# 1998–99 Nashville Predators season

The 1998–99 Nashville Predators season was the team's inaugural season. The team accumulated 28 wins and 47 losses, with seven games ending in ties for a total of 63 points, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division and 12th in the Western Conference. The team failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Off-season

In the expansion draft, the Predators chose five goaltenders, including Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun, who would become their starting goaltenders, and Mike Richter, who was a free agent and chose not to sign with the Predators. In the 1998 NHL entry draft, the Predators chose David Legwand, a center, as their first-ever draft pick, second overall. On July 6, the Predators signed veteran forward Tom Fitzgerald to a three-year contract and immediately named him the franchise's first captain.

## Regular season

The Predators struggled on the power-play during the regular season, finishing 27th overall in the NHL in power-play goals scored (40). They also had the lowest penalty-kill percentage in the league, at 78.99%.

### Season standings

Central Division :
| R | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 1202 | 93 |
| 2 | 5 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 1308 | 87 |
| 3 | 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 1807 | 70 |
| 4 | 12 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 1420 | 63 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 51 | 19 | 12 | 236 | 168 | 114 |
| 2 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 98 |
| 3 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 93 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 205 | 197 | 90 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 87 |
| 6 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 215 | 206 | 83 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 31 | 33 | 18 | 196 | 191 | 80 |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 78 |
| 9 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 72 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 70 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 189 | 222 | 69 |
| 12 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 63 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 58 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

## Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season :
October: 3–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 10, 19980–1Florida Panthers (1998–99)0–1–0Recap
2WOctober 13, 19983–2Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)1–1–0Recap
3LOctober 17, 19981–3@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)1–2–0Recap
4TOctober 19, 19982–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)1–2–1Recap
5LOctober 21, 19982–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)1–3–1Recap
6LOctober 23, 19983–4Calgary Flames (1998–99)1–4–1Recap
7LOctober 24, 19984–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)1–5–1Recap
8WOctober 27, 19985–4Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)2–5–1Recap
9WOctober 31, 19983–2Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)3–5–1Recap :
November: 6–7–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10LNovember 4, 19982–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)3–6–1Recap
11WNovember 6, 19982–1@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)4–6–1Recap
12LNovember 7, 19983–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)4–7–1Recap
13WNovember 10, 19984–2@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)5–7–1Recap
14WNovember 12, 19983–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)6–7–1Recap
15LNovember 14, 19981–5@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)6–8–1Recap
16LNovember 17, 19981–2Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)6–9–1Recap
17WNovember 19, 19983–2St. Louis Blues (1998–99)7–9–1Recap
18LNovember 21, 19983–6New York Islanders (1998–99)7–10–1Recap
19LNovember 24, 19980–4@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)7–11–1Recap
20WNovember 25, 19984–3Calgary Flames (1998–99)8–11–1Recap
21WNovember 27, 19983–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)9–11–1Recap
22LNovember 29, 19981–5@ New York Rangers (1998–99)9–12–1Recap :
December: 4–6–2 (home: 3–3–2; road: 1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
23LDecember 1, 19981–3Ottawa Senators (1998–99)9–13–1Recap
24LDecember 5, 19981–3Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)9–14–1Recap
25TDecember 8, 19983–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (1998–99)9–14–2Recap
26WDecember 10, 19982–1San Jose Sharks (1998–99)10–14–2Recap
27TDecember 12, 19982–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (1998–99)10–14–3Recap
28LDecember 16, 19981–6@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)10–15–3Recap
29LDecember 17, 19981–3@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)10–16–3Recap
30WDecember 19, 19986–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)11–16–3Recap
31WDecember 23, 19985–3Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)12–16–3Recap
32WDecember 26, 19983–1Washington Capitals (1998–99)13–16–3Recap
33LDecember 28, 19980–1@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)13–17–3Recap
34LDecember 30, 19982–5Boston Bruins (1998–99)13–18–3Recap :
January: 5–9–1 (home: 3–5–1; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
35LJanuary 1, 19995–6St. Louis Blues (1998–99)13–19–3Recap
36LJanuary 2, 19991–4@ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)13–20–3Recap
37WJanuary 4, 19992–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)14–20–3Recap
38LJanuary 7, 19993–4San Jose Sharks (1998–99)14–21–3Recap
39TJanuary 9, 19993–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (1998–99)14–21–4Recap
40LJanuary 11, 19990–8@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)14–22–4Recap
41LJanuary 14, 19991–2 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)14–23–4Recap
42WJanuary 15, 19992–0Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)15–23–4Recap
43LJanuary 18, 19991–8@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)15–24–4Recap
44WJanuary 19, 19994–1Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)16–24–4Recap
45LJanuary 21, 19992–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)16–25–4Recap
46LJanuary 26, 19991–4Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)16–26–4Recap
47WJanuary 28, 19994–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)17–26–4Recap
48WJanuary 30, 19993–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)18–26–4Recap
49LJanuary 31, 19991–5Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)18–27–4Recap :
February: 3–6–2 (home: 0–4–1; road: 3–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50TFebruary 4, 19992–2 OT@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)18–27–5Recap
51LFebruary 5, 19992–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)18–28–5Recap
52LFebruary 9, 19992–5Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)18–29–5Recap
53WFebruary 12, 19992–1@ New York Islanders (1998–99)19–29–5Recap
54LFebruary 13, 19992–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)19–30–5Recap
55LFebruary 15, 19994–7New York Rangers (1998–99)19–31–5Recap
56TFebruary 19, 19994–4 OTColorado Avalanche (1998–99)19–31–6Recap
57WFebruary 20, 19994–3@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)20–31–6Recap
58LFebruary 23, 19993–4Dallas Stars (1998–99)20–32–6Recap
59WFebruary 24, 19992–1@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)21–32–6Recap
60LFebruary 27, 19991–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)21–33–6Recap :
March: 5–8–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
61LMarch 2, 19991–5St. Louis Blues (1998–99)21–34–6Recap
62WMarch 4, 19994–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)22–34–6Recap
63LMarch 5, 19992–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)22–35–6Recap
