Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators
founding	June 25, 1997
history	Nashville Predators since 1998
Stadion	Bridgestone Arena
Location	Nashville , Tennessee
Team colors	Navy blue, gold, white
league	National Hockey League
Conference	Western Conference
division	Central Division
Head coach	John Hynes
Team captain	Roman Josi
General manager	David Poile
owner	Predators Holdings LLC
Cooperations	Milwaukee Admirals ( AHL ) Florida Everblades ( ECHL )
Stanley Cups	no
Conference title	2016/17
Division title	2017/18 , 2018/19

The Nashville Predators ( IPA : [ 'næʃvil pɹe.də.təɹs] ) are an American Hockey - franchise of the National Hockey League from Nashville in the state of Tennessee . It was founded on June 25, 1997 and started playing at the beginning of the 1998/99 season . The team colors are gold, navy blue and white. The team's nickname and logo are reminiscent of the fossil remains of a saber-toothed tiger found in the city in the early 1970s.

The Predators play their home games at the Bridgestone Arena and are one of the youngest of the 31 NHL teams. The team has so far been unable to win the prestigious Stanley Cup despite several playoff appearances, with the Predators making their way into the final series for the first time in the 2016/17 season.

history

Foundation and start in the NHL (1996-2000)

On August 9, 1996, Leipold Hockey Holdings and Gaylord Entertainment Company submitted an application for an expansion franchise with the National Hockey League. The city of Nashville was specified as the venue for the ice hockey games. Craig Leipold , owner of Leipold Hockey Holdings, was primarily responsible for this application. On June 25, 1997, the NHL Board of Governors announced that Nashville would be one of four cities to have their own NHL expansion franchise. In addition to Nashville, Atlanta , Columbus, and St. Paul were awarded expansion franchises. On July 1, Jack Diller was named the first president of the Nashville Predators. A short time later, David Poile was announced as the first general manager in franchise history. Barry Despite was named Predators' coach on August 6th. Thus the most important organizational positions of the Predators were filled early on.

On September 27, 1997, Craig Leipold and Jack Diller announced the team name "Predators" , the name was chosen by a two-thirds majority of the fans. On November 13, 1997, the club logo was presented at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. On May 4, 1998, the Predators were officially accepted as the 27th team in the National Hockey League .

In June 1998, Marián Cisár, the first player was signed, at the end of the month the Expansion Draft took place, in which the Predators could choose one player from the opponent (only those who were not banned by the individual teams). The Predators chose Mike Dunham , Greg Johnson , Tomáš Vokoun and Scott Walker , among others .

The Entry Draft took place on June 27th . With their first right to vote, the Predators selected David Legwand in second place. On July 6, Tom Fitzgerald was named the franchise's first captain. The Predators played their first game in the "GEC" against the Florida Panthers and lost 1-0. Andrew Brunette scored the first goal in franchise history against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two. In the end, the Predators won 3-2, which was also the first franchise win. On January 15, 1999 Tomáš Vokoun succeeded the first shutout of a goalkeeper of the Nashville Predators. Vokoun stopped 31 shots in a 2-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes . The Predators finished their first season with 28 wins, seven draws and 47 losses, which meant twelfth and penultimate place in the Western Conference . A total of 664,000 spectators came to the 41 home games, which means an average of 16,202 spectators per game (occupancy rate of 94%). The team's top scorer in the first season was Cliff Ronning with 60 points.

The new millennium (2000-2005)

In the 1999/2000 season , despite seven points more than in the previous season, the last place in the Western Conference was taken. Again Cliff Ronning was top scorer and set two franchise records with 26 goals and 62 points. In the 2000/01 season , the Predators made their first real leap forward. Although the play-offs were not reached again with 34 wins and 80 points, but they were able to leave five teams from the Western Conference behind, and the Predators did not end a season for the first time in last place in the Central Division . As in the previous two seasons, the top scorer was Cliff Ronning, who set a new franchise record with 43 assists. In the 2001/02 season Cliff Ronning was given up to the Los Angeles Kings , this season the team won 28 games and 69 points, six points more than in their first season.

The 2002/03 season wasn't much different than the previous one had ended. With 27 wins and 183 goals, they set a new negative franchise record with the fewest goals and wins in a season. In the 2003/04 season , the Predators were on their way to play-offs for the first time since 2001. Leipold saw the great opportunity to get into the round of 16 for the first time and therefore signed Steve Sullivan new reinforcement from Chicago . With the support of Sullivan, the Predators made it into the playoffs with eighth place in the Western Conference as the last team. There they failed at the Detroit Red Wings with 2-4 wins.

During the lockout in the 2004/05 season , the Predators went in search of an All-Star player. Although they had players with Vokoun and Timonen who had played an all-star game, they still signed Paul Kariya, a player who was one of the league's figureheads towards the end of the 1990s.

