nashville predators history
nashville predators history
Nashville Predators tickets became a hot item when the team from Music City signed free agent forward Paul Kariya, a seven-time All-Star. Kariya will bring his much needed speed, experience, and craftiness to the ice at Gaylord Entertainment Center, adding to a roster loaded with young talent. After their first playoff appearance in 2004 the Predators ticket holders are hungry for another shot at the NHL Playoffs and a division championship. Adding Kariya to the team gives Nashville a legitimate NHL star and makes Predators tickets one of the best values of any NHL ticket.
NHL hockey in Nashville first got some attention back in 1995, when the New Jersey Devils went looking for a new home. While the Devils decided to stay put after winning the Stanley Cup, the hockey movement in Nashville gained enough momentum for the NHL to award the city a franchise. The first Predator team skated on October 10, 1998. They recorded their first win 3 days later by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2. The Predators would go on to finish their inaugural season with a record of 28-47-7.
Over the next two seasons, the Predators would experience the growing pains that any new franchise in professional sports would feel. For the 2000-01 season, the Predators were not a factor in the NHL Playoffs, but did finish with a respectable 34-34-9-3 record. For the 2001-02 season, the Predators did some backtracking and finished with a 28-41-13 record. They struggled to score goals and only had one player scoring 20 goals that season.
2002-03 got off to a rough start for Nashville. After only two wins in the first 20 games, the Predators needed to make some adjustments. They engineered a trade for Thomas Vokoun. What a shakeup this would turn out to be. Vokoun posted a rock solid 2.20 goal against average, and the Predators ended up in the playoff hunt for the rest of the season. Although an 0-15 finish to the season was disappointing, Vokoun’s presence on the team served as a wakeup call for the Predators.
In 2003-04, Nashville served notice to the rest of the NHL that they were on their way up. With some incredible play in the net by Vokoun and some mid-season roster moves that included obtaining Steve Sullivan from the Chicago Blackhawks and Brad Bombardir from the Minnesota Wild, the Predators found themselves with their first winning record of 38-29-11-4, and a spot in the NHL postseason.
Nashville Predators ticket holders are expecting their squad to live up to the high hopes built by the team’s 2004 playoff appearance? Only time will tell. It’s obvious however, that the Predators are ready to fill the ice at Gaylord Entertainment Center with a talented mix of experience and youth. That commitment to improving the Predators talent mix is a key element of punching the Predators ticket back to the NHL Playoffs.