64LMarch 7, 19993–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)22–36–6Recap
65LMarch 10, 19992–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)22–37–6Recap
66WMarch 12, 19995–3Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)23–37–6Recap
67WMarch 14, 19993–1Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)24–37–6Recap
68LMarch 16, 19992–4Calgary Flames (1998–99)24–38–6Recap
69LMarch 18, 19992–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)24–39–6Recap
70TMarch 20, 19991–1 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)24–39–7Recap
71WMarch 24, 19993–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)25–39–7Recap
72LMarch 26, 19991–4@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)25–40–7Recap
73LMarch 28, 19990–3Dallas Stars (1998–99)25–41–7Recap
74WMarch 30, 19993–2@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)26–41–7Recap :
April: 2–6–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
75LApril 1, 19991–2Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)26–42–7Recap
76WApril 3, 19993–2Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)27–42–7Recap
77LApril 7, 19991–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)27–43–7Recap
78WApril 9, 19994–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)28–43–7Recap
79LApril 12, 19993–4Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)28–44–7Recap
80LApril 14, 19992–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)28–45–7Recap
81LApril 15, 19992–4@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)28–46–7Recap
82LApril 17, 19991–4New Jersey Devils (1998–99)28–47–7Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 7 | Cliff Ronning† | C | 72 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −6 | 40 |
| 22 | Greg Johnson | C | 68 | 16 | 34 | 50 | −8 | 24 |
| 25 | Sergei Krivokrasov | RW | 70 | 25 | 23 | 48 | −5 | 42 |
| 71 | Sebastien Bordeleau | C | 72 | 16 | 24 | 40 | −14 | 26 |
| 24 | Scott Walker | RW | 71 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | Tom Fitzgerald | RW | 80 | 13 | 19 | 32 | −18 | 48 |
| 19 | Andrew Brunette | LW | 77 | 11 | 20 | 31 | −10 | 26 |
| 10 | Patric Kjellberg | RW | 71 | 11 | 20 | 31 | −13 | 24 |
| 20 | Jamie Heward | D | 63 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −24 | 44 |
| 43 | Vitali Yachmenev | LW | 55 | 7 | 10 | 17 | −10 | 10 |
| 15 | Drake Berehowsky | D | 74 | 2 | 15 | 17 | −9 | 140 |
| 28 | Denny Lambert | LW | 76 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −3 | 218 |
| 42 | Joel Bouchard | D | 64 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −10 | 60 |
| 23 | Blair Atcheynum‡ | RW | 53 | 8 | 6 | 14 | −10 | 16 |
| 27 | John Slaney | D | 46 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −12 | 14 |
| 6 | Bob Boughner | D | 79 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −6 | 137 |
| 44 | Kimmo Timonen | D | 50 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 30 |
| 5 | Jan Vopat | D | 55 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 28 |
| 16 | Ville Peltonen | LW | 14 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Darren Turcotte | C | 40 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −11 | 16 |
| 12 | Rob Valicevic | RW | 19 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 18 | Mark Mowers | C | 30 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −4 | 4 |
| 36 | J. J. Daigneault‡ | D | 35 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 38 |
| 32 | Jeff Daniels | LW | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
| 7 | Jeff Nelson | C | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| 17 | Patrick Cote | LW | 70 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −7 | 242 |
| 4 | Jay More | D | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| 8 | Doug Friedman | LW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 40 | Karlis Skrastins | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Tomas Vokoun | G | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 7 | Greg de Vries‡ | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |
| 1 | Mike Dunham | G | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 35 | Eric Fichaud | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 47 | Matt Henderson | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 2 | Dan Keczmer† | D | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 12 |
| 11 | David Legwand | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Chris Mason | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 12 | Brad Smyth | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 6 |
| 50 | Petr Sykora | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 2 | Rob Zettler | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 1 | Mike Dunham | 44 | 16 | 23 | 3 | 1387 | 127 | 3.08 | .908 | 1 | 2472 |
| 29 | Tomas Vokoun | 37 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 1041 | 96 | 2.95 | .908 | 1 | 1954 |
| 35 | Eric Fichaud | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 229 | 24 | 3.22 | .895 | 0 | 447 |
| 30 | Chris Mason | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 6 | 5.22 | .864 | 0 | 69 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sergei Krivokrasov | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Rob Valicevic | December 8, 1998 |
| First game | Chris Mason | December 16, 1998 |
| First game | Kimmo Timonen | December 16, 1998 |
| First game | Mark Mowers | January 15, 1999 |
| First game | Karlis Skrastins | February 9, 1999 |
| First game | Matt Henderson | April 14, 1999 |
| First game | Petr Sykora | April 14, 1999 |
| First game | David Legwand | April 17, 1999 |