Time after the lockout (2005-2007)

In the 2005/06 season , the Predators won eight games in a row through Kariya's support at the start of the season. Sometimes they took over the lead in the Western Conference, albeit briefly, but during this phase there were many injuries. With Greg Johnson, Scott Walker, Steve Sullivan and David Legwand, important players were repeatedly canceled, only Paul Kariya was the only striker to withstand all injuries and played in all games. At the end of the season, new franchise records were set with fourth place in the Western Conference, 49 wins and 106 points. Paul Kariya set a new franchise record in each of these three categories with 31 goals, 54 assists and 85 points. In the playoffs, however, the team won only one game in the first round against the San Jose Sharks .

The 2006/07 season saw some changes in the Predators' squad. With Greg Johnson, the captain was dismissed and Scott Walker's alternative was transferred. With Jason Arnott and Jean-Pierre Dumont two notable signings were made. The Predators named Kimmo Timonen as their new captain, Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan took over the position of assistants. On February 9, 2007 Josef Vašíček was transferred back to the Carolina Hurricanes for Éric Bélanger . The very next day, Bélanger was sent to Atlanta for Witali Wischnewski . Before the Wischnewski transfer with Shea Weber , the Predators had a defender who also used his body to stop the enemy attacks.

On the evening of 15 February 2007, Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers for Scottie Upshall , Ryan Parent - two former first-round picks of the Nashville Predators - and in each case a first-round and performance-related third-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft transferred to the Nashville Predators . The Nashville Predators were well on their way to winning the Presidents' Trophy by March , but as in the previous season, the Predators had to do without key players such as Steve Sullivan, Martin Erat , Scott Hartnell and Scott Nichol . The team could not compensate for these failures, so the Predators lost the last four games against their direct division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings. Thus, the Preds were fourth again at the end of the season, although this time they had collected the second-most points in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the Predators met the San Jose Sharks. As in the previous year, the Nashville Predators only won one home game and the Predators ended up in the first round for the third time in a row.

Sale of the franchise and years of stabilization (2007-2011)

On May 24, 2007, the previous owner of the Predators Craig Leipold announced that he had signed a letter of intent with Jim Balsillie to sell the team. The Montreal -born Balsillie had to complete the necessary formalities by June 30th. For the 2007/08 season , the team was guaranteed to remain in Nashville. A change of location would be conceivable in the following year if the Predators had an average attendance of less than 14,000 at the end of the season. The talk was about a location in southern Ontario , with the city of Hamilton being the favorite . However, Leipold decided not to sell the franchise to Jim Balsillie and started with William DelBiaggio , who wanted to relocate the Predators to Kansas City , Missouri , and a group of investors called Predators Holding LLC, who wanted to keep the Predators in Nashville to negotiate. Leipold chose Predators Holding LLC, which paid $ 193 million for the franchise. An agreement with the City of Nashville would ensure that the franchise would remain in Nashville for the next five years, in return the City of Nashville would invest funds in the arena during that time. If the franchise left Nashville in the next five years, the investor group would have to repay the money invested into the arena. On December 6, 2007, the NHL team owners' meeting finally approved the sale of the franchise. David Freeman then took over the chairmanship of the Predators.

As a result of this sale, the team was rebuilt, the focus was on investing in draft picks, as the Predators no longer had as much financial means available. On June 18, 2007 the rights to the players Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell were handed over to the Philadelphia Flyers . The Predators got their first round voting rights back in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft , which they had given the Flyers for Peter Forsberg . David Poile, General Manager of the Nashville Predators, announced at the end of June that he would do everything possible to keep Paul Kariya in Nashville, but he soon had to give up this venture because Kariya moved to St. Louis on July 2nd Blues announced. Despite the many departures, the Predators had their squad together for the 2007/08 season early on . With 29 players, this was the smallest squad the Predators had ever put. On August 24, it was announced that Steve Sullivan would be sidelined for at least three months due to an injury, so the weakened Predators had to do without another support. In the end, Sullivan could not play a game for the Predators in the 2007/08 season because of his injury. Due to the many departures, the Predators were able to reduce their spending on player salaries to 35.446 million US dollars, so no other NHL team spent as little on player salaries as the Predators. For a short time, there was a risk that the Predators would fall below the lower salary limit set by the NHL, because it had been considered to increase the upper and lower salary limit somewhat.

In the regular season, the Predators went through many ups and downs, which was due to the many departures in the season break on the one hand and the fluctuating performance of goalkeeper Chris Mason , who replaced Vokoun transferred to Florida, on the other. Due to Mason's inconsistent performance, Dan Ellis , whom the Predators had brought from Dallas , came to more and more missions. With the help of Ellis, the Predators finally made it into the playoffs as the last team. In the playoffs they met the Detroit Red Wings as in the 2003/04 season and lost the series with 2-4 wins. The Predators had not survived the first round of the playoffs for the fourth attempt in a row. In the summer break of 2008, young star Alexander Radulow caused a stir, as he had signed a three-year contract with the Salawat Julajew Ufa in the Continental Hockey League despite a valid contract with the Predators . Since Radulow, according to the IIHF, violated an agreement between the NHL and all international ice hockey federations by signing the three-year contract, Radulow was banned from international games by the IIHF on July 18. In the 2008/09 season , the playoffs were missed with tenth place in the Western Conference.

