Preds to Honor Metro Nashville Police Officers Following Wins This Season

There's a bit more meaning behind the honor one Predators player will receive after each team win this season.
As has become tradition in NHL dressing rooms, clubs will often select one item to be passed out to a 'player of the game' following a victory, and the Predators have done so for years. A boot, a chain and even animal masks have all been used in past seasons, but in 2021, Preds Head Coach John Hynes had a different idea.

On Christmas morning, a bomb rocked Second Avenue in downtown Nashville. Thankfully, not a single civilian residing in the area lost their life due to the actions of six Metro Nashville Police Department Officers who evacuated those in the area before the explosion.
Hynes and the Preds wanted to remember those heroes all season long, and they've found a way to do just that.
"When you combine the effort [of the police officers] and the sacrifice that they made, and you look at everything that Nashville has gone through, you see the resiliency and the teamwork and the community all come together," Hynes said. "It's an opportunity for us to recognize the first responders."

The Preds will hand out a MNPD cap - emblazoned with the names of the 'Nashville 6,' Sergeant Timothy Miller, and officers Brenna Hosey, Tyler Luellen, James Wells, Amanda Topping and Michael Sipos - to a player judged to have made an impactful contribution to that particular win that may have gone unnoticed.
For Hynes and his group, handing out a hat following a win carries much greater meaning than just bringing the team together - it's about showing this hockey team plays for each and every person who calls Nashville home, especially those who keep us safe.
"The hat is a symbol of the resiliency of the community and giving back, sacrifice, so we have that award after the game," Hynes said. "It's not someone that scores all the goals and gets points, but someone that represents what those officers represent, what the city of Nashville represents and all that's going on. It's a great opportunity for us, and we're going to take a lot of pride this year and try to inspire people and recognize that we're here to represent the city of Nashville also."