History: Franchise Timeline

The following timeline is of important events in Nashville Predators franchise history. Please visit the all-time transactions page for a complete listing of trades and acquisitions.

December 18, 1996

The state-of-the-art $160 million Nashville Arena opened with Amy Grant's Tennessee Christmas.

June 25, 1997

Leipold Hockey Holdings, LLC granted a conditional franchise by the NHL Board of Governors.

July 1, 1997

Jack Diller named first president of the Nashville Predators.

July 9, 1997

David Poile named first general manager in franchise history.

August 6, 1997

Barry Trotz named as Nashville's first head coach and Paul Gardner named assistant coach.

August 19, 1997

Tom Ward appointed executive vice president, business operations.

September 25, 1997

Craig Leipold and Jack Diller unveiled the saber-toothed tiger logo at the downtown First American building, the site of a saber-toothed tiger discovery in August, 1971.

September 27, 1997

The Ice Breaker Bash kicked off season ticket sales at the Nashville Arena and attracted over 12,000 hockey fans for three hours of hockey demonstrations, displays and interactive games.

November 13, 1997

Craig Leipold and Jack Diller unveiled "Predators" as Nashville's name (as selected by fans) at the Wildhorse Saloon in front of inaugural season ticket-holders and fans.

February 12, 1998

Head Coach Barry Trotz and assistant coach Paul Gardner unveil the Predators' inaugural home and away jerseys in front of 2,000 fans at Cool Springs Galleria.

March 4, 1998

Hockey Tonk Jam at the Ryman Auditorium - Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and others from the music industry performed at an invitation-only event to raise awareness for the Predators. The event included Delbert McClinton's debut performance of Hockey Tonk (The Predators Song), written by Harlan Howard and Pat Alger.

May 4, 1998

The National Hockey League officially announced the Nashville Predators as the 27th franchise in league history.

June 1, 1998

The Predators make their first player transaction, obtaining forward Marian Cisar from Los Angeles for future considerations.

June 4, 1998

The Predators sign their first free agent, defenseman Jay More.

June 19, 1998

Brent Peterson named as an assistant coach.

June 25, 1998

WTN (99.7 FM) was named the Predators' flagship radio station.

June 26, 1998

The Predators select 26 players in the NHL Expansion Draft, including Mike Dunham, Greg Johnson, Scott Walker, and Tomas Vokoun.

June 27, 1998

The Nashville Predators became the 27th NHL team to participate in the NHL Entry Draft. The Predators, with the second overall pick, selected David Legwand .

July 6, 1998

Predators sign free agent Tom Fitzgerald and name him first captain in franchise history.

October 10, 1998

The Nashville Predators host the franchise's first NHL game vs. the Florida Panthers. In front of a sellout crowd of 17,298, Ray Whitney scored the only goal of the 1-0 game and the Panthers' Kirk McLean earned the shutout. The starters for the Predators were Andrew Brunette (LW), Greg Johnson (C), Sergei Krivokrasov (RW), Joel Bouchard (D), Bob Boughner (D), and Mike Dunham (G).

October 13, 1998

The Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 to net the first victory in franchise history.  Andrew Brunette notched the first goal in franchise history at 5:12 in the first period. 

January 15, 1999

Predators goaltender Tomas Vokoun records the first shutout by a Predators goaltender, saving 31 shots in a 2-0 win against Phoenix in Nashville.

January 24, 1999

Sergei Krivokrasov becomes the first Predator to appear in an NHL All-Star Game. He played for the World Team in the game played at Tampa Bay and did not register a point.

January 30, 1999

The Predators record the franchise's first overtime victory, a 3-2 win at New Jersey.

February 1, 1999

Predators open their practice facility at Centennial Sportsplex.

February 19, 1999

Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche records the first hat trick at the Nashville Arena in a 4-4 tie with the Predators.

April 17, 1999

The Nashville Predators closed out their inaugural season with a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Predators drew a total of 664,000 (16,202, 94% capacity) and amassed a 28-47-7 record.