With the commitments of free agent center Marcel Goc and defender Francis Bouillon , the squad changes were kept within limits before the 2009/10 season . A further strengthening of the team was expected by the first round draft pick from 2008 Colin Wilson . Due to a groin injury suffered in the training camp, however, Wilson spent the first half of the season in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals farm team . Wilson was only able to make his debut in February 2010. He convinced with eleven points after 15 inserts, and finished the season with 15 points in 35 games. Patric Hornqvist , the last player selected in the 2005 draft, showed a real explosion in performance . After scoring just two goals last year, the 23-year-old Swedish winger was only the fourth Predator (after Steve Sullivan, Paul Kariya and Jason Arnott ) to score 30 goals in regular time in 2009/10 . In the final bill, the Predators placed seventh in the Western Conference and competed in the first playoff round against the Chicago Blackhawks with the budding star players Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane . On April 16, 2010, the Predators, led by Jason Arnott, achieved the club's first away playoff win with a 4-1 win at the United Center . The Nashville team lost the series in six games and had to wait for their first round win in the playoff while the Blackhawks made it through to win the 2010 Stanley Cup .

During the 2010 summer break, top performers such as defensemen Dan Hamhuis and Jason Arnott left the team. These were replaced by players such as the defender duo Shea Weber , who succeeded Arnott as captain, and Ryan Suter . With the support of established players such as Legwand, Erat and Jean-Pierre Dumont as well as young homegrown players such as Hornqvist, Wilson, Kevin Klein and Cody Franson, head coach Barry Despite optimized the dump'n'chase game system based on defensive discipline and physical effort , which was carried out in close cooperation with goalkeeping coach guru Mitch Korn was specially tailored to the athletic Finnish goalkeeper giant Pekka Rinne , who had already taken Dan Ellis' rank in the preseason. Since Rinne allowed comparatively few rebounds due to his excellent catching hand, the entire team concentrated on keeping the opposing attackers away from their own goal area, while the forward movement relied on opportunistic scoring in all four rows of storms. With this destructive game strategy, in which 30-40 shots per game on their own goal were not uncommon, the Predators stayed despite their bad luck with injuries (Legwand, Erat, Sullivan and Bouillon were partly out for a longer period of time, the newcomer Matthew Lombardi from Phoenix practically the entire season) in the 2010/11 season in the playoff race.

In view of the positive attendance figures (in the 2010/11 season the mark of 16,000 viewers per game was exceeded for the first time since the first two years), General Manager David Poile decided to set an example and in February 2011 brought center Mike Fisher from the Ottawa Senators against several Draft picks to Nashville. This move should pay off not only on the ice, but also in terms of marketing, as Fisher was already in a relationship with the Nashville-based country star Carrie Underwood , which gave the small-market franchise Nashville Predators a wider audience has been. With Fisher as the top line center, the team put in an impressive final spurt. With eleven wins in the last 14 games, the Predators secured second place in the Central Division behind their arch-rivals from Detroit, which gave them the Anaheim Ducks tied as first-round opponents for the playoffs. In six games, the Predators prevailed 4-2, with the NHL rookie and supplementary player Nick Spaling becoming the playoff hero in the decisive game with two goals in the typical Predators manner . This was the first time in the club's history that the Predators made it into the Western Conference semifinals. There, the team from "Music City" was eliminated against the team with the highest points of the regular season, the Vancouver Canucks , around the congenial twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin 2: 4.

The End of the Era of Defiance (2011-2014)

After the Predators were able to repeat the previous year's success in the 2011/12 season by moving into the second round of the Stanley Cup, the team missed the qualification for the playoffs in the two following seasons. As a result, head coach Barry Despite was sacked during the 2014 summer break. He was succeeded by Peter Laviolette , who had already won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 .

Head coach Peter Laviolette (2014-2020)

After the Predators returned to the playoffs as head coach in Peter Laviolette's first season, they achieved their greatest success to date in the 2016/17 season when the team led by Finnish goalkeeper and three-time Vezina candidate Pekka Rinne reached the Stanley Cup final reached, but there lost against the favored Pittsburgh Penguins to superstar Sidney Crosby 2: 4. In the following season 2017/18 this goal was missed when the Predators, as the NHL team with the highest points and top-seeded team, lost 4: 3 to the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the playoffs . The following year ended again as the best team in the division, but failed in the first round of the post-season . Finally, Laviolette was laid off in January 2020 after a disappointing 2019/20 season up to that point. He was followed by the recently in the New Jersey Devils dismissed John Hynes .

Venues

season	Average audience
1998/99	16,194
1999/2000	16,599
2000/01	15,767
2001/02	14,788
2002/03	13,228
2003/04	13,157
2004/05	-
2005/06	14,428
2006/07	15,259
2007/08	14,910
2008/09	15,010
2009/10	14,979
2010/11	16,142
2011/12	16,691
2012/13	16,974
2013/14	16,600
2014/15	16,854
2015/16	16,971
2016/17	17.160
2017/18	17.307
Source: hockeydb.com

The Bridgestone Arena in Nashville

The Nashville Predators have played at the Nashville Arena , which was named Gaylord Entertainment Center from 1997 to March 2007 , and has a capacity of 17,113 hockey games since its inception . On June 21 and 22, 2003, the NHL Entry Draft took place here. From March 2007 to May 2007 the venue was again called the Nashville Arena. On May 18, 2007, the Sommet Group bought the naming rights, changing the arena name to Sommet Center . Bridgestone has held the naming rights to the Bridgestone Arena since 2010 .

