2006–07 Nashville Predators season

2006–07 Nashville Predators
Division	2nd Central
Conference	4th Western
2006–07 record	51–23–8
Home record	28–8–5
Road record	23–15–3
Goals for	272
Goals against	212
Team information
General manager	David Poile
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Kimmo Timonen
Alternate captains	Paul Kariya Steve Sullivan
Arena	Nashville Arena
Average attendance	15,259
Team leaders
Goals	Jason Arnott and Jean-Pierre Dumont (27)
Assists	Paul Kariya (52)
Points	Paul Kariya (76)
Penalty minutes	Jordin Tootoo (104)
Wins	Tomas Vokoun (27)
Goals against average	Chris Mason(2.38)
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

The 2006–07 Nashville Predators season was the ninth National Hockey League season in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Predators, looking to get past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history, bulked up their roster by signing star forward Jason Arnott, whose 76 points in 2005–06 was second on the Dallas Stars. With returning forwards Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan, and the acquisition of Arnott and Jean-Pierre Dumont, the Predators were predicted to challenge the Detroit Red Wings for top spot in the Central Division.^[1]

Although the Predators were leading the Central when the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game was played in Dallas, Texas, only one Predator player was named to the Western Conference team, defenseman and team captain Kimmo Timonen, who played in his second All-Star Game. Head Coach Barry Trotz served as an assistant coach for the Western Conference.^[2]

The attendance in Nashville had been a topic of much media debate all season long, with the Predators' attendance being in the bottom third of the league despite the team leading its division for most of the season. There had been much speculation in February about a clause in the Predators lease with the city that could force the city of Nashville to buy $2 million worth of tickets for the Predators in the 2007–08 season if the team failed to reach a paid average attendance of 14,000. After 21 home games, the Predators were only averaging 12,766 in paid attendance.^[3] Team owner Craig Leipold had also announced that he was looking to sell up to 40% of the team to local interests; however, he found no immediate takers.^[4]

In February, the Predators acquired forward Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and two draft picks.^[5] The deal paid immediate dividends at the gate: the Predators announced they had sold 3,500 tickets for their games in the first day after the trade was announced.^[6]

The Predators finished the season with a franchise-record 110 points, with 51 wins, and earned a fourth place seed in the Western Conference quarter-finals in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They then lost to the San Jose Sharks in five games in the Quarter-finals.

On May 23, 2007, Craig Leipold was reported to have reached a tentative agreement to sell the team to Research In Motion Chairman and Co-CEO Jim Balsillie.^[7] According to Leipold, the team were likely to play the 2007–08 season in Nashville, but the future of the team after that had not been clear.^[8] Balsillie had been rumored to be interested in placing another team in Southern Ontario.^[7] The sale was later not approved, and the Predators stayed in their city.

Regular season

The Predators finished the regular season having allowed the fewest shorthanded goals, with two.^[9]

Season standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Detroit Red Wings	82	50	19	13	254	199	113
2	4	Nashville Predators	82	51	23	8	272	212	110
3	10	St. Louis Blues	82	34	35	13	214	254	81
4	11	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	33	42	7	201	249	73
5	13	Chicago Blackhawks	82	31	42	9	201	258	71

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime/shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs. For complete final standings, see 2006–07 NHL season

Game log

October

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 5	Chicago	8 – 6	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	0–1–0	0
2	October 7	Nashville	5 – 6	Minnesota		Vokoun	18,568	0–2–0	0
3	October 12	Nashville	1 – 3	Chicago		Mason	8,008	0–3–0	0
4	October 14	Phoenix	1 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	13,770	1–3–0	2
5	October 16	Nashville	2 – 1	NY Islanders	SO	Vokoun	9,431	2–3–0	4
6	October 18	Nashville	3 – 0	NY Rangers		Vokoun	18,200	3–3–0	6
7	October 19	Nashville	4 – 3	New Jersey	SO	Mason	11,274	4–3–0	8
8	October 21	Vancouver	4 – 3	Nashville	OT	Vokoun	16,073	4–3–1	9
9	October 26	San Jose	3 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	13,436	5–3–1	11
10	October 28	Nashville	3 – 2	Calgary		Vokoun	19,289	6–3–1	13
11	October 31	Nashville	3 – 2	Vancouver		Vokoun	18,630	7–3–1	15

