Lists, rankings, honors - in the world of sport, any collection of historical homage is bound to elicit some sort of debate.
But in the case of the Nashville Predators and the inaugural class of the franchise’s new Golden Hall?
Well, that’s simply something Preds CEO Sean Henry says is miraculously - but understandably - unanimous.
“I mean, this is universal,” Henry said. “Everyone realizes they are the three definers of who we are and what we are.”
Those honorees - David Poile, Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne - are set to become the first three members of the Golden Hall on Jan. 15 and 16, first with a luncheon on Wednesday - which fans won’t want to miss - at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, and then on Thursday prior to that night’s game against Chicago with a one-of-a-kind pregame puck drop.
The two-day span will bring a monumental moment in club history as the team begins to look back on a quarter century of Predators hockey and recognize those who turned Nashville into Smashville.
“Pretty much every team, after a certain period of time, creates their own Hall of Fame,” Henry said. “We talk about our golden moments and golden memories all the time, and we started talking about, ‘OK, who should be the first class?’ You start looking through it, and I don't know if you can find three better people… This initial theme really is who are the standard bearers of our organization? If we’ve got a Mount Rushmore, these three guys are definitely on it.
“Combined with what David Poile has done for this team and this city, Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne really showed the world what it meant to be a Nashville Predator.”
Poile, the team’s first and only Hall-of-Fame general manager through the original 25 years, Weber, the Hall-of-Fame defenseman who embodied what it meant to be a captain in the NHL, and Rinne, the franchise’s greatest - and most beloved - goaltender, are deservedly the first trio to be enshrined in what is sure to become a Hall visited and celebrated by generations of Predators fans.
And it’s not just what the three did on the ice and in the front office that make them deserving - but what they accomplished in the community to leave this town better than they found it.
Perhaps most notably for Rinne and Weber was the formation of the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund to raise money and benefit cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Over the years, plenty of cameras captured the two defensive stalwarts as they’d make their way through the hospital’s halls and help their youngest fans forget about their hardships - even if just for a moment.
But Rinne and Weber did the same thing when the media wasn’t present. Stories of one - or both - stopping by on a random afternoon are commonplace, because that’s just who they are, giving back because they wanted to, not because they felt like they had to.
And moments like those? Well, they just simply strengthen the bond between players and fans, something that isn’t necessarily unique to Nashville, but it’s a relationship in this market that is stronger than just about anywhere else.
“There are a lot of cities where maybe some players don't always feel welcome after their playing careers are over, but this place embraced these players,” Henry said. “From day one, these guys have just been part of the community. They are because of our fans. So when our fans are in the crowd or watching on TV or visiting the Hall in the years to come, they should feel pride, because they created this. They created that bond.”
So while the Golden Hall is meant to honor those legendary figures in Predators history, it’s just as much for the fans who make Smashville what it is, and what it will continue to be.
As for the honorees themselves? Well, this is Music City, so their plaques may resemble a gold record - and perhaps there will be a golden jacket, too. The Golden Hall itself will take its place on the Gary Force Acura Level inside Bridgestone Arena coupled with the wall of alumni pucks that will be open for any and all fans to visit when they’re inside the building - and there will be more surprises in the years to come.
But for now, Poile, Weber and Rinne will always be the originals - and there’s no debating that.
“These guys do so much more than just show up for a few hours a year or write a check to help the community - they embrace what it is to be a Nashville Predator,” Henry said. “And I just think, for every player that ever wears our jersey and skates out for their first solo lap, when they look up into the rafters or the temporary home of the Golden Hall, it should inspire them. And I can't wait to take my granddaughter to the Hall one day and explain to her who these people were, and that's exciting.”
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Click here to learn more about the Preds Golden Hall and to purchase tickets to the luncheon on Jan. 15 and the game on Jan. 16.
