Mike Fisher Gets Candid on ‘Life-Changing’ Trade to Nashville
“I could have been going to 28 other cities, but I was actually going to Nashville, where I could finally be with my wife full-time,” he writes.
In 2011, Canadian hockey fans were shocked when longtime Ottawa Senators player Mike Fisher was traded to join the Nashville Predators. The player, who had recently married superstar Carrie Underwood, was equally as surprised in the team’s decision to let him go.
In a contributing post on Derek Jeter’s website, The Players’ Tribute, Fisher opens up about his move to Music City and how his life changed forever from the moment he got the news.
In February 2011, Fisher was asked by General Manager Bryan Murray to step outside for a chat.
“I followed Bryan outside the locker room, and he said, ‘Well, Fish, I’ve traded ya,’” recalls Fisher.
He immediately thought of his teammates, the men who had become his family over the past 11 seasons. But what his GM said next was a life-altering statement. He was told that out of 28 cities he could’ve gone to, he was going to Nashville.
“Oh my goodness. Talk about some life-changing words. I could have been going to 28 other cities, but I was actually going to Nashville, where I could finally be with my wife full-time,” he continues. “Carrie and I had gotten married the previous July, and because she’s a country music singer, she has to be doing her thing in Nashville for most of the year. So we had been going back and forth between Ottawa and Nashville. As a newlywed couple, it wasn’t easy.”
After talking to Murray, Fisher received a call from the owner of the Senators, Eugene Melnyk, who echoed Murray’s sentiment, saying that they just wanted the couple to be together. The new living situation was relief for the couple, who were then able to truly start their lives together.
“… being in a stable situation in Nashville allowed Carrie and I to start our own family. Our son, Isaiah, was born last February,” adds Fisher. “He doesn’t really understand what Daddy does yet, but if my good friend Matt Cullen’s kids are any indication, he’s going to be a huge hockey fan.”
Eventually, Fisher realized that everything that had happened was meant to be. Just two weeks prior to being traded, Fisher admits that his mom predicted the moment would come after a discussion about his lackluster season with the Senators.
“I didn’t know this until later on, but a full two weeks before I was traded to Nashville, my mom and dad were talking in the kitchen one night, and like I said, we were struggling. I wasn’t having a good season, but my mom — always the voice of reason in our house — called it,” says Fisher. “‘Well,’ she said. ‘Maybe this is the Lord’s way of having Mike traded to Nashville so he can be with Carrie.’”
And so it was.
Read Mike Fisher’s full post on The Players’ Tribute HERE.
