Google to see what was up. Before I got the chance to start searching, my phone started ringing.
It was one of the Nashville Predators scouts, Lucas Bergman. He just explained the situation, that I'd been traded to Nashville, and I was one of their players now. It was really odd. I'm not sure what word to call it. My mind was spinning. I talked to my agent briefly before I called my dad back at home.
He may have been even more confused than I was. The Capitals had called the house phone a little earlier, but my dad was already asleep since it was so late and after they tried to explain the situation in English, too… let's just say he didn't totally get it.
I ended up being on the phone for most of the next hour or two, and it was 2 a.m. before I knew it. I finally fell asleep that night thinking about being that much closer to the NHL, but with a new team now. That's the part I couldn't get out of my head.
Oh and the best part of this whole night?
Guess who was also with me when I got the news? That's right. The same friend who had sent me the April Fools' Snapchat just two days before. You've never seen someone more speechless.