November

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 1	Nashville	5 – 3	Edmonton		Mason	16,839	8–3–1	17
13	November 4	Nashville	4 – 3	Minnesota		Vokoun	18,568	9–3–1	19
14	November 10	Nashville	0 – 3	Detroit		Vokoun	20,066	9–4–1	19
15	November 11	Colorado	0 – 1	Nashville		Mason	17,113	10–4–1	21
16	November 15	Nashville	5 – 4	Columbus		Vokoun	16,283	11–4–1	23
17	November 16	Minnesota	7 – 6	Nashville	SO	Mason	12,759	11–4–2	24
18	November 18	Columbus	2 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	13,209	12–4–2	26
19	November 20	Nashville	3 – 1	Columbus		Vokoun	16,174	13–4–2	28
20	November 22	Nashville	0 – 1	Dallas		Vokoun	17,853	13–5–2	28
21	November 23	Vancouver	0 – 6	Nashville		Vokoun	15,396	14–5–2	30
22	November 25	Detroit	2 – 6	Nashville		Mason	16,835	15–5–2	32
23	November 29	Nashville	3 – 2	Philadelphia		Mason	18,789	16–5–2	34
24	November 30	Nashville	5 – 4	St. Louis		Mason	5,410	17–5–2	36

December

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
25	December 2	Chicago	4 – 3	Nashville	OT	Mason	15,530	17–5–3	37
26	December 4	Nashville	2 – 3	Phoenix		Mason	11,735	17–6–3	37
27	December 6	Nashville	0 – 4	Anaheim		Mason	15,362	17–7–3	37
28	December 7	Nashville	4 – 1	Los Angeles		Mason	15,119	18–7–3	39
29	December 9	Nashville	1 – 3	San Jose		Mason	17,496	18–8–3	39
30	December 12	Edmonton	2 – 3	Nashville		Mason	12,032	19–8–3	41
31	December 14	Ottawa	0 – 6	Nashville		Mason	12,718	20–8–3	43
32	December 16	St. Louis	2 – 3	Nashville	SO	Mason	13,309	21–8–3	45
33	December 17	Nashville	2 – 1	St. Louis	OT	Mason	9,318	22–8–3	47
34	December 20	Nashville	2 – 1	Chicago		Mason	10,201	23–8–3	49
35	December 21	Buffalo	7 – 2	Nashville		Mason	16,616	23–9–3	49
36	December 23	Los Angeles	0 – 7	Nashville		Mason	14,739	24–9–3	51
37	December 26	St. Louis	2 – 3	Nashville	SO	Mason	14,807	25–9–3	53
38	December 29	Nashville	1 – 4	Dallas		Mason	18,532	25–10–3	53
39	December 30	Boston	0 – 5	Nashville		Mason	16,612	26–10–3	55

January

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 1	Colorado	5 – 3	Nashville		Mason	15,878	26–11–3	55
41	January 5	Nashville	8 – 3	Chicago		Mason	13,186	27–11–3	57
42	January 6	St. Louis	2 – 3	Nashville		Mason	14,438	28–11–3	59
43	January 9	Anaheim	4 – 5	Nashville	OT	Vokoun	11,821	29–11–3	61
44	January 12	Columbus	0 – 2	Nashville		Vokoun	14,136	30–11–3	63
45	January 13	Nashville	4 – 1	Columbus		Mason	16,825	31–11–3	65
46	January 15	Calgary	3 – 5	Nashville		Vokoun	12,011	32–11–3	67
47	January 17	Nashville	3 – 5	Detroit		Mason	20,066	32–12–3	67
48	January 18	Columbus	0 – 4	Nashville		Mason	10,927	33–12–3	69
49	January 20	Chicago	3 – 6	Nashville		Mason	17,113	34–12–3	71
50	January 26	Nashville	3 – 1	Chicago		Vokoun	11,162	35–12–3	73
51	January 27	Nashville	6 – 3	St. Louis		Mason	16,346	36–12–3	75
52	January 30	Nashville	3 – 4	Colorado		Vokoun	17,119	36–13–3	75

February

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
53	February 1	Nashville	2 – 3	Phoenix		Vokoun	14,047	36–14–3	75
54	February 3	Anaheim	0 – 3	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	37–14–3	77
55	February 6	Nashville	1 – 4	Pittsburgh		Mason	16,333	37–15–3	77
56	February 8	Toronto	2 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	15,018	38–15–3	79
57	February 10	Los Angeles	4 – 1	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	38–16–3	79
58	February 14	San Jose	0 – 5	Nashville		Vokoun	13,836	39–16–3	81
59	February 16	Nashville	0 – 1	St. Louis		Mason	15,660	39–17–3	81
60	February 17	Minnesota	4 – 1	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	39–18–3	81
61	February 19	Phoenix	1 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	15,862	40–18–3	83
62	February 22	Montreal	6 – 5	Nashville	SO	Vokoun	15,808	40–18–4	84
63	February 24	Detroit	3 – 4	Nashville	OT	Vokoun	17,113	41–18–4	86
64	February 25	Nashville	4 – 3	Columbus	OT	Mason	16,220	42–18–4	88
65	February 28	Nashville	4 – 3	San Jose	SO	Vokoun	17,496	43–18–4	90