Audience numbers

In the first two seasons, the Predators' home games were still very well attended. While an average of 16,194 spectators attended the Predators' home games in the first season, the figure rose to 16,599 in the following season. This record has not even come close to being reached, because this was also the last season of the Preds for the time being with an average attendance of over 16,000. In the following seasons, fewer and fewer spectators came to the Predators' home games, only the games against the Detroit Red Wings were still sold out every season. The Predators reached their lowest point in the 2003/04 season, even though this was the first season in which the Preds could qualify for the playoffs. After the lockout, the average attendance rose again for the first time, this was also due to the commitment of well-known players such as Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg. Nevertheless, the average attendance was relatively low compared to the other teams in the NHL. The low audience figures were also a reason for selling the franchise. In the 2007/08 season , the average attendance played a very important role for the Predators' stay in Nashville for a certain period of time, because if Leipold had sold the franchise to Jim Balsillie, Jim Balsillie could have moved the franchise immediately to Hamilton when the average attendance in for two consecutive seasons would have been under 14,000 viewers per game. Since Leipold did not sell the franchise to Jim Balsillie, this agreement became superfluous, and with an average of 14,979 viewers per game, it would have been well above the submitted mark. From the 2010/11 season , the average number of spectators rose permanently to over 16,000 spectators per game, with a further attendance record of 16,974 spectators being set in the 2012/13 season, which was to last for four years. In the 2016/17 season , with 17,160 game visitors, the 17,000 mark was finally cracked.

Owners and farm teams

season	Farm team	league
1998 / 99-1999 / 2000	Hampton Roads Admirals	ECHL
since 1998/99	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL
2000/01	New Orleans Brass	ECHL
2001/02	Cincinnati Cyclones	ECHL
2002/03–2003/04	Toledo Storm	ECHL
2006 / 07–?	New Mexico Scorpions	CHL
2007 / 08–2016 / 17	Cincinnati Cyclones	ECHL
2017	Norfolk Admirals	ECHL
since 2019/20	Florida Everblades	ECHL

The Predators, like all other NHL teams, also include teams in lower-class leagues , so-called farm teams . In the case of the Nashville Predators, these are currently the Milwaukee Admirals from the American Hockey League . Since the 2019/20 season there has also been a collaboration with the Florida Everblades from the ECHL .

Miscellaneous

logo

The "predators" have existed in the National Hockey League since 1998, but the origin of the logo is thousands of years old. In 1971 the fossil remains of a saber-toothed tiger , which had been extinct for over 10,000 years , were found in Nashville during excavations for the construction of a skyscraper , which made headlines across the country. Team founder Craig Leipold wanted to remember the find with the logo, which shows a saber-toothed tiger's head.

mascot

Gnash! , an anthropomorphic saber-toothed tiger , has been the team's mascot since 1998. The franchise also developed a story around their mascot over the years. The mascot's story begins when a saber-toothed tiger was found in a block of ice under the surface during the construction of the Nashville Arena , now known as Bridgestone Arena. The workers put the block of ice in the arena, where the ice slowly began to melt. When the workers returned to the arena the next day, all the ice had melted and the saber-toothed tiger was gone. Despite an intensive search, he was not found and it was assumed that he had left the city. The saber-toothed tiger looked in vain for conspecifics. When he had already given up his hopes, on October 10, 1998, he heard the roar of saber-toothed tigers again. The roar came from the Nashville Arena, where he realized they were fans of the Nashville Predators. He still lives today in the dark corners of the stadium, which he only leaves when he hears the roar of the Predators fans.

Gnash! occurs not only at the home games of the Predators, but also during the year at over 300 events of all kinds (birthday parties, schools, parades, weddings, etc.) within the community. Furthermore, the Predators mascot is an important part of the Delta Dental Kid's Club , the club for all children who are fans of the Predators.

Jersey design and equipment

On February 12, 1998, Predators coach Barry Despite and his assistant coach Paul Gardner presented the Predators home and away jerseys in front of 2,000 fans at the Cool Springs Galleria . On November 21, 2001, the alternative kit was presented during the game against the Chicago Blackhawks . The logo on the shoulders of the alternative kit was later transferred to the home and away kit, where the Nashville skyline was previously shown. In the 2007/08 season , the Predators presented a new home and away jersey as part of a supplier change within the NHL.

Rivalries

Chicago Blackhawks

The Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks have had a rivalry since the 2013/14 season at the latest . This is mainly due to the fact that the Predators tried to keep the fans of the Blackhawks out of the arena, for example by only selling tickets as a package for further Predators games or by giving season ticket holders a larger contingent. This led to resentment among the supporters of the Blackhawks, who in turn tried to buy tickets for the games in Nashville through trick purchases. The playoff series in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015 further contributed to a rift between the two fan camps. After two eliminations against the Blackhawks (2010 and 2015), the Predators succeeded in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 2017 the first triumph over the rivals from Illinois, whereby the Predators succeeded as the first team in the NHL , as the 8th placed team Playoff seeding list to eliminate number 1 on the seeding list with a smooth 4-0 series win (a so-called ' sweep ').

