Highlights Plentiful for Preds Throughout 2021-22 Campaign

There aren't enough adjectives in the English language to describe the past eight months for the Nashville Predators.
Those who work in the sport often say no two days are alike, and the Preds have seen a little bit of everything over that span. Of course, the ending to the 2021-22 season on the ice wasn't what anyone was hoping for, but when taking a step back, the full scope of the campaign provided quite a range of accomplishments both on and off the ice.
From individual and franchise records set throughout the season, a jersey retirement and outdoor game in the span of 72 hours and another year of community impacts to make Nashville a better place, the Predators continued to rewrite their history books over and over again - not to mention doing so in front of full crowds once more.
Before the offseason takes over and the focus shifts to the future, here's a look back at a season that will never be forgotten.

Just one day prior to 2021 Opening Night, the Predators locked up one of their own as defenseman Mattias Ekholm inked a four-year, $25 million contract to keep him in Nashville through the 2025-26 campaign.
"When you think about foundational pieces on our hockey team, Mattias Ekholm is certainly at the top of the list, and we couldn't be happier to get this deal done with the start of the regular season upon us," Predators General Manager David Poile said at the time. "An alternate captain who leads both vocally and by example, Mattias brings stability and size to our defense corps and has embraced serving as a mentor to the younger players on our team."

As the Preds made it through the first month of the season, an annual event arrived that is always a favorite on the calendar.
On Nov. 12, and on behalf of the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund presented by Twice Daily, the Nashville Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub presented Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt with a check for $335,000.21. The 365 Fund, which was created during the 2012-13 season by recently retired goaltender Pekka Rinne and former captain Shea Weber, has now donated more than $3.6 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the life-changing pediatric cancer research that takes place at Children's Hospital.

Just days later, Bridgestone Arena received its first accolade of the season when it was nominated for Arena of the Year for 2021 by Pollstar Magazine. This was Bridgestone Arena's 14th consecutive and 17th overall nomination for the award.
Just prior to Thanksgiving, Predators forward Luke Kunin found a way to give back by starting the Luke Kunin T1D Fund with all the money raised going towards the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation research efforts into Type 1 diabetes.

Filip Forsberg became the third player in Predators franchise history to score four goals in a game when he did so against Columbus in a 6-0 victory on Nov. 30, and to close out the month, the Preds debuted a new season of Grades & Blades presented by Fifth Third Bank at Ford Ice Center Antioch, the team's latest initiative in conjunction with Fifth Third Bank and the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.
Grades & Blades is a program born out of the Predators organization's GUIDER initiative, whose goal is to utilize the resources, relationships and reach of the Preds to implement change via Nashville's staff, fans, the sport and community. Grades & Blades was one of the first on-ice components of GUIDER and rewards children for their good grades and attendance at school with a free, learn-to-skate opportunity every Saturday morning.

On Dec. 9, Predators Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor Gerry Helper announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31, 2021, following a 40-plus year career in the National Hockey League.
A Day One employee, Helper joined the Predators and Bridgestone Arena in October 1997 and served in various communications roles, and additionally, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of the Nashville Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub. At the time of his retirement, Helper and the Foundation had awarded more than $7.9 million in grants to Nashville-area charitable organizations, including a single-season record of $735,000 in 2020-21.
Bridgestone Arena was recognized once again on Dec. 13 when the building ranked first in both the United States and the world for concert ticket sales, according to the international trade publication Pollstar's End of Year Sales Report. Pollstar announced Bridgestone Arena ticket sales as 336,227, inclusive solely of show and concert tickets.

The odds seemed to be against the Predators on Dec. 16 as they hosted the Colorado Avalanche with seven players and five coaches unable to participate due to their placement on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list, but two goals from Forsberg and a 5-2 win said otherwise. Coaches Karl Taylor and Scott Ford, who are usually behind the bench in Milwaukee, helped to guide the Preds through the unprecedented circumstances for a pair of outings.
One night later, with the total now up to eight players on the COVID list, the Preds won again - a 3-2 overtime victory in Chicago to extend their win streak to seven games.

"I think back to what Fil said the other night - you've kind of got to expect the unexpected in the world right now," Preds forward Tanner Jeannot, who scored the OT winner against the Blackhawks, said at the time. "So, you just try to take it an hour, not just a day at a time, but an hour at a time right now and just try to be as prepared as you can be for the next game and your next shift. And like I said, the character of this group, everyone's been doing that, and we've just got to keep it going."
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships returned to Nashville on Jan. 3-9 as the calendar flipped to 2022, to mark the final qualifying competition to determine which athletes were nominated to skate for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Predators goaltender Juuse Saros was named the NHL's Second Star of the Month to close out January; the Finn went 8-2-2 in the month of January with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. Saros made 424 saves on 454 shots and had a single-game save percentage of at least .943 eight times in the month.

