Nashville Predators

Template:NHL Team Infobox

The Nashville Predators are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Facts

Founded: 1998

Arena: Gaylord Entertainment Center

Uniform colors: Blue, gold, silver

Logo design: A saber toothed cat

Mascot: Gnash (A saber-toothed cat whose name is a pun on the first syllable of the city's name.)

Main Rivals: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets

Stanley Cups won: None

Franchise history

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

The Predators first took the ice on October 10, 1998, where they lost 1-0 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.

In the 2003-04 NHL season, the Nashville Predators, under coach Barry Trotz, made their first trip to the playoffs, as the eighth seeded team in the Western Conference with a franchise record 91 points. However, they were left with the daunting task of facing the heavily-favored and top seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round, eventually going down in a tough-fought 6 games. They did, however, win their first two home playoff games.

Their best performance prior to their breakout season in 2003-04 was in 2000-01, when they finished with 80 points, 10th place in the Western Conference.

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 Predators are currently on pace to finish with a record of 58-17-7, which would be their best record in history. They would also easily clinch a playoff spot for the second consecutive season with this record.

The Legend of the Catfish

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 newspaper out of Nashville cites the first instance of this on October 30, 2003. The "Preds" were facing the Detroit Red Wings at the Gaylord Entertainment Center, and a fan managed to toss the raw fish over the glass and onto the ice in celebration of Nashville's first goal of the contest, which the Predators ultimately managed to win. However, the fan's fish-toss set a precedent, and fans smuggle the catfish into the arena (likely by keeping them up against their skin, as security searches bags but doesn't frisk fans) and fling the fish onto the ice, often in celebration of the Predators' first goal of the game. In fact, at least four catfish wound up on the GEC floor after the first Nashville goal in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on November 13th, 2003. By the way, the fans who get caught are escorted out of the arena, yet it doesn't seem to be much of a deterrant--this tradition continues on occasion even now.

The reason for choosing a catfish is not entirely clear. It is possible (though unlikely) that the fish referenced the Preds' status as "bottom-feeders" in the NHL's Western Conference for much of the team's existence. It may also have had something to do with the Catfish Out of Water art festival which took place around the time the tradition began; this festival resulted in over 50 fiberglass catfish sculptures being placed throughout Music City.

However, the most plausable theory regarding the smelly fish regards a rivalry. The biggest rivals of the Nashville Predators are the legendary Detroit Red Wings. The Wings have a similar tradition where fans fling octopi onto the ice, the creature's eight legs symbolic of the eight wins it once took to win the Stanley Cup. With the deep dislike of the Wings, it's likely a fan decided to create a Southern answer to the longstanding tradition, and the catfish--a Southern trademark--was a fairly logical choice.

Sometime around 8:34pm Central time on Wednesday, February 8th, 2006 (with 13 minutes and change left in the 3rd period), the Predators and their foul-smelling tradition made history again. The Preds were playing the Red Wings in Detroit, and the Joe Louis Arena got its first known taste of catfish. Nashville was down 4-0, and a fan calmly approached the glass and heaved the fish to the ice--the very same ice which has seen so many octopi in the past. After chucking the catfish, the fan removed his jacket to reveal an autographed jersey of Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun, who had been pulled after two periods, giving up the four goals. According to the Predators' announcers (Pete Weber and Terry Crisp) the fan likely was waiting for Nashville's first goal of the game, but whether due to impatience or the likely growing odor of the catfish, decided to throw the fish early. His actions--including revealing his jersey and thus, his allegiance, earned him a hasty exit from "The Joe." The Wings had all the luck on that night, however, as the Preds and their catfish-flinging fans would suffer a 6-0 loss in that contest.

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

Logo	Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	1998-99	82	28	47	7	--	63	190	261	1420	4th (last) in Central	Out of playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	1999-00	82	28	40	7	7	70	199	240	946	4th (last) in Central	Out of playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2000-01	82	34	36	9	3	80	186	200	944	3rd in Central	Out of playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2001-02	82	28	41	13	0	69	196	230	1071	4th in Central	Out of playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2002-03	82	27	35	13	7	74	183	206	969	4th in Central	Out of playoffs
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2003-04	82	38	29	11	4	91	216	217	1360	3rd in Central	Lost in 1st round
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2004-05¹	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
File:Nashville Predators.gif	2005-06²	53	32	15	--	6	70	168	154	1071	--	--

¹ Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

² As of February 3, 2006.

Notable players

Current squad

As of February 17, 2006 [1]

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

Defensemen
Number	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2	Dan Hamhuis	L	2001	Smithers, British Columbia
3	Marek Zidlicky	R	2002	Most, Czechoslovakia
4	Mark Eaton	L	2000	Wilmington, Delaware
20	Ryan Suter	L	2003	Madison, Wisconsin
44	Kimmo Timonen - A	L	1998	Kuopio, Finland
48	Shea Weber	R	2003	Sicamous, British Columbia
55	Danny Markov	L	2005	Moscow, U.S.S.R

Forwards
Number	Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
7	Scottie Upshall	L	LW/RW	2002	Fort McMurray, Alberta
9	Paul Kariya - A	L	LW	2005	Vancouver, British Columbia
10	Martin Erat	L	LW	1999	Trebic, Czechoslovakia
11	David Legwand (Injured Reserve)	L	C	1998	Detroit, Michigan
12	Scott Nichol	R	C	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
16	Darcy Hordichuk	R	LW	2005	Kamsack, Saskatchewan
17	Scott Hartnell	L	RW	2000	Regina, Saskatchewan
18	Adam Hall	R	RW	1999	Kalamazoo, Michigan
22	Greg Johnson - C	L	C	1998	Thunder Bay, Ontario
24	Scott Walker - A	R	RW	1998	Cambridge, Ontario
26	Steve Sullivan - A	R	RW	2004	Timmins, Ontario
38	Vernon Fiddler	L	C	2002	Edmonton, Alberta
42	Jerred Smithson	R	C	2004	Vernon, British Columbia
81	Mike Sillinger	R	C	2006	Regina, Saskatchewan
94	Yanic Perreault	L	C	2003	Sherbrooke, Québec

Team captains

Tom Fitzgerald 1998-02
Greg Johnson 2002-present

Hall of Famers

none

Retired numbers

99 (retired league-wide by the NHL as a tribute to Wayne Gretzky)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Predators. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player	POS	GP	G	A	Pts
Scott Walker	RW	377	91	140	231
Cliff Ronning	C	301	81	145	226
Greg Johnson	C	434	82	137	219
Kimmo Timonen	D	414	55	141	196
David Legwand	C	362	72	122	194
Vitali Yachmenov	LW	338	54	76	130
Patrick Kjellberg	RW	246	49	77	126
Scott Hartnell	LW	291	46	78	124
Denis Arkhipov	C	273	46	65	111
Vladimir Orszagh	RW	239	47	58	105

References