Detroit Red Wings

The Predators are a comparatively young team, but there has been a rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings since it was founded . Many people from Detroit have emigrated to Tennessee over time , so it was sometimes not surprising that the Red Wings fans outnumbered the home games against Detroit in the first few seasons. That number slowly changed in favor of Predators fans over the years. The games between the Predators and the Red Wings are mostly sold out in Nashville. During the game against the Red Wings on November 13, 2003, fans threw four catfish on the ice after Nashville scored the first goal. This action went back to a ritual of the Detroit Red Wings. But also in terms of sport, a rivalry with the Red Wings has built up over the years. In the last three seasons, both teams fought for the title of the Central Division . The Predators also met the Red Wings twice in the playoffs between 2005 and 2008. However, the Predators failed both times. Both teams met in the playoffs of the 2011/12 season , but this time the Predators prevailed with 4-1 wins. Due to the realignment of the league for the 2013/14 season, both teams are now playing in different conferences, so that there are only two games between the two teams, which is why the rivalry between the two teams is no longer as great as it was before.

Achievements and honors

Sporting successes

Presidents' Trophies
season
2017/18
Conference Championships	season
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl	2016/17
Division Championships	season
Central Division	2017/18 , 2018/19

After the usual start-up difficulties for an expansion team , the Predators were able to establish themselves as a stable sporting franchise in the NHL. So you reached six second places in the Central Division since the 2005/06 season . Furthermore, the qualification for the playoffs succeeded for the first time in the 2003/04 season . However, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings directly in the first round . In the following seasons, with the exception of three seasons, you could always qualify for the playoffs and won the first round in the 2010/11 season against the Anaheim Ducks .

In the 2016/17 season , the final of the Stanley Cup was reached after winning the Western Conference against the Ducks. In the following season 2017/18 the Predators finally won their first division title in the Central Division after 19 years and the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the highest points in the regular season.

NHL Awards and All-Star Team Nominations

Award	Surname	season
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Steve Sullivan	2008/09
Lester Patrick Trophy	David Poile	2000/01
NHL Foundation Player Award	Mike Fisher	2011/12
NHL General Manager of the Year Award	David Poile	2016/17
Mark Messier Leadership Award	Shea Weber Wayne Simmonds	2015/16 2018/19
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award	Dan Ellis	2007/08
Vezina Trophy	Pekka gutter	2017/18
First All-Star Team	Shea Weber Pekka gutter	2010/11 2017/18
Second all-star team	Pekka Rinne Shea Weber P.K. Subban	2010/11 2013/14 , 2014/15 2017/18
All-rookie team	Filip Forsberg Juuse Saros	2014/15 2017/18

NHL All-Star Game Nominations

year	Surname
2012	Ryan Suter Shea Weber
2015	Filip Forsberg Shea Weber Pekka Rinne * Peter Laviolette ***
2016	Roman Josi James Neal Pekka Rinne Shea Weber
2017	PK Subban
2018	Pekka Rinne P. K. Subban Peter Laviolette ***
2019	Pekka Rinne Roman Josi
2020	Roman Josi

year	Surname
1999	Sergei Krivokrassov
2000	Kimmo Timonen *
2002	Scott Hartnell ** David Legwand **
2003	Adam Hall **
2004	Kimmo Timonen Tomáš Vokoun Dan Hamhuis **
2007	Kimmo Timonen Alexander Radulow ** Shea Weber ** Barry Spy ***
2008	Jason Arnott
2009	Shea Weber Pekka gutter **
2011	Shea Weber

* 00Cancellation due to injury
** 0Participation in the YoungStars Game
*** Participation as a trainer

A total of 18 Nashville Predators players have been voted into the All-Star Game by fans because of their popularity or have been nominated by the coaches because of their performance. In 1999 the Russian Sergei Kriwokrassow was nominated as the first player in franchise history for the All-Star Game and ran for the World All-Stars team on the ice, with no points. A year later, defender Kimmo Timonen received a nomination, but missed the game due to injury. In 2002 and 2003, the Predators only provided players for the YoungStars Game, before a year later, with Kimmo Timonen and Tomáš Vokoun , two players from Nashville were called up for the first time because of their performances in the squad. Both went on the ice for the team of the Western Conference , Vokoun was in goal in the second third of the game and conceded four goals.

Since the 2004/05 season was canceled due to a lockout and the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in the following year , the next NHL All-Star Game did not take place until 2007. Again Timonen was nominated, next to him also head coach Barry Despite received a nomination, as the Predators had their best season so far. Despite taking care of the team at the Western Conference as an assistant coach. In 2008 Jason Arnott became the first player in franchise history to score a point in the All-Star Game. A year later Shea Weber was nominated for the first time . In 2011 Shea Weber was the only nominated player for the Predators and was successful in this game with four assists. Weber has been nominated five times in total and thus holds the franchise record.

