History of Nashville Predators

Information about the NHL team Nashville Predators.

The Nashville Predators is one of the youngest franchises in the National Hockey League, making their debut only in the 1998-1999 National Hockey League season. Unlike some other franchises, the team was able to start playing almost immediately upon the granting of a franchise.

History of the Nashville Predators

The team was officially welcomed into the league in 1997 as an expansion franchise owned by Leipold Hockey Holdings LLC. Team president Jack Diller and team majority owner Craig Leipold formally introduced the team as the Nashville Predators, with the logo depicting a saber-toothed tiger. The tiger was in reference to the tigers inhabiting the present day Nashville area during the prehistoric times. The choice of a name was put into vote, and the “predators” won.

Hockey has been in existence in central Tennessee in as early as 1962 through the Eastern Hockey League's Dixie Flyers. However, the Dixie Flyers folded in 1971 after playing for nine seasons. After about ten years, Larry Schmittou, owner of the Nashville Sounds, brought the Nashville South Stars in for another attempt at a minor hockey league. However, the said franchise folded again after two seasons.

The awarding of a National Hockey League franchise to Nashville, Tennessee was announced on June 25, 1997, along with the granting of a franchise each to Atlanta in Georgia, Columbus in Ohio, and Saint Paul in Minnesota. Eventually, Nashville got the Nashville Predators, Atlanta was able to form the Atlanta Thrashers (now in the Eastern Conference Southeast Division), Columbus formed the Columbus Blue Jackets (now with the Predators in the Central Division of the Western Conference), and Saint Paul established the Minnesota Wild (housed in the Northwest Division of the Western Division).

It was a group led by Craig Leipold that requested for an expansion franchise in a formal presentation before the National Hockey League. The Nashville team was granted franchise when they met conditional requirements set by the National Hockey League. The team was able to present a completed arena in which to play its home games, as well as game ticket sales of at least 12,000.Of the four cities requesting for a franchise at that time, it was only the Nashville team that was able to present a completed arena.

The making of the Nashville Predators

The Nashville franchise’s logo was presented in a press conference on September 25, 1997. A vote was then held for the team’s name. From 75 name suggestions, three were taken: Ice Tigers, Fury, and Attack. Craig Leipold added his own suggestion, Predators, and on November 13, Leipold revealed that his suggested name won and that the Nashville franchise would from then on be known as the Nashville Predators. Despite rumors that the Nashhville team wouldn’t be able to pull it through since the team was having a hard time selling home game tickets, the team was able to reach the required number of ticket sales.

Upon its inception, the team hired David Poile of the Washington Capitals as general manager. On the other hand, Barry Trotz was taken as the team’s first head coach. David Legwand, Ontario Hockey League prospect, was taken in the 1998 season amateur entry draft, marking a start to the team’s building a strong hockey force.

The Nashville Predators' ups and downs

The Nashville Predators had their first ever win on October 13, 1998 when they bested the Carolina Hurricanes by 3-2. The team’s first season in the National Hockey League concluded with their having a record of 28-47-7 for 63 points.  With such record, the team landed at the bottom of all the other teams in its division. In the following year, the Nashville Predators recorded 28-47-7-7 and trailed behind all their other division competitors again. The predators finished last in the Western Conference.

The franchise ended its 2000-01 season with 80 points. This, however, was short of hockey playoff caliber. The Nashville Predators opened with two matches against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Japan, where each team won a game.

The Nashville Predators’ succeeding season in the National Hockey League gave the team a pretty similar fate. In the 2002-03 National Hockey League season, the Nashville Predators had a quite awful start, winning only two of their first 20 game matches. The team’s succeeding games grew no better, leaving the team with a record of 27-35-13-7 at the end of the season.

During the off season, Andy Delmore moved to the Buffalo Sabres, and Cale Hulse went to the Phoenix Coyotes. In season 2003-04, new Predator leaders came in: Marek Zidlicky, Scott Walker, Steve Sullivan, and Tomas Vokun. These four powerful players dragged the team on to its first playoffs experience, surprising the hockey crowd with its 38-29-11-4 record for 91 points.

The 2004–05 was a locked out season because of a labor dispute between the players and the owners.

Better years for the Nashville Predators

The team then began to climb up the hockey ladder,  in a match against the Detroit Red Wings, which won their first two matches, but lost the last two to the Predators. Though the Nashville Predators were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in the end, the team became a regular participant in the season playoffs. The team was further strengthened when Paul Kariya joined the team in the 2005-06 season. However, the team lost its star goalie, Tomas Vokun, due to blood clots. In this season, the Nashville Predators landed second to the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division playoffs, garnering 106 points. However, the team was eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the National Hockey League (Stanley Cup) playoffs.

Owing to its youth as a National Hockey League franchise, the team hasn’t had a member who has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Nashville Predators grace the Gaylord Entertainment Center with its home games, where the team flashes its team colors: orange, gold, silver, and blue. The city shouldered 31.5 percent of the $80-million fee required to join the National Hockey League. Nashville also shoulders the losses in the arena’s operations even if the Sommet Center is actually operated by an auxiliary of the team.

It is one of the five teams comprising the Central Division of the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. Today, the Nashville Predators play against the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, and the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division of the Western Conference.

All about the NHL

The National Hockey League is the premier professional hockey league in the United States and in Canada. Established in 1917, the National Hockey League was an offshoot of the National Hockey Association (NHA), which dissolved due to the clashing of the owners of the Toronto Blueshirts and the owners of the Bulldogs, Canadiens, Senators, and Wanderers.

Today, the National Hockey League has 30 teams divided into two conferences and six divisions having five teams each. The divisions are based on the teams’ geographical location. The National Hockey League’s two conferences are the Eastern and Western Conference. The Eastern Conference is divided into the Atlanta Division, the Northeast Division and the Southeast Division. The Western Conference, on the other hand, is divided into the Central Division, the Northwest division and the Pacific Division.