May 25, 1999

The Nashville Predators Foundation awards 37 grants totaling $170,000 to Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based community service and charitable organizations. The Foundation has awarded more than $2 million since its establishment in 1998.

July 16, 1999

Dr. Richard W. Oliver, an economics professor at the Owen School of Business at Vanderbilt University, unveils an economic study estimating the Predators having an $82 million impact in 1998-99 and projects a $470 million impact over a five-year span.

August 4, 1999

Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold and Gaylord Entertainment CEO Terry London announce a partnership in which Gaylord Entertainment purchases the naming rights to the downtown arena for $80 million. The arena is named the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

November 10, 1999

Rob Valicevic registers the first Predators hat trick in a 4-2 win at Chicago.

November 18, 1999

Kimmo Timonen takes the first Predators penalty shot, scoring against Montreal's Jeff Hackett. The Preds won 6-1 over the Canadiens at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

March 12, 2000

The Predators help crown the Tennessee state high school hockey champion in the inaugural Predators Cup, held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

March 30, 2000

The Nashville Predators Foundation awards grants totaling over $200,000 to Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based community service and charitable organizations.

October 7-8, 2000

The Predators open the 2000-01 season with a two-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Saitama Super Arena outside of Tokyo, Japan. Both games finished with a score of 3-1, with the Predators winning the first and the Penguins the second. The two games drew the two largest crowds ever to witness hockey in Japan (13,849 for the first game, 13,426 for the second).

December 23, 2000

Predators center David Legwand recorded the first overtime penalty shot goal in NHL history in a 3-2 Predators win at Madison Square Garden. The goal, which came 3:17 into overtime, was scored against Rangers' goalie Kirk McLean.

March 23, 2001

General Manager David Poile is one of three recipients of the 2001 Lester Patrick Award, an honor presented annually "for outstanding service to hockey in the United States."

March 30, 2001

The Nashville Predators Foundation awards 61 grants totaling $210,000 to Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based community service and charitable organizations.

November 21, 2001

The Predators unveil the first alternate jersey in franchise history. The gold-colored jersey featured an animated saber-tooth tiger logo on the crest of the jersey and a pair of tiger skulls on the shoulders.

December 6, 2001

The Predators record their 100th victory as a franchise with a 4-2 win over Ottawa. Nashville became the second-fastest expansion team of the 1990's to reach the century win mark.

January 10, 2002

The National Hockey League announces that the Nashville Predators and the Gaylord Entertainment Center will host the 2003 NHL Entry Draft on June 21 and 22, 2003.

March 8, 2002

The Predators announce the Playoff Pledge, a unique resolve to make the playoffs this season or next or the price increase for 2002-2003 full season tickets will be refunded.

April 4, 2002

The Nashville Predators Foundation awards 56 grants totaling $185,000 to Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based community service and charitable organizations.

October 9, 2002

Predators center Greg Johnson named captain, the second captain in franchise history.

December 12, 2002

Original Predator Mike Dunham traded, giving the number one goalie job to Tomas Vokoun.

January 12, 2003

Predators right winger Scott Walker named interim captain to replace the injured Greg Johnson. Walker serves as captain until January 25th.

March 1, 2003

Predators Head Coach Barry Trotz coaches his 392nd game with the Predators, establishing a new league record for most games coached by a team's original coach since the NHL's first expansion in 1967. Trotz passed Predators broadcaster Terry Crisp, who coached the Tampa Bay Lightning for 391 games to begin their franchise.

March 28, 2003

The Nashville Predators Foundation awards 53 grants totaling more than $150,000 to Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based community service and charitable organizations.

June 19, 2003

Peter Horachek named assistant coach for the Predators and Brent Peterson promoted to associate coach.

June 21-22, 2003

The Predators host the NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

November 21, 2003

Scott Hartnell scores the 1,000th goal in franchise history. The goal was an overtime winner, giving the Preds a 4-3 victory at Anaheim.

April 7, 2004

The Predators skate in their first-ever playoff game, losing 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Adam Hall scored the Predators' first playoff goal when he tallied just 16 seconds into the game.

April 11, 2004

The Predators defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in Nashville, the first-ever playoff victory in franchise history.