March

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
66	March 3	Nashville	6 – 3	Los Angeles		Mason	16,854	44–18–4	92
67	March 4	Nashville	2 – 3	Anaheim	SO	Vokoun	17,174	44–18–5	93
68	March 6	Nashville	3 – 4	Detroit		Vokoun	20,066	44–18–6	94
69	March 8	Calgary	3 – 6	Nashville		Mason	15,515	45–18–6	96
70	March 10	Columbus	1 – 2	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	46–18–6	98
71	March 13	Detroit	5 – 2	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	46–19–6	98
72	March 14	Nashville	2 – 4	Detroit		Mason	20,066	46–20–6	98
73	March 17	Dallas	2 – 3	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	47–20–6	100
74	March 21	Nashville	0 – 2	Vancouver		Vokoun	18,630	47–21–6	100
75	March 22	Nashville	2 – 3	Calgary	OT	Mason	19,289	47–21–7	101
76	March 24	Nashville	4 – 0	Edmonton		Vokoun	16,839	48–21–7	103
77	March 27	Edmonton	3 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	16,832	49–21–7	105
78	March 29	Detroit	2 – 1	Nashville		Vokoun	16,646	49–22–7	105
79	March 31	Dallas	4 – 2	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	49–23–7	105

April

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
80	April 3	Chicago	3 – 2	Nashville	SO	Mason	14,663	49–23–8	106
81	April 5	St. Louis	1 – 4	Nashville		Vokoun	16,624	50–23–8	108
82	April 7	Nashville	4 – 2	Colorado		Vokoun	17,462	51–23–8	110

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

Playoffs

The Nashville Predators ended the 2006–07 regular season as the Western Conference's fourth seed.

Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (5) San Jose Sharks

San Jose wins series 4–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 11	San Jose	5 – 4	Nashville	2OT	Vokoun	17,113	0 – 1
2	April 13	San Jose	2 – 5	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	1 – 1
3	April 16	Nashville	1 – 3	San Jose		Vokoun	17,496	1 – 2
4	April 18	Nashville	2 – 3	San Jose		Vokoun	17,496	1 – 3
5	April 20	San Jose	3 – 2	Nashville		Vokoun	17,113	1 – 4

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Paul Kariya	LW	82	24	52	76	36	6	5	0	2
Jean-Pierre Dumont	RW	82	21	45	66	28	14	5	0	3
David Legwand	C	78	27	36	63	44	23	3	1	7
Steve Sullivan	RW	57	22	38	60	20	16	6	3	4
Martin Erat	RW	68	16	41	57	50	13	5	1	3
Kimmo Timonen	D	80	13	42	55	42	20	8	0	2
Jason Arnott	C	68	27	27	54	48	15	12	0	6
Shea Weber	D	79	17	23	40	60	13	6	0	2
Scott Hartnell	LW	64	22	17	39	96	19	10	0	2
Alexander Radulov	RW	64	18	19	37	26	19	5	0	4
Marek Zidlicky	D	79	4	26	30	72	8	2	0	1
Vernon Fiddler	C	72	11	15	26	40	11	0	1	1
Ryan Suter	D	82	8	16	24	54	10	1	0	0
Dan Hamhuis	D	81	6	14	20	66	8	0	0	1
Peter Forsberg	C	17	2	13	15	16	5	1	0	1
Scott Nichol	C	59	7	6	13	79	7	1	1	2
Josef Vasicek	C	38	4	9	13	29	1	0	0	0
Jerred Smithson	C	64	5	7	12	42	-8	1	1	2
Jordin Tootoo	RW	65	3	6	9	116	-11	0	0	0
Greg Zanon	D	66	3	5	8	32	16	0	0	0
Ramzi Abid	LW	13	1	4	5	13	-3	0	0	0
Darcy Hordichuk	LW	53	1	3	4	90	-2	0	0	0
Scottie Upshall	LW	14	2	1	3	18	-1	0	0	2
Mikko Lehtonen	D	15	1	2	3	8	0	0	0	0
Tomas Vokoun	G	44	0	2	2	4	0	0	0	0
Kevin Klein	D	3	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0
Sheldon Brookbank	D	3	0	1	1	12	0	0	0	0
Chris Mason	G	40	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	0
Rich Peverley	C	13	0	1	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Vitaly Vishnevski	D	15	0	1	1	10	1	0	0	0
Patrick Leahy	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Michael Leighton	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tomas Vokoun	2601	44	27	12	4	104	2.40	5	1299	1195	.920
Chris Mason	2342	40	24	11	4	93	2.38	5	1244	1151	.925
Michael Leighton	20	1	0	0	0	2	6.00	0	10	8	.800
Team:	4963	82	51	23	8	199	2.41	10	2553	2354	.922

