Nashville Predators

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Nashville Predators
Conference	Western
Division	Central
Founded	1998
History	Nashville Predators 1998-present
Arena	Gaylord Entertainment Center
City	Nashville, Tennessee
Local Media Affiliates	FSN South WGFX (104.5 FM) WNSR
Team Colors	Navy Blue, Silver, and Gold
Owner	Craig Leipold
General Manager	David Poile
Head Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Kimmo Timonen
Minor League Affiliates	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) Rockford IceHogs (UHL) New Mexico Scorpions (CHL)
Stanley Cups	None
Conference Championships	None
Division Championships	None

The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their nickname is the "Preds."

Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 2004 playoffs 1.2 2005-06 season 1.3 2006 playoffs 2 Catfish throwing 3 Season-by-season record 4 Notable players 4.1 Current roster 4.2 Team captains 4.3 Hall of Famers 4.4 Retired numbers 4.5 First-round draft picks 4.6 Franchise scoring leaders 5 NHL awards and trophies 6 Franchise individual records 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Franchise history

The team was named after the fossil skull of a saber-toothed cat—a species extinct for at least 10,000 years—that was found in August 1971, in a cave during the excavation for the AmSouth Center in downtown Nashville. The fossil is only the fifth of its kind found in North America.

When awarded a frachise, the Predators got a very lucrative deal. The city of Nashville paid 31.25% of the $80-million fee to join the league. The city also absorbs operating losses from the arena, despite the fact that the Gaylord Entertainment Center is operated by a subsidiary of the team.[1]

The Predators first took the ice on October 10, 1998, where they lost 0-1 at home to the Florida Panthers. Three nights later, on October 13, they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 for their first win. Forward Andrew Brunette scored the first goal on a play that was reviewed by the video goal judge.

[edit] 2004 playoffs

In the 2003-04 NHL season, the Nashville Predators, under coach Barry Trotz, made their first trip to the playoffs in the Western Conference. The rival Detroit Red Wings beat them in six games in the quarterfinal.

[edit] 2005-06 season

In 2005-06, the Predators set an NHL record by winning their first four games by one goal each (although two of those were shootout victories, which would have been tie games in previous seasons). They also became only the fourth NHL franchise to start the season 8-0; the last time a team did so was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who set the mark with a 10-0 start in 1993. The Buffalo Sabres tied the Leafs' record in 2006. The Predators set the franchise mark for wins in a season with a 2-0 shutout of the Phoenix Coyotes on March 16, 2006. In that match, Chris Mason became the ninth goaltender to score a goal. By the end of the season, the Predators had accumulated 106 points, their first 100-point season and clinched home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in team history. They finished the season with an NHL-best 32-8-1 record at home.

[edit] 2006 playoffs

The Predators began the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the 4th seed and faced the 5th-seeded San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Game 1 of the series went to the Predators, who scored four power-play goals downing the Sharks 4-3. The first star of the game was Paul Kariya, who had led the Predators in regular-season scoring and assisted on all four goals in the game.

In Game 2, the Sharks shut Nashville out 3-0. Nashville took ten penalties in the game, while San Jose took nine. Many have speculated that a reason for all of the penalties in the game was because NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in the Gaylord Entertainment Center watching the game with Predators owner Craig Leipold. San Jose's win tied the playoff series at one game apiece.

Game 3, which took place at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, was won by the Sharks. Though the Predators scored the first goal, the Sharks scored 4 straight in the last 30 minutes of the game to down Nashville 4-1. San Jose took a 2-1 lead in the series after their win.

In Game 4 of the series, rookie Shea Weber scored his first career playoff goal that put Nashville ahead 2-1, yet San Jose went on to win with a score of 5-4. San Jose's lead in the series increased to 3-1.

The series ended on April 30, 2006, when San Jose beat the Predators 2-1. The only Nashville goal came from Kariya 11:06 into the third period.

[edit] Catfish throwing

Fans of the Nashville Predators have created their own unique tradition to show their support: on occasion, a fan will throw a catfish onto the ice. The Tennessean ^[1] newspaper in Nashville cites the first instance of this on October 30, 2003. At least four catfish were thrown onto the ice after the first Nashville goal in a on November 13, 2003.

The Detroit Red Wings have a similar tradition where fans throw octopi onto the ice, with the creature's eight legs symbolizing the eight wins it once took the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. It is likely a fan decided to create a Southern tradition, and the catfish — a Southern trademark — was a fairly logical choice.

