Nashville Predators Possible Retired Numbers

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Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber (6) against the San Jose Sharks in game four of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

The Nashville Predators will someday have some numbers hanging from their rafters.

Both the Nashville Predators and the NHL have had an interesting offseason, to say the least. The hockey world experienced the loss of Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, and the retiring of the ever so elusive Pavel Datsyuk. Then there was a recent blockbuster trade of longtime fan favorite and Captain Shea Weber for P.K. Subban.

For me, those events became an equation in my head where I started to think about the great players that have worn that saber tooth tiger on their chest for The Nashville Predators.

Tomas Vokoun

The Nashville Predators had another great goaltender between the pipes before Pekka Rinne, and that was number 29, Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun was drafted in 1994 by the Montreal Canadiens. He only played one game for the Canadiens and in 20 minutes he let 4 goals get by him and his night was over in Montreal. In the 1998 Expansion Draft, the Nashville Predators selected Vokoun from Montreal.

His first two seasons Vokoun split time between Nashville and the Milwaukee Admirals before he was able to establish his spot in Nashville as Mike Dunham‘s backup. Even though he didn’t get the majority of wins Vokoun still proved he could become an elite goalie for the organization. In the 2002-2003 season, he was given the starting job playing 68 games in 82 after Mike Dunham was traded to The New York Rangers that included Marek Zidlicky and other assets.

His next two season would prove to be his best as a Predator. Vokoun played in 73 games out of 82 winning 34, losing 29, tying 10, 1,958 shots, 178 goals against, .909 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. With that season Vokoun and The Nashville Predators made their first trip to The Stanley Cup Playoffs in the 8th spot to play The Detroit Red Wings. The Predators made it a fun one for the long-time rivals by forcing the series to 6 games including a Game 3 win and a Game 4 shutout win in Nashville.

Vokoun only lasted as a Predator for two more years and one more playoff appearance as a Pred before being shipped off to the Florida Panthers. Vokoun was huge in the establishing the defense first mentality the Predators have always had under coach Barry Trotz. He was one of the Original Predators that made hockey great in The Music City and put Nashville on the hockey map. And for that, his number deserves a banner in Bridgestone Arena.

Next: The Home-Grown Star Defenseman

Shea Weber

The Nashville Predators former Captain Shea Weber has to be on this list. I mean would it even be possible to skip over someone like Shea on this kind of list? Sure you could say I’ve added him due to the emotions of losing him to a trade, but Weber was a brute force for the Preds for his entire career. The Nashville Predators had a solid draft in 2003 which included Ryan Suter in the first, Kevin Klein, and Shea Weber both in the second round.

Weber played in 28 games in his rookie season back in the 2005-2006 season. The following seasons showed that Weber was going to be a force in the NHL. After his rookie season Weber only had two seasons where didn’t score more than 40 points. That included the lockout season and his third season where he had a few injuries. Along with over 40 points, Weber was able to have eight 15 or more goal seasons throughout his career, and three were over twenty goal seasons. He did all of this as a defenseman.

Along with his stellar play in the NHL, Shea Weber was able to gather multiple medals internationally. He won Gold in 2005 for the Junior Worlds Championships, won Gold in 2007 and Silver in 2009 for the Worlds Championships, and finally won two Gold medals in 2010 and 2014 during the Winter Olympics all for his country Canada.

What we can’t forget is that wicked slap shot that Shea has. The reason for a lot of his goals are those one-timer slap shots that come at you so fast you either can’t see it in time or it might as well knock you and the puck back into the net. That last one didn’t happen, but I can dream, right?

His most infamous moment was during an international game against Germany where Weber hit the puck so hard it went through the net. They kept the game in play because they though he just missed the net until they looked closer to see that it did go in and then back out the back.

Shea Weber was more than a captain and more than just a fan favorite. He not only holds the teams records for most goals, points, and assists by a defenseman, but he was the first true home-grown NHL Star out of Nashville. I hope the Preds take a good hard look at putting number Six above the ice.

Next: The Original Predator

David Legwand

The first ever Nashville Predator has to be on this list right? Nashville had the 2nd pick in their first ever NHL Draft and after Vincent Lecavalier was picked by Tampa Bay it left Nashville with their center of the franchise in David Legwand. When you look at Legwand’s stats you notice one major aspect in his game as a Pred, and that was consistency.

Leggy was never flashy or score huge numbers, but he was consistent with what the Predators asked of him. He had only two seasons with 20 goals or more and had multiple 30 point and 40 point seasons. He was that typical two-way center that would help on the penalty kill and powerplay. As of now, until Filip Forsberg breaks it, Legwand holds the teams records for most games played, goals scored, most assists, and most points over a career.