## Transactions

This section will cover signings from May 4, 1998, until the end of the 1998–99 season.

### Free agent signings

Nashville signed the following free agents between June and September 1998: Jayson More (June 4), Tom Fitzgerald (July 6), David Gosselin (July 9), Jeff Staples (July 16), Brad Smyth (July 16), Jamie Heward (Aug. 6), Andrew Brunette (Sept. 2), Vitali Yachmenev (Sept. 2), Sebastien Bordeleau (Sept. 3) and Sergei Krivokrasov (Sept. 11).

### All season trades

| Date | Traded | Acquired | Acquired From |
| May 29 | future considerations | Marian Cisar | Los Angeles Kings |
| June 26 | future considerations | Kimmo Timonen and Jan Vopat | Los Angeles Kings |
| June 26 | future considerations | Darren Turcotte | St. Louis Blues |
| June 26 | 1998 5th round pick | Ville Peltonen | San Jose Sharks |
| June 26 | future considerations | Sergei Krivokrasov | Chicago Blackhawks |
| June 26 | future considerations | Jim Dowd | Calgary Flames |
| June 26 | future considerations | Sebastien Bordeleau | Montreal Canadiens |
| June 26 | 1998 7th round pick | Dominic Roussel and Jeff Staples | Philadelphia Flyers |
| June 30 | 1999 7th round pick | Mike Sullivan | Phoenix Coyotes |
| July 7 | future considerations | Vitali Yachmenev | Los Angeles Kings |
| July 9 | future considerations | Tony Hrkac | Dallas Stars |
| July 14 | Doug Brown | Petr Sykora, 1999 3rd round pick, and 1999 conditional pick | Detroit Red Wings |
| August 19 | future considerations | Jeff Nelson | Washington Capitals |
| Oct 1 | Jim Dowd and Mikhail Shtalenkov | Drake Berehowsky, Eric Fichaud and Greg de Vries | Edmonton Oilers |
| Oct 5 | Dominic Roussel | Marc Moro and Chris Mason | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
| Oct 25 | Greg de Vries | 1999 3rd round draft pick | Colorado Avalanche |
| Oct 31 | future considerations | Cliff Ronning and Richard Lintner | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Jan 13 | J. J. Daigneault | future considerations | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Jan 26 | future considerations | Sergei Klimentiev | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Mar 23 | Blair Atcheynum | 2000 6th round pick | St. Louis Blues |
| Apr 13 | 1999 4th round pick | Andy Berenzweig | New York Islanders |
| May 3 | Brad Smyth | future considerations | New York Rangers |

## Draft picks
### Expansion draft

These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Predators were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential.
| # | Player | Drafted from |
| 1. | Frederic Chabot (G) | Los Angeles Kings |
| 2. | Mike Dunham (G) | New Jersey Devils |
| 3. | Mike Richter (G) | New York Rangers |
| 4. | Mikhail Shtalenkov (G) | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
| 5. | Tomas Vokoun (G) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 6. | Joel Bouchard (D) | Calgary Flames |
| 7. | Bob Boughner (D) | Buffalo Sabres |
| 8. | J. J. Daigneault (D) | New York Islanders |
| 9. | Al Iafrate (D) | San Jose Sharks |
| 10. | Uwe Krupp (D) | Colorado Avalanche |
| 11. | John Slaney (D) | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 12. | Rob Zettler (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 13. | Chris Armstrong (D) | Florida Panthers |
| 14. | Blair Atcheynum (RW) | St. Louis Blues |
| 15. | Paul Brousseau (F) | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 16. | Doug Brown (RW) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 17. | Andrew Brunette (LW) | Washington Capitals |
| 18. | Patrick Cote (LW) | Dallas Stars |
| 19. | Jeff Daniels (LW) | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 20. | Craig Darby (C) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 21. | Doug Friedman (LW) | Edmonton Oilers |
| 22. | Tony Hrkac (C) | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 23. | Greg Johnson (C) | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 24. | Denny Lambert (LW) | Ottawa Senators |
| 25. | Mike Sullivan (C) | Boston Bruins |
| 26. | Scott Walker (RW) | Vancouver Canucks |

### Entry draft

Nashville's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 2 | David Legwand | Center | United States | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 3 | 60 | Denis Arkhipov | Center | Russia | Ak Bars Kazan (Russia) |
| 3 | 85 | Geoff Koch | Left Wing | United States | University of Michigan (Big Ten) |
| 4 | 88 | Kent Sauer | Defense | United States | North Iowa Huskies (USHL) |
| 5 | 138 | Martin Beauchesne | Defense | Canada | Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 147 | Craig Brunel | Right Wing | United States | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 8 | 202 | Martin Bartek | Left Wing | Slovakia | Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 230 | Karlis Skrastins | Defense | Latvia | TPS (SM-liiga) |