Logos & Jerseys | Nashville Predators

The Origin of the Predators Logo

The Predators unveiled their logo, a saber-toothed tiger, in Nashville's downtown First American Center on September 25, 1997, 26 years after a fang and foreleg bone of a saber-toothed tiger were found in a cave just below the building's address.

In May of 1971, excavation began at the downtown Nashville site of what today is the 28-story UBS Tower (formerly First American Center). Construction workers drilled through 20 feet of solid rock before coming to a soft muddy area. Further digging revealed a cave containing the nine-inch fang and a foreleg bone of a saber-toothed tiger, extinct for at least 10,000 years. Radiocarbon tests on the specimen revealed that it could have possibly been one of the last of its breed to exist. Scientists believe that some time during the last glacial period (15,000-80,000 years ago) part of the cave was the den of the saber-toothed tiger. The discovery, made in August 1971, marks only the fifth of its kind in North America. The cave, located beneath the building, is preserved under concrete for historic and educational purposes.

The saber-toothed tiger logo was co-designed by JDK Design of Burlington, Vermont and Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence of Nashville.

The First Years of Preds Hockey

On November 13, 1997, the saber-toothed tiger logo was unveiled for the first time with the Predators insignia attached to it. On February 12, 1998, Head Coach Barry Trotz and Assistant Coach Paul Gardner unveiled the Predators' inaugural home and away jerseys at Cool Springs Galleria. During the inaugural season, the shoulder logo (an 'N' featuring the Bridgestone Arena spire) included the first year of the team's existence: '98.' In the 2005-06 season, the original shoulder patch was replaced by the skull logo originally worn on the Predators alternate jersey.

Debut of the 'Mustard Cat' Third Jersey

On November 21, 2001, the Predators debuted a third jersey with a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena. The jersey featured an "animated" saber-tooth tiger logo on the crest and tiger skulls on the shoulders. It was retired following the 2006-07 season. The squad was as "good as gold" in five seasons wearing their first-ever alternate uniform, producing a 38-19-12 record, including a 21-3-2 mark in their final two seasons donning them.

Black & Blue Third Jersey Revealed

The Predators debuted a new third jersey on November 27, 2009, against the St. Louis Blues. The sweaters, which features a vintage-inspired lace-up front, a subtle checkerboard pattern lining the bottom of the jersey, and a bolder-and-more-simplified color scheme, were worn between 2009 and 2011. The uniform also featured a fresh-take on the Pred Head, with the main logo taking on a "flat" look with navy, blue and black colors, and a red saber-toothed tiger eye.

Reebok EDGE Uniform System

In the 2007-08 season, the Predators, along with the other 29 NHL teams, introduced the Reebok EDGE Uniform System to further meet the performance demands of today's player. The Reebok EDGE System incorporated a new form-fitting material for a modern look that revolutionized the NHL jersey.

Behold the Gold

The logo and uniforms for the 2011-12 season were designed to develop a powerful, long-term brand message and help infuse new life into the Nashville Predators imagery with a more contemporary, aggressive, streamlined logo that still maintains the basic Pred Head concept. A new secondary logo was also designed to represent the state flag of Tennessee and Nashville's Music City heritage simultaneously, with a guitar pick shape incorporating the three stars of the state's three grand divisions - West, Middle and East. The "Predators Gold" sweaters create a distinctive, dominant, bold look that balances traditional elements of classic uniforms, with those unique to Nashville - guitar strings in the numbering and lettering, fangs in the neck area and piano keys on the inside of the collars.

Adidas Ushers In a New Era of Gold

The 2017-18 season brought new uniforms designed by adidas for the 31 NHL clubs.

With the new ADIZERO jerseys, Nashville chose to build upon the bold, stark look established in 2011 with the adoption of Gold as the franchise's primary color. The club will continue to wear the Gold helmets they donned full-time for the 2016-17 season.

Nashville's Gold is even more prominent on the front as the white piping has been removed and the white stripes on the arms now separate the navy and Gold. The navy paneling and accents formerly seen near the shoulders have moved to the collar on the 2017-18 version.

The Predators' celebration of Music City has been expanded in the uniform, with the piano keys around the inside of the collar and guitar pick alternate logo remaining on the right shoulder and the guitar strings over the back numbers extended to the arm numbers as well. "Nashville" still reads across the back of the collar, with the navy stripe now framed in Gold.

2020 NHL Winter Classic

In conjunction with adidas and the NHL, the Predators on November 2, 2019 revealed their jerseys for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic, a classic custom look unlike anything ever worn by the franchise.

The jerseys - which feature prominent Gold striping, a script crest, felt block lettering and a redesigned Pred Head shoulder patch - pay homage to the Dixie Flyers, Nashville's first professional ice hockey team, which played from 1962 to 1971.

Adidas Introduces the 'Reverse Retro' Jersey

The Reverse Retro jersey revisits and remixes 1998, the Predators' first season in the NHL. The speed nicks in the numbers, striping pattern and remastered crest pay homage to the original jersey, while the bold, Golden body brings a fresh twist to the design.

2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Jersey

The first-ever outdoor NHL contest in Nashville took place on Feb. 26, 2022, at the home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, and the Nashville Predators sported the predominantly navy look for the first time since 2011. Designed by adidas, the jerseys are adizero Primegreen, made in part with recycled materials. The jersey follows the classic marks of an NHL Stadium Series look, including stadium-size numbers and graphics in streamlined colorways, and the helmets and pants will also feature oversized graphics.

According to adidas, the primary crest of the Predators jersey pays tribute to the fans with the SMASHVILLE mark, and the look was inspired by letterpress music posters which are part of Nashville's rich history. The "NP" in Nashville's guitar pick and lace collar gets a modern tonal color treatment with navy-on-navy details.The player's name and number font features digits and characters of different widths and weights as seen when mismatched letterpress blocks are used in letterpress music posters, and a streamlined colorway of navy and gold with minimal white detailing is also present. The interior back neck graphic of the jersey is a stylized sound wave pattern evoking Music City, and a stadium-sized Predator logo will be on the right hip of the players' pants.

Adidas Reveals 'Reverse Retro 2.0' Jerseys

After a successful Reverse Retro League campaign in 2020-21, adidas announced new Reverse Retro jerseys for the 2022-23 season for the NHL's 32 clubs. Nashville's new Reverse Retro brings the animated Pred Head crest back to life in nine vivid colors - including three different shades of blue - and updates the jersey's original mustard color to modern Preds Gold.

A throwback "Nashville" wordmark sits above the Pred Head and a vintage black and orange NHL shield replaces the modern silver and black emblem. On the shoulders, the Preds Star Pick patch has been replaced by the prehistoric skull Pred Head logo. Vintage Preds lettering and numbering adorns the jersey's back and nameplate as well.

The jerseys - accented by navy and silver striping - will be accompanied on the ice by matching Gold helmets and socks, as well as navy pants.