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Jean-Pierre Dumont	RW	5	4	2	6	0	4	1	1	1
Alexander Radulov	RW	4	3	1	4	19	1	0	0	0
Peter Forsberg	C	5	2	2	4	12	2	0	0	0
Jason Arnott	C	5	2	1	3	2	0	1	0	0
David Legwand	C	5	0	3	3	2	-2	0	0	0
Shea Weber	D	5	0	3	3	2	0	0	0	0
Vernon Fiddler	C	5	1	1	2	4	-3	0	0	0
Scott Hartnell	LW	5	1	1	2	28	-1	1	0	0
Paul Kariya	LW	5	0	2	2	2	-4	0	0	0
Kimmo Timonen	D	5	0	2	2	4	-1	0	0	0
Greg Zanon	D	5	0	2	2	2	-2	0	0	0
Marek Zidlicky	D	5	0	2	2	4	-1	0	0	0
Ryan Suter	D	5	1	0	1	8	0	0	0	0
Martin Erat	RW	3	0	1	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Dan Hamhuis	D	5	0	1	1	2	-3	0	0	0
Jordin Tootoo	RW	4	0	1	1	21	-2	0	0	0
Ramzi Abid	LW	2	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Darcy Hordichuk	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scott Nichol	C	5	0	0	0	17	1	0	0	0
Jerred Smithson	C	5	0	0	0	17	-2	0	0	0
Tomas Vokoun	G	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tomas Vokoun	324	5	1	4	16	2.96	0	163	147	.902
Team:	324	5	1	4	16	2.96	0	163	147	.902

^[10]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Olus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

The Predators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2006–07 season.^[11][12]

Trades

July 18, 2006	To Nashville Predators Josef Vasicek	To Carolina Hurricanes Scott Walker
July 19, 2006	To Nashville Predators Dominic Moore	To New York Rangers Adam Hall
July 19, 2006	To Nashville Predators 3rd round pick in 2007 (Ryan Thang)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Dominic Moore Libor Pivko
February 9, 2007	To Nashville Predators Eric Belanger	To Carolina Hurricanes Josef Vasicek
February 10, 2007	To Nashville Predators Vitaly Vishnevski	To Atlanta Thrashers Eric Belanger
February 15, 2007	To Nashville Predators Peter Forsberg	To Philadelphia Flyers Scottie Upshall Ryan Parent 1st round pick in 2007 (Jonathon Blum) 3rd round pick in 2007 (Phil DeSimone)
February 27, 2007	To Nashville Predators 4th round pick in 2007 (Mark Santorelli)	To Buffalo Sabres Mikko Lehtonen

Free agents acquired

Player signed	Former team
F Jason Arnott	Dallas Stars
F Ramzi Abid	Atlanta Thrashers
D Alex Henry	Minnesota Wild
F Jean-Pierre Dumont	Buffalo Sabres

Free agents lost

Player lost	New team
F Mike Sillinger	New York Islanders
D Mark Eaton	Pittsburgh Penguins
D Brendan Witt	New York Islanders
F Denis Arkhipov	Chicago Blackhawks
D Danny Markov	Detroit Red Wings
F Greg Johnson	Detroit Red Wings
F Yanic Perreault	Phoenix Coyotes

Claimed on waivers

Player claimed	Former team
G Michael Leighton	Anaheim Ducks

Placed on waivers

Player lost	New team
G Michael Leighton	Philadelphia Flyers

Draft picks

Nashville's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[13] The Predators traded their first round pick, thus their first selection was in the 2nd round, 56th overall.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	NHL team	College/junior/club team (League)
2	56	Blake Geoffrion (LW)	United States	Nashville Predators	U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL)
4	105	Niko Snellman (W)	Finland	Nashville Predators (from Atlanta)	Ilves (SM-liiga)
5	146	Mark Dekanich (G)	Canada	Nashville Predators	Colgate University (ECAC)
6	176	Ryan Flynn (RW)	United States	Nashville Predators	U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL)
7	206	Viktor Sjodin (W)	Sweden	Nashville Predators	VIK Västerås HK Jr. (Sweden)

Minor league affiliates

The Milwaukee Admirals are Nashville's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2006–07, and the New Mexico Scorpions are the Central Hockey League affiliate.

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season
• 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs

References