[edit] Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1998-99	82	28	47	7	—	63	190	261	1420	4th, Central	Did not qualify
1999-00	82	28	40	7	7	70	199	240	946	4th, Central	Did not qualify
2000-01	82	34	36	9	3	80	186	200	944	3rd, Central	Did not qualify
2001-02	82	28	41	13	0	69	196	230	1071	4th, Central	Did not qualify
2002-03	82	27	35	13	7	74	183	206	969	4th, Central	Did not qualify
2003-04	82	38	29	11	4	91	216	217	1360	3rd, Central	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Red Wings)
2004-051	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005-062	82	49	25	—	8	106	259	227	1489	2nd, Central	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1-4 (Sharks)
2006-073	26	17	6	—	3	37	91	72	361	—	—
Totals	586	240	256	60	31	577	1502	1617	8365	—	—

¹ Season was cancelled because of the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

² As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

³ Through Monday December 4, 2006

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Current roster

As of December 7, 2006. [2]

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
29		Tomas Vokoun (Injured)	R	1998	Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia
30		Chris Mason	L	2003	Red Deer, Alberta

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2		Dan Hamhuis	L	2001	Smithers, British Columbia
3		Marek Zidlicky	R	2002	Most, Czechoslovakia
5		Greg Zanon (IR)	L	2004	Burnaby, British Columbia
6		Shea Weber	R	2003	Sicamous, British Columbia
20		Ryan Suter	L	2003	Madison, Wisconsin
42		Mikko Lehtonen	L	2001	Oulu, Finland
44		Kimmo Timonen - C	L	1998	Kuopio, Finland

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
7		Scottie Upshall (IR)	LW	L	2002	Fort McMurray, Alberta
9		Paul Kariya - A	LW	L	2005	Vancouver, British Columbia
10		Martin Erat	LW	L	1999	Trebic, Czechoslovakia
11		David Legwand	C	L	1998	Detroit, Michigan
12		Scott Nichol	C	R	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
16		Darcy Hordichuk	LW	L	2005	Kamsack, Saskatchewan
17		Scott Hartnell	LW	L	2000	Regina, Saskatchewan
19		Jason Arnott (Injured)	C	R	2006	Wasaga Beach, Ontario
22		Jordin Tootoo	RW	R	2001	Churchill, Manitoba
25		Jerred Smithson	C	R	2004	Vernon, British Columbia
26		Steve Sullivan - A	RW	R	2004	Timmins, Ontario
38		Vernon Fiddler	C	L	2002	Edmonton, Alberta
47		Alexander Radulov	RW	L	2004	Nizhni Tagil, USSR
63		Josef Vasicek	C	L	2006	Havlíčkův Brod, Czechoslovakia
71		J.P. Dumont	RW	L	2006	Montreal, Quebec

[edit] Team captains

• Tom Fitzgerald, 1998-2002
• Greg Johnson, 2002-06
• Kimmo Timonen, 2006- present

[edit] Hall of Famers

Nashville has had no players on its roster inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

[edit] Retired numbers

• 99 Wayne Gretzky, number retired league-wide February 6, 2000

[edit] First-round draft picks

• 1998: David Legwand (2nd overall)
• 1999: Brian Finley (6th overall)
• 2000: Scott Hartnell (6th overall)
• 2001: Dan Hamhuis (12th overall)
• 2002: Scottie Upshall (6th overall)
• 2003: Ryan Suter (7th overall)
• 2004: Alexander Radulov (15th overall)
• 2005: Ryan Parent (18th overall)
• 2006: None

[edit] Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Predators player

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Scott Walker	RW	410	96	151	247	.60
Kimmo Timonen*	D	493	66	180	246	.50
Greg Johnson	C	502	93	145	238	.47
Cliff Ronning	C	301	81	145	226	.75
David Legwand*	C	406	79	141	220	.54
Scott Hartnell*	LW	372	71	101	172	.46
Martin Erat*	LW	263	46	93	139	.53
Vitali Yachmenev	LW	338	54	76	130	.39
Patric Kjellberg	RW	246	49	77	126	.51
Denis Arkhipov	C	273	46	65	111	.41

[edit] NHL awards and trophies

Lester Patrick Trophy

• David Poile: 2000-01

[edit] Franchise individual records

• Most goals in a season: Steve Sullivan & Paul Kariya, 31 (2005-06)
• Most assists in a season: Paul Kariya, 54 (2005-06)
• Most points in a season: Paul Kariya, 85 (2005-06)
• Most penalty minutes in a season: Patrick Cote, 242 (1998-99)
• Most points in a season, defenseman: Marek Zidlicky, 53 (2003-04)
• Most points in a season, rookie: Martin Erat, 33 (2001-02)
• Most wins in a season: Tomas Vokoun, 36 (2005-06)
• Most shutouts in a season: Mike Dunham; Tomas Vokoun, 4 (2000-01; 2005-06)

[edit] References

1. ^ Tennessean.com, Catfish hunters: Fans throw a curve at Preds

[edit] See also

• List of Nashville Predators players
• Head Coaches of the Nashville Predators
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

[edit] External links

• Official website of the Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators Head Coaches
Trotz