Saros then joined Predators Captain Roman Josi in Vegas to represent Nashville during 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend, the first such appearance for Saros and the fourth for Josi.
The Preds announced an exclusive partnership with Nashville-based El Jefe to broadcast eight of the team's remaining games in the 2021-22 regular season and each playoff home game on the radio in Spanish, a groundbreaking agreement in the market.
El Jefe's first game turned out to be one for the ages as legendary Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne had his No. 35 raised to the Bridgestone Arena rafters on Feb. 24 as the Preds hosted the Dallas Stars. The Predators won the game in a shootout, but just as he was so many times during his career, Rinne was the star of the night.
"Nashville will always be my home," Rinne said during the ceremony, "and I'll always be a Nashville Predator."

Just two days later, the Predators concluded one of the top weekends in franchise history as they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium for the 2022 NHL Stadium Series - the first-ever outdoor NHL game played in Nashville.
"It was awesome," Josi said of the overall atmosphere. "It was pretty unbelievable and surreal coming out of the locker room and seeing the full stadium. And our fans, I mean, it's unbelievable. Every time there's something on hockey, something going on here, they show up and the support is unbelievable. We wanted to win this game so bad for the fans. Obviously, we couldn't get a win for them, but we're very grateful for our fans. It's something we'll never forget."

The Preds Girls Classic took over Bridgestone Arena for a weekend in March with financial support from the NHL and NHLPA's Industry Growth Fund (IGF). The tournament was free to all 20 of the teams who participated in five divisions with players ranging from ages 14 to 19, and each team was guaranteed at least one game at the Arena, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the participants.
As the final two months of the regular season arrived, the Predators continued to shatter records on the ice on a seemingly nightly basis. On St. Patrick's Day in Philadelphia, Forsberg tied David Legwand's franchise goal-scoring record with his 210th career tally, and Josi set Nashville's franchise record for assists in a single season with 55. Jeannot became the second rookie in franchise history to score 20 goals in a season, joining Forsberg (26 G in 2014-15), and he also broke the franchise record for hits in a single season with 212.

Forsberg recorded goal No. 211 two nights later in a win against Toronto, and two days after that, Josi was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after posting three helpers in each of three of his appearances that week to top the NHL in assists (9), points (9) and plus/minus (tied; +6).
That same night in Anaheim - March 21 - Forsberg and Duchene each scored twice in a win against the Ducks in another record-setting outing. Both Forsberg and Duchene tied the franchise record - in the third period, no less - for goals in a single season with 34, but then Forsberg finished the night with an empty-netter for No. 35 and another spot in the record books. Forsberg also tallied five points on the evening (2g-3a) to tie the franchise record for points in a single game and become the first Preds player to record multiple five-point outings for the club.

March concluded with Josi being named the month's First Star by the NHL after posting 28 points in that span. He became just the third defenseman in NHL history to accumulate as many in a calendar month - following Paul Coffey (3x) and Bobby Orr (2x). He also recorded four straight games with at least three points (2g-11a) from March 13-19, and Orr (6 GP in 1970-71) is the only other defenseman in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
Josi recorded a career-best 13-game point streak (4g-23a) from March 2-27 and became the first active defenseman to record multiple point streaks of at least 10 games in his career and first since Nicklas Lidstrom (1999-00 and 2010-11).

After being named the Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year earlier in the season, Predators broadcaster Terry Crisp was celebrated by the franchise after announcing his retirement after 60 years in hockey - and 24 of them spent with a microphone for the Preds.
The announcement of the establishment of the Crisp College Scholarship Fund came first, and then a second reveal - the renaming of one of the ice sheets at Ford Ice Center Bellevue as the Terry Crisp Ice Rink - saw Crisp full of emotion on a night that was deservedly and appropriately all about him.
On April 21, the Preds announced a new dog park, PupsNPlay, in partnership with Mars Petcare. The park, which is located next to Bridgestone Arena on Sixth Avenue, provides a green space for downtown dog owners and pet lovers alike.

The individual nominations for the 2022 NHL Awards began for Preds players on April 25 as defenseman Mark Borowiecki was named Nashville's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy from the Nashville chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA). The trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Then, on April 26, the Predators clinched a berth in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The eight-year stretch of postseason participation is currently tied for the second-longest active streak among all NHL clubs.
Another nomination for the Preds came on May 4 as Kunin was named the team's nominee for the 2022 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. Won by former Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne last year, the award is presented annually "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."
On May 9, the Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub distributed its largest-ever one-time donation, with Helper Grant distributions totaling $776,075, during a Grant Check Presentation Ceremony at Bridgestone Arena. Through the 2022 allocation, a broad array of Nashville and Middle Tennessee non-profits received a record-high 176 grants. In total, the Predators Foundation has now provided over $8 million in grants since its inception in 1998.

That same day, Josi was officially named a finalist for the 2022 James Norris Memorial Trophy, an honor awarded annually "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position." The nod was Josi's second-career nomination for the Norris, an award he won for the first time back in 2020.
Then, just one day later, Saros was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, an annual NHL award given "to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at this position" as voted by the general managers of all NHL clubs.
Finally, Josi was recognized by his peers and named a finalist for the 2021-22 Ted Lindsay Award. The honor is presented annually "to the most outstanding player in the NHL," as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.