When NHL All-Star Game in 2016 , the Predators acted as hosts and were represented with a total of four players.

Season statistics

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime or shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded

season	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	space	Playoffs
1998/99	82	28	47	7th	-	63	190	261	4th, Central Division	not qualified
1999/2000	82	28	40	7th	7th	70	199	240	4th, Central Division	not qualified
2000/01	82	34	36	9	3	80	186	200	3rd, Central Division	not qualified
2001/02	82	28	41	13	0	69	196	230	4th, Central Division	not qualified
2002/03	82	27	35	13	7th	74	183	206	4th, Central Division	not qualified
2003/04	82	38	29	11	4th	91	216	217	3rd, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals lost, 2-4 ( Detroit )
2004/05 1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005/06	82	49	25th	-	8th	106	259	227	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals lost, 4-1 ( San Jose )
2006/07	82	51	23	-	8th	110	272	212	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals lost, 4-1 ( San Jose )
2007/08	82	41	32	-	9	91	230	229	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals lost, 2-4 ( Detroit )
2008/09	82	40	34	-	8th	88	213	233	5th, Central Division	not qualified
2009/10	82	47	29	-	6th	100	225	225	3rd, Central Division	Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-4 ( Chicago )
2010/11	82	44	27	-	11	99	213	190	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals win, 4-2 ( Anaheim ) Conference semi-finals lost, 4-2 ( Vancouver )
2011/12	82	48	26th	-	8th	104	237	210	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarterfinals win, 4-1 ( Detroit ) Conference semi-finals defeat, 4-1 ( Phoenix )
2012/13 2	48	16	23	-	9	41	111	139	5th, Central Division	not qualified
2013/14	82	38	32	-	12	88	216	242	6th, Central Division	not qualified
2014/15	82	47	25th	-	10	104	232	208	2nd, Central Division	Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-4 ( Chicago )
2015/16	82	41	27	-	14th	96	224	213	4th, Central Division	Conference quarter -finals win, 3: 4 ( Anaheim ) Conference semi-finals loss , 4: 3 ( San Jose )
2016/17	82	41	29	-	12	94	240	224	4th, Central Division	Victory in the Conference quarter-finals, 4-0 ( Chicago ) victory in the Conference semi-finals, 4-2 ( St Louis ) victory in the Conference final, 4-2 ( Anaheim ) defeat in the Stanley Cup final, 2-4 ( Pittsburgh )
2017/18	82	53	18th	-	11	117	261	204	1st, Central Division	Conference quarterfinals win, 4-2 ( Colorado ) Conference semi-finals defeat, 4-2 ( Winnipeg )
2018/19	82	47	29	-	6th	100	236	212	1st, Central Division	Conference quarter-finals lost, 2-4 ( Dallas )
2019/20 3	69	35	26th	-	8th	78	212	214	4th, Central Division	Qualifying round loss, 3-1 ( Arizona )
total	1675	821	633	60	161	1863	4551	4536		13 playoff appearances, 20 series: 7 wins, 13 losses, 115 games: 52 wins, 63 losses

¹ season because of the NHL lockout 2004/05 failed

² season shortened due to the 2012/13 NHL lockout

³ season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Franchise records

Selected player records of the franchise over the entire career as well as over individual seasons are listed below.

Career

David Legwand holds various franchise records

	Surname	number
Most games	David Legwand	956 (in 15 seasons)
Most consecutive games	Kārlis Skrastiņš	269 (February 21, 2000 to April 6, 2003)
Most goals	David Legwand	210
Most templates	David Legwand	356
Most of the points	David Legwand	566
Most penalty minutes	Jordin Tootoo	725
Most shutouts	Pekka gutter *	58

* active player; Status after the end of the 2019/20 season

season

In the 2005/06 season, Paul Kariya set various records

	Surname	number	season
Most goals	Viktor Arvidsson	34	2018/19
Most templates	Paul Kariya	54	2005/06
Most of the points	Paul Kariya	85 (31 goals + 54 assists)	2005/06
Most points as a rookie	Filip Forsberg	63 (26 goals + 37 assists)	2014/15
Most points as a defender	Roman Josi	61 (14 goals + 47 assists)	2015/16
Most penalty minutes	Patrick Côté	242	1998/99
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Pekka gutter	43	2011/12

Trainer

Surname	season	Regular season							Playoffs
		GC	W.	L.	T	OTL	Pts	Pts%	GC	W.	L.
Barry defiance	1998-2014	1196	557	479	60	100	1274	.533	50	19th	31
Peter Laviolette	2014-2020	451	248	143	-	60	556	.616	61	32	29
John Hynes	since 2020	28	16	11	-	1	33	.589	4th	1	3
Status: end of the 2019/20 season

From the start of game operations in the inaugural season 1998/99 to the 2013/14 season , the Canadian Barrylik was the head coach of the franchise. During his tenure, he led the Predators seven times in sixteen seasons in the play-offs and, with the exception of the first five game years and the 2012/13 season shortened due to the lockout, ended the season with a positive balance. Despite holds the NHL record for most coached games for a team since its inception and was the longest-serving coach in the NHL until his release in April 2014.

