Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee, competing in the Central Division of the NHL's Western Conference. Established in 1998, they play their home games at Bridgestone Arena, a venue that was initially built for a proposed NBA franchise. The Predators made their playoff debut in the 2003-2004 season and achieved their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2017, where they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team has enjoyed significant success, including winning the division title and the President's Trophy for best regular season record in 2018.
The team's name and logo, featuring a saber-tooth tiger, are inspired by prehistoric remains discovered in Nashville. Over the years, several notable players have donned the Predators' colors, including Paul Kariya and Pekka Rinne, both of whom have left a lasting impact on the franchise. In 2023, the team saw a change in ownership under former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, highlighting its continued evolution and presence in the NHL landscape. The Predators have a strong fan base and community support, contributing to their identity as a significant sports franchise in the region.
Nashville Predators
Team information
- Inaugural season: 1998
- Home arena: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
- Owner: Bill Haslam
- Team colors: Gold, navy blue, and white
Overview
The Nashville Predators is a professional hockey team in the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team came into existence in 1998 when the NHL awarded a franchise in Nashville, Tennessee, to founder Craig Leopold. They occupied an arena originally built as part of a failed effort to establish a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise in the city. The Predators advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 2003–2004 and played for the Stanley Cup championship for the first time in 2016–2017. Nashville lost that best of seven series 4–2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators earned the division title and President’s Trophy for best record in the regular season in 2017–2018.
History
The Predators were the first NHL team to play in Tennessee. However, the city of Nashville and surrounding areas have hosted a number of minor league teams beginning in the 1960s. These included the Nashville Dixie Flyers, who played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), a minor league affiliate of the NHL. Nashville has also been home to other semi-professional teams, including the Ice Flyers, Knights, Nighthawks, and South Stars. One of the things that was seen as a positive by the NHL in deciding to award the city a franchise was the local support shown by fans who greeted league officials during a visit.
Those fans turned out again on September 27, 1997, for an Ice Breaker Bash that initiated season ticket sales for the team’s first season. Craig Leipold, the team’s original owner, was awarded the only new NHL franchise for 1998. The expansion brought the total number of NHL teams to Twenty-seven. The Predators’ earliest games were played in a facility known as Gaylord Entertainment Center, owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company, a minority investor in the team. The center was renamed the Sommet Center in 2007 and became known as the Bridgestone Center in 2010.
The team logo—an attacking saber-tooth tiger—was inspired by a 9-inch fang and partial skeleton of one of the prehistoric animals, known scientifically as a Smilodon floridanus. The fossil remains were uncovered in a buried cave in downtown Nashville in the early 1970s. The remains were found amidst the bones of a mastodon and other prehistoric creatures the tiger had presumably dragged into the cave as its meals. The Predators name reflects the tiger’s status as an animal of prey. The new team logo was unveiled on September 25, 1997, and the name was announced weeks later on November 13. In 2016, the remains of the saber-tooth tiger were moved to the Bridgestone Arena and unveiled as part of a pre-game presentation at the Predators’ November 8 home game.
The NHL officially announced the team as the league’s newest franchise on May 4, 1998. The Predators’ early management included team President Jack Diller, a former New York Rangers executive, and General Manager David Poile, who won the NHL’s 2001 Lester Patrick Award, given annually to someone who has made significant contributions to hockey development in the United States. Poile brought Barry Trotz, a scout and coach with the Washington Capitals organization, on board as the new team’s head coach.
The Predators’ leadership helped the team build a solid foundation with strong draft picks in three consecutive seasons. The team chose center David Legwand with its first-ever pick from the entry draft on June 17, 1998. The following year, they added goalie Brian Finley followed by forward Scott Hartnell in 2000. With these choices, the Predators showed steady improvement over their first three seasons. In their first season, they finished with 63 points. In their third season, they finished with 80 points.
On April 3, 2004, the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Vancouver Canucks 5–2. That loss eliminated them from contention and resulted in Nashville earning its first spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Predators faced off against the Detroit Red Wings and won the first two playoff games they ever played at home, but fell in the series 4–2.
