Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators is a professional hockey team that plays in the Central Division of the National Hockey League's Western Conference. After a failed bid to convince the New Jersey Devils to relocate to Nashville, the NHL approved the Nashville franchise on June 25, 1997. Season ticket sales began and the saber-toothed tiger logo was chosen in September of 1997. The team name of the Predators was chosen by Nashville fans and announced on November 13, 1997. On May 4, 1998, the franchise was officially announced by the NHL. The first Predators game was held on October 10, 1998, and was a 1-0 loss to the Florida Panthers. The team would not make the playoffs until the 2003-04 season, when they were ousted in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings. The team has been to the playoffs fie times since then, but has never won a division title nor any playoff series.http://predators.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=37093

2009 was a disappointing season for Nashville, as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. However the team's tenth anniversary season saw youngsters like Pekka Rinne emerge, and veterans like J.P. Dumont succeed. However, the big story was with team captain Jason Arnott, who broke the franchise single season scoring record, with 33 goals on the year. He broke a record previously set by Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan, each who scored 31 in 2006. http://predators.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=tea_his_Timeline Arnott broke the record in a game on April 10, 2009 when he scored twice against the Minnesota Wild. Arnott's skill and leadership would help guide Nashville back to the playoffs the following season.http://predators.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8459429&season=20092010&view=gamelog