He was succeeded by Peter Laviolette . This ended his first three seasons with a positive balance and led the Predators into the playoffs. In his first season you were eliminated in the first round against the eventual Stanley Cup winner Chicago . In the following year the Predators lost in the second round with 3: 4 against the San Jose Sharks . In his third season, Laviolette even led his team to the Stanley Cup final, where they lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins . In the middle of the 2019/20 season, Laviolette was sacked in January 2020 after a disappointing season up to this point.

On January 7, 2020, the new trainer, John Hynes, was introduced, who was released from the New Jersey Devils in December 2019 .

General manager

Surname	season
David Poile	since 1998/99

The Canadian David Poile has held the position of General Manager since the inaugural season 1998/99 . In 2017, David Poile received the NHL General Manager of the Year Award for his contribution to establishing the Nashville Predators as a successful NHL franchise .

player

Squad for the 2019/20 season

Status: end of the 2019/20 season

No.	Nat.	player	Item	Date of birth	in org. since	place of birth
35		Pekka gutter	G	03rd November 1982	2005	Kempele , Finland
74		Juuse Saros	G	April 19, 1995	2015	Forssa , Finland
14th		Mattias Ekholm -  A.	D.	May 24, 1990	2011	Borlange , Sweden
4th		Ryan Ellis -  A	D.	0January 3, 1991	2010	Hamilton , Ontario , Canada
57		Dante Fabbro	D.	June 20, 1998	2019	Coquitlam , British Columbia , Canada
22nd		Korbinian Holzer	D.	February 16, 1988	2020	Munich , Germany
59		Roman Josi -  C.	D.	0June 1, 1990	2010	Bern , Switzerland
7th		Yannick Weber	D.	September 23, 1988	2016	Morges , Switzerland
33		Viktor Arvidsson	RW	0April 8, 1993	2014	Kusmark , Sweden
13		Nick Bonino	C.	April 20, 1988	2017	Hartford , Connecticut , USA
26th		Daniel Carr	LW	0November 1, 1991	2019	Sherwood Park , Alberta , Canada
95		Matt Duchene	C.	January 16, 1991	2019	Peterborough , Ontario , Canada
9		Filip Forsberg -  A.	RW	August 13, 1994	2013	Östervåla , Sweden
64		Mikael Granlund	C.	February 26, 1992	2019	Oulu , Finland
23		Rocco Grimaldi	C.	0February 8, 1993	2018	Rossmoor , California , USA
19th		Calle Järnkrok	C.	September 25, 1991	2014	Gävle , Sweden
92		Ryan Johansen -  A	C.	July 31, 1992	2016	Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada
10		Colton Sissons	RW	05th November 1993	2012	North Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada
15th		Craig Smith	RW	05th September 1989	2011	Madison , Wisconsin , USA
8th		Kyle Turris	C.	August 14, 1989	2017	New Westminster , British Columbia , Canada
51		Austin Watson	LW	January 13, 1992	2011	Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA

Team captains

Wayne Gretzky, wearer of the famous number 99 jersey

year	Surname
1998-2002	Tom Fitzgerald
2002-2006	Greg Johnson
2006-2007	Kimmo Timonen
2007-2010	Jason Arnott
2010-2016	Shea Weber
2016-2017	Mike Fisher
since 2017	Roman Josi

In the history of the Nashville Predators, there have been seven different players who have held the position of team captain.

Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

→ Main article : List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

Surname	Recording date	position
Paul Kariya	2017	LW

Blocked jersey numbers

→ Main article : List of blocked National Hockey League jersey numbers

The famous 99 of the Canadian Wayne Gretzky is the only jersey number that has been banned throughout the league since February 6, 2000 and is therefore no longer given to a player.

No.	Surname	Blocking date
99	Wayne Gretzky	February 6, 2000 (league-wide)

First-round voting rights in the NHL Entry Draft

Surname	year	Draft position
David Legwand	1998	2.
Brian Finley	1999	6th
Scott Hartnell	2000	6th
Dan Hamhuis	2001	12.
Scottie Upshall	2002	6th
Ryan Suter	2003	7th
Alexander Radulov	2004	15th
Ryan Parent	2005	18th
Jonathon Blum	2007	23.

Surname	year	Draft position
Colin Wilson	2008	7th
Chet Pickard		18th
Ryan Ellis	2009	11.
Austin Watson	2010	18th
Seth Jones	2013	4th
Kevin Fiala	2014	11.
Dante Fabbro	2016	17th
Eeli Tolvanen	2017	30th
Philip Tomasino	2019	24.

Since 1998, the Predators had 18 voting rights in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft , seven of which were among the top ten of each year.

Since the Nashville Predators received the first round suffrage of the Florida Panthers on June 22, 2007 together with the second round suffrage in the NHL Entry Draft 2007 and 2008 in exchange for Tomáš Vokoun , the Predators had for the first time in their history the right to two players in the first Round of the NHL Entry Draft.

In 2006 , 2011 , 2012 , 2015 and 2018 , the franchise did not have a first-round option, as they had previously given them in transfer deals.

