Wow, 25 years since Y2K, y'all are getting old.
I might be too, but this quarter century is marked by the NHL by creating "Quarter Century" teams for each of their franchises. The Nashville Predators quarter century team is also special because essential it is giving you the top 6 forwards, top 4 defensemen, and top 2 goalies in franchise history.
Now, the question that rises up when anyone makes a list is, did they get it right? We're going to explore that as we break down the NHL's list and see what they got right, and yell very loudly about what they got wrong.
Nashville Predators Quarter Century First Team
Forwards: Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher, Paul Kariya
Defensemen: Roman Josi, Shea Weber
Goaltender: Pekka Rinne
Breakdown
Pekka Rinne is the obvious choice here. There will be no issue with putting the franchise's best goaltender at the top of the list.
Same for the defensemen here as well. Roman Josi is the franchise leader in scoring and probably will end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Shea Weber already is in the HOF and all over the franchise record book. Two more easy wins for NHL.com.
Filip Forsberg again, easy win. He's 2nd all time in points and might actually catch Josi before both have finished their careers. He's the 1st overall in goals, the 3rd in assists, 1st in power play goals, 1st in game winning goals, you can't make a case for leaving him off the list in any way. He's also spent his entire career with the Predators.
Now, Mike Fisher and Paul Kariya both should fall under scrutiny when it comes to first team honors.
Starting with Kariya, his 164 games (or two full seasons) with the Nashville Predators were incredibly impressive. He produced 161 points (55 goals and 106 assists), and was just about a point a game player during his time with the team. He was a dynamite free agent acquisition, arguably still the biggest in franchise history, especially coming out of the lockout, and it paid off on the ice.
Still, does two seasons really place Kayria above longer term players with higher Predators numbers? His stretch was undeinably impressive, but when you think of Paul Kayria, you don't think of his Predators stint. As a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, it might be nitpicking a touch to move him off the list, but his inclusion is more about the player than the actual team.
With Fisher, you could make a similar argument but for different reasons. A former Predators captain, he was famously traded to the Predators in a pretty one-sided deal, and it made dating and eventually marrying Carrie Underwood far easier.
Fisher's Ottawa Senators stats are more impressive and more extensive than his Predators ones, and he was only the captain of the team for one season before retiring. Then coming back for a handful of games and providing "meh" results, before retiring again.
Fisher was a player who produced well, but he's 14th overall in scoring over his eight seasons with the team. He's eighth in goals, and 20th in assists. The categories where he is in the top-10 are even strength goals and hits. He was a harder worker and on ice leader, but his off the ice life is arguably as big as his on the ice one, and is probably what got him on the list.
Is Mike Fisher really one of the top 6 Predators forwards, ever?
Nashville Predators Quarter Century Second Team
Forwards: Ryan Johansen, David Legwand, Steve Sullivan
Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Kimmo Timonen
Goaltender: Juuse Saros
For this one, Juuse Saros is again the correct choice. You could say Tomas Vokoun for carrying the team for the first half of its existence, but Saros has the edge in games, wins, and the other major goalie categories.
For the defensemen, Kimmo Timonen is the next man up behind Josi and Weber in the offensive categories, playing eight years and eighth all time in Predators scoring. He put together an impressive career for a former 10th-round pick.
Mattias Ekholm has a case that is more shaky. Ryan Ellis has more points in a shorter time frame, and played all but four games with the Predators. Ekholm's legacy is already advancing beyond the Predators. You also have players like Ryan Suter, and Dan Hamhius who don't have the same lofty offensive numbers but were long-term top pair guys who were strong in all aspects of the game.
As far as the 2nd team forwards, only David Legwand should be safe. He was here for 15 years, is second in goals and assists, third in points, and until just last night was the all-time franchise leader in games played, just being passed by Josi on February 3.
Ryan Johansen and Steve Sullivan are fine choices, but Martin Erat is a player who probably should've been mentioned. He's played more Predators games than both, is 4th all time in points, has more goals and assists than both, and spent 11 seasons with the squad. His consistency and longevity made a big impact on the franchise, and not seeing him could raise some eyebrows.
You could also consider a player like Craig Smith, who had a lengthy tenure (661 games across nine seasons) and is seventh all time on the points list.
This is no slight to Johansen or Sullivan, but there were other options who had stronger ties to the Predators organization to consider there. Plus if you're crunching all the numbers, are these players among the top-six Predators forwards ever?
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