The 2004–2005 season was lost to a labor dispute between owners and the players’ association. Just before the start of training camp for the 2005–2006 season, the Predators signed free agent Paul Kariya. Kariya, who began his NHL career with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and played a season with the Colorado Avalanche, became the first member of the Predators to be a first team All-Star.
Nashville continued to improve, notching 51 wins to go over the 50-win mark for the first time in 2007. Their 110-point season was their best-ever. However, word broke on May 24, 2007, that team majority owner Leipold was selling the team to Jim Basillie, a telecommunications executive. Leipold cited insufficient income as the reason for the sale. Nashville sportscaster George Plaster announced that Basillie wanted to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. More than 14,000 season tickets were sold there in support of that move.
However, sparked by Plaster’s on-air support, Nashville fans mustered a successful effort to keep the team in Nashville. A one-day rally resulted in the sale of more than 700 season tickets and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce became involved in the effort. As a result, a local ownership group purchased the team. Predators’ Holdings LLC bought the franchise for $193 million on December 7, 2007, securing the team’s future in Nashville.
In early May 2010, more than a foot of rain fell on Nashville, damaging parts of the city and destroying the Predators’ locker room. The facility was refurbished in time for the team to begin the 2010–2011 season, which saw the team win its first playoff series and earn its first appearance in the Western Conference semifinals. The Predators lost that series 4–2 to the Vancouver Canucks.
In 2016–2017, the Predators sold out all of their regular season games for the first time in their history. They also advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time. Nashville entered the playoffs with the second wildcard spot in the conference. In the first round, they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks and topped the St. Louis Blues in the second round. In the conference finals, the Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 4–2, earning Nashville’s first-ever spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the team lost the series 4–2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ten years after the team was nearly sold, the Predators finished the 2017–2018 season with a franchise-best 117 points. This topped the league and earned the team the President’s Trophy. They won the first round series against the Colorado Avalanche and advance to the conference semifinals, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets.
Ihe Predators made it to the playorffs in 2020, 2021, and 2022 but did not win. In 2023, the team hired former player Andrew Brunette as its fourth head coach. Also in 2023, the former governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam purchased the team for $880 million.
Notable players
The Predators have not retired any numbers; only number 99, worn by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and retired by the entire NHL, hangs from the rafters at Bridgestone Arena. Two former Predators are in the NHL Hall of Fame. They include Kariya and Peter Forsberg.
Kariya played all 82 games in each of his two seasons with the team, 2005–2006 and 2006–2007. He scored 85 total points in his first season and 76 in his second. Kariya set team records for most assists in a season with 54 and most points in a season with 85, both in the 2005–2006 season. His two-year contract expired at the conclusion of the 2007 season and Kariya opted not to resign with the team because Leipold was attempting to sell it and the team was at risk of moving.
Forsberg played a single season of his 15-year NHL career with the Predators. Hampered by injuries throughout his career, Forsberg played just 17 games in a Predators’ uniform. He scored 15 points, most of them assists, during that season.
Legwand, the team’s first-ever draft choice, holds a number of team records. These include most games played at 956, as well as franchise marks with 210 goals and 356 assists. Legwand also holds the team record for most career points with 566.
Goalie Pekka Rinne has logged the most games in the net for the team, with more than 600 and still counting. Rinne has been named to the All-Star team numerous times and won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in the 2017–2018 season. Rinne also holds team records for most wins in a season, with 43 in 2011–2012, and most shutouts, with 8 in 2017–2018.
The Predators’ roster has also included two players named to the NHL All-Rookie squad. Filip Forsberg joined the team for the 2014–2015 season. He set the team record for goals by a rookie with 26 and points by a rookie with 63. Goalie Juuse Saros joined the team for the 2017–2018 season. He set the team record for most saves in a shutout on December 14, 2017, when he stopped all 46 shots fired by the Edmonton Oilers.
Bibliography
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