Franchise top point collector

The ten best point collectors in the history of the franchise by the end of the 2019/20 regular season and the 2020 playoffs .

Abbreviations: Pos = position, GP = games, G = goals, A = assists, Pts = points, P / G = points per game

Regular season

Surname	Item	season	GP	G	A.	Pts	P / G
David Legwand	C.	1998 / 99–2013 / 14	956	210	356	566	0.59
Martin Erat	RW	2001 / 02–2012 / 13	723	163	318	481	0.65
Shea Weber	D.	2005 / 06–2015 / 16	763	166	277	443	0.58
Roman Josi	D.	since 2011/12	632	109	304	413	0.65
Filip Forsberg	LW	since 2012/13	458	166	187	353	0.77
Craig Smith	RW	since 2011/12	661	162	68	330	0.50
Kimmo Timonen	D.	1998 / 99-2006 / 07	573	79	222	301	0.53
Jean-Pierre Dumont	RW	2006 / 07–2010 / 11	388	93	174	267	0.69
Steve Sullivan	LW	2003/04–2010/11	317	100	163	263	0.83
Ryan Ellis	D.	since 2011/12	527	70	182	252	0.48

Playoffs

Surname	Item	GP	G	A.	Pts	P / G
Filip Forsberg	LW	65	26th	23	49	0.75
Ryan Johansen	C.	51	14th	28	42	0.82
Roman Josi	D.	75	10	26th	36	0.48
Ryan Ellis	D.	68	6th	27	33	0.49
Mattias Ekholm	D.	65	6th	24	30th	0.46
David Legwand	C.	47	13	15th	28	0.60
Shea Weber	D.	59	13	15th	28	0.47
Viktor Arvidsson	LW	59	12	15th	27	0.46
Colin Wilson	LW	47	13	11	24	0.51
Mike Fisher	C.	71	10	14th	24	0.34

Well-known former players

(Team membership and position in brackets)

Tom Fitzgerald (1998-2002, RW) Between 1998 and 2002 first team captain in franchise history. Cliff Ronning (1998-2002, C) Ronning was the Predators' top scorer for several seasons. He held the franchise record for most goals until the 2005/06 season . Mike Dunham (1998-2003, G) The 1997 William M. Jennings Trophy winner was the Predators' first number one goal. He lost his regular seat in the 2002/03 season and went to New York . Greg Johnson (1998-2006, C) In the 2002/03 season he took over the position of team captain from Tom Fitzgerald. Johnson became the first captain to lead the Predators to the playoffs. Kimmo Timonen (1998-2007, D) The defender played in the Predators jersey for nine years. In the 2006/07 season he was the third team captain in franchise history.

Tomáš Vokoun (1998-2007, G) The All-Star began his NHL career in Nashville in 1998, with him in goal they reached the playoffs for the first time in the 2003/04 season . Scott Hartnell (2000-2007 and 2017/18, LW) Longstanding winger who was best known for his excessive toughness. When Hartnell made his debut in the 2000/01 season at the age of 18, he was the youngest player to ever appear for the Predators in a league game. Paul Kariya (2005-2007, LW) The two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner still holds various franchise records and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 . Peter Forsberg (2007, C) Foppa was signed up for Upshall , Parent and Draft picks in February 2007 . However, even with his help, the Predators did not get past the Conference quarter-finals.

Ryan Suter (2005–2012, D) Together with his long-time defensive partner Shea Weber and goalkeeper Pekka Rinne , Suter formed the backbone of the Predators team, which was able to move into the 2nd round of the playoffs in two consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2012. His sudden move to the Minnesota Wild in the summer of 2012, however, still earns him boos in the Bridgestone Arena. David Legwand (1998-2014, C) "The Original Predator". Legwand played 956 regular and 55 playoff games for Nashville from day 1 of the franchise. At the time of his move to Detroit in early 2014, he held pretty much every franchise career record in the relevant offensive categories. Shea Weber (2005-2016, D) The uncompromising defender with the NHL widely feared slapshot and two-time Olympic champion with Team Canada was 2010-2016 captain and the figurehead of the Predators.

Web links

Commons : Nashville Predators  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Official website of the Nashville Predators (Engl.)
• Nashville Predators on hockey-reference.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 2005 NHL Entry Draft. hockeyDB.com, accessed June 29, 2017 . 
2. ^ Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators Box Score - April 24, 2011. Hockey Reference, accessed June 29, 2017 . 
3. ↑ nhl.com, Nashville Predators Name John Hynes Head Coach , accessed January 7, 2020
4. ↑ predators.nhl.com, Team Name and Logo
5. ^ Predators.nhl.com, Mascot: Gnash, Present, and Future
6. ↑ Greg Wyshynski: Predators declare war on Blackhawks fans did invade Nashville's arena. sports.yahoo.com, August 14, 2013, accessed April 28, 2016 . 
7. ^ Reuters: Predators complete stunning sweep of Blackhawks. reuters.com, April 21, 2017, accessed June 29, 2017 . 
8. ↑ nhl.com, 54th NHL All-Star Game
9. ↑ nhl.com, Team Lidstrom bests Team Staal, 11-10 ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.