September 15, 2004

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league's 30 teams would lock out players as the collective bargaining agreement expired.

February 15, 2005

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season.

July 22, 2005

The NHL announced that the Board of Governors unanimously approved the new collective bargaining agreement, officially ending the lockout.

August 5, 2005

The Predators announced the signing of free-agent forward Paul Kariya, the first First Team NHL All-Star to sign with Nashville.

October 5, 2005

After nearly 18 months of inactivity, the Predators returned to NHL action with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks in front of a capacity crowd at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

October 8, 2005

In their second game of the 2005-06 season, the Predators won their first shootout, a 3-2 victory over Anaheim. Paul Kariya scored the game-deciding shootout goal against his former team.

March 18, 2006

Nashville defeated Calgary 9-4 at the GEC for its 40th win of the 2005-06 season, the first 40-win season in franchise history. The Predators ended the season with a record of 49-25-8 and led the NHL with 32 home wins.

April 18, 2006

Paul Kariya netted a hat trick as part of a four-point game in Nashville's 6-3 win over Detroit in the team's regular-season finale. Kariya finished the season with 31 goals and 85 points, both franchise records. Steve Sullivan also netted 31 goals, and he and Kariya became the first Predators to score 30 or more goals in a season.

February 15, 2007

The Predators acquired legendary center Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2007 stretch run.

April 5, 2007

With a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, Nashville hit the 50-win mark for the first time in franchise history.  The club would end the 2006-07 regular season with a record of 51-23-8 for a franchise-record 110 points.

April 11, 2007

In their third trip to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Predators went to sudden death overtime for the first time in Game 1 of their first-round series against the San Jose Sharks.  After rallying from a two-goal deficit to tie the contest at 4-4, Nashville was ultimately upended by the winning goal from San Jose’s Patrick Rissmiller at 8:14 of the second overtime period.

May 18, 2007

The Predators and the Middle Tennessee-based Sommet Group entered into a multi-year naming-rights agreement, thus renaming the Nashville Arena as the “Sommet Center.”

August 1, 2007

Predators owner Craig Leipold announced that he had signed a letter of intent to sell the Nashville Predators and Powers Management (the company that manages the Sommet Center) to a Nashville-based ownership group led by David Freeman, CEO of 36 Venture Capital.

September 12, 2007

Jason Arnott is named the fourth captain in franchise history.

November 29, 2007

The National Hockey League's Board of Governors approved the proposed sale of the Nashville Predators to Predators Holdings LLC.

December 1, 2007

David Legwand notched three points (1g-2a) in the third period of a 5-4 shootout win at Montreal. His first point (a goal) was the 302nd of his NHL career, moving him past Kimmo Timonen into sole possession of first place on the franchise's all-time scoring list.

December 7, 2007

Predators Holdings LLC., completed its purchase of the Nashville Predators and Powers Management (the company that operates the Summit Center) for $193 million from Craig Leipold and took over the day-to-day operation of the Predators and the Sommit Center.

December 11, 2007

The Predators' new ownership group, led by Chairman David Freeman, introduced Ed Lang as the organization's President of Business Operations and David Poile as President of Hockey Operations/General Manager.

January 27, 2008

Captain Jason Arnott represented Nashville in the 56th NHL All-Star game in Atlanta, becoming the fourth Predator to represent the club in the mid-season classic.

April 3, 2008

The Predators clinch their fourth consecutive playoff birth.

November 4, 2008

Head Coach Barry Trotz became just the 10th coach in NHL history to coach 750 games with a single team.

January 25, 2009

Defenseman Shea Weber became the first Predators draft pick  to represent the club in an All-Star game.

June 18, 2009

Steve Sullivan became Nashville's  first NHL award recipient, winning the Bill Masterton Trophy, given to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perserverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Sullivan returned on January 10, 2009 from a 23-month absence due to injury.

July 8, 2010

Shea Weber is named the fifth captain in franchise history.

August 10, 2010

Jeff Cogen was named the team's first-ever Chief Executive Officer and Sean Henry was named the franchise's President/Chief Operating Officer.