The Predator Mascot
The Predators are one of two professional sports teams in Tennessee to have never relocated from another location.
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The team has played its home games at Bridgestone Arena since 1998.
Quick Facts
- Role
- Official team mascot and crowd-entertainment performer
- Affiliation
- Nashville Predators (NHL, Central Division, Western Conference)
- First appears
- 1998–99 inaugural season
- Status
- Active
- Home arena (current)
- Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
- Team colors
- Navy blue
- gold
- white
Lore & Background
The club was founded in 1997, when the NHL granted an expansion franchise to Craig Leipold, with the team beginning play in the 1998–99 season. After five seasons, the Predators qualified for their first Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2003–04 season. In 2008, ownership of the team was transferred from Leipold to a locally based ownership group. The Predators advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 2017, but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. In the following season, the Predators won their first Presidents' Trophy and Central Division title.
Reader's Guide
The Predators are currently affiliated with two minor league teams: the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL), and the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. The team's logo, a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis), references a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971. The franchise name 'Predators' was chosen by owner Craig Leipold and announced on November 13, 1997.
Did You Know?
- The Predators began play during the 1998–99 season, taking the ice for the first time on October 10, 1998.
- The Predators became only the fourth NHL franchise to start a season 8–0, doing so in the 2005–06 season.
- Goaltender Chris Mason became the ninth goaltender to score a goal in the NHL during the 2005–06 season.
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