My fondest memory of Legwand will be in the same category as one of the fondest memories in Nashville History. Game 6 against the Anaheim Ducks in the 2011 NHL Playoffs. Nashville had just won their first ever overtime playoff game in Anaheim and now held a 3-2 lead with only a few seconds left. The hockey gods couldn’t have written it better. Legwand skated down the side and shot the puck into the empty net to seal the deal and give Nashville its first ever series win. I was at that game, and that memory will last with me for a life time.

Legwand spent 15 seasons with the Preds before being traded in that 15th season to his hometown of Detroit for a now familiar name in Calle Jarnkrok. Legwand may not be seen on the same level for most like Lecavalier is, especially since Vinny won a Cup with Tampa. To Nashville, David Legwand will always be the Original Predator and always the fan favorite. I can’t imagine anyone else in that number 11 jersey.

Next: Another Elite Defenseman

Kimmo Timonen

The Nashville Predators made a deal in the 1998 Expansion Draft with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings would trade Kimmo Timonen, who they drafted in 1993, along with another player if The Predators agreed not to take Gary Galley during the expansion. Even though Timonen was drafted in 1993 he played for his home country of Finland before playing in the NHL. Having never played for the Kings, Timonen started his rookie year split between Nashville and Milwaukee.

After his first season he became a mainstay on the Predators roster and as each season came he got better and better as an offensive defenseman. He never scored 20 goals like Shea Weber, but he contributed to multiple 40 point and 50 point seasons. Timonen is 4th overall and 2nd for a defenseman when it comes to the team records of games played, assists, and overall points. Timonen becomes the standard for Nashville before Weber became the new defensive face to the team.

Timonen had his best season statistically during his final season as a Predator. He played in 80 games tying his highest season goal total of 13, his most assists in a season with 42, and most points in a season with 55. Timonen was in his early 30’s when we traded him with Scott Hartnell to The Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a first-round pick that turned into Jonathon Blum. That didn’t turn out too well.

It’s a shame to see the business side of hockey take over sometimes when it comes to trading players like Kimmo. You always hope players like him could just retire a Predator and you don’t have to see them go. The good news for Kimmo Timonen was how he ended his career. After battling blood clots found in both his leg and his lungs Timonen was able to play for one more season. He was traded from Philly to Chicago in the 2014-2015 season where he played only 16 games, but got to enjoy the greatest prize in all of sports, The Stanley Cup.

It was sad to see a Predator great not only defeat the Preds in the playoffs, but to also raise the Cup with a bitter rival. But with all that aside I’m glad number 44 got to raise the Cup in his last season, and I hope for his banner in Nashville soon.

Next: The Rinne Wall

Pekka Rinne

The Nashville Predators have known two elite goalies throughout their franchise’s history. Tomas Vokoun and Pekka Rinne. Rinne was drafted by The Nashville Predators in the 8th round with the 258th pick in the 2004 Draft. He spent his first season on North American ice in the 2005-2006 season where he started for the Milwaukee Admirals playing in 51 games, with 30 wins, 18 losses, 2 ties, 1,451 shots against, 139 goals against, and 2 shutouts.

In 2008, Chris Mason was traded to the St. Louis Blues in favor of Dan Ellis as the starter. This gave Pekka the backup position after just one year with the Admirals. It wasn’t long before Rinne was able to take the job away from Ellis and become more of a work horse as the season went on.

Excluding the lockout year and his injury year, Pekka Rinne roughly started 50 games or more in a season Including the 2011-2012 season where he started 72 games and posted 43 wins, 18 losses, 8 overtime losses, 2,153 shots against,166 goals allowed, a save percentage of .923, and 5 shutouts.

That season was the first of three seasons, 2011, 2012, and 2015, where Pekka was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender in the league. In back to back seasons Pekka Rinne became a wall and helped the Nashville Predators win their first two round-one series ever, against the Ducks and then the Red Wings. In the 2013 season, Rinne had an infection in his hip that kept him out for a majority of that season.

More often than not he has been the reason that we have stayed in most games. Granted his not always at his best and recently with the new offensive regime, he doesn’t have to always be the best player on the ice. Rinne currently owns the team records in career wins with 238 and single season wins with 43. I hope we provide number 35 with a Stanley Cup to his name so we can retire his number into the rafters as the best goaltender in Predators history.

I know there can be countless names of fan favorites that can be added to this list. There is Paul Kariya, Steve Sullivan, Peter Forsberg, Mike Fisher, heck I’d consider the biggest fan favorite of them all in Jordin Tootoo, but these five to me are some of the best of the best who have played for The Nashville Predators.

Next: Nashville Predators: Naming the Next Captain

Hopefully, at some point, the Nashville Predators consider retiring a few numbers.

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