Nashville Predators Franchise History: #6 Forward, #3 Defenseman & #1 Goaltender

[King Weber]

If you missed the first one: Nashville Predators Franchise History: #1 Forward
Nashville Predators Franchise History: #2 Forward & #1 Defenseman
Nashville Predators Franchise History: #3 Forward
Nashville Predators Franchise History: #4 Forward & #2 Defenseman
Nashville Predators Franchise History: #5 Forward

Final Rankings

Forwards:

1.

Paul Kariya
2.

David Legwand
3.

Filip Forsberg
4.

Steve Sullivan
5.

Mike Fisher

------------------------

Defensemen:

1.

Roman Josi
2.

Shea Weber

------------------------

Team A

Paul Kariya - X -

Steve Sullivan

Filip Forsberg -

David Legwand - X
X -

Mike Fisher - X
X - X - X

Roman Josi -

Shea Weber
X - X
X - X

X
X

------------------------

Team B

X - X - X
X - X - X
X - X - X
X - X - X

X - X
X - X
X - X

X
X

------------------------

Team C

X - X - X
X - X - X
X - X - X
X - X - X

X - X
X - X
X - X

X
X

------------------------

Here's everyone who meets the criteria (ordered by games played):


Forwards:

1. David Legwand (956)
2. Martin Erat (723)
3. Craig Smith (661)
4. Greg Johnson (502)
5. Colin Wilson (502)
6. Scott Hartnell (498)
7. Jerred Smithson (497)
8. Jordin Tootoo (486)
9. Calle Jarnkrok (459)
10. Filip Forsberg (458)
11. Mike Fisher (429)
12. Scott Walker (410)
13. J-P Dumont (388)
14. Patric Hörnqvist (363)
15. Ryan Johansen (351)
16. Vitali Yachmenyov (338)
17. Viktor Arvidsson (335)
18. Vernon Fiddler (325)
19. Colton Sissons (322)
20. Steve Sullivan (317)
21. Tom Fitzgerald (307)
22. Austin Watson (306)
23. Cliff Ronning (301)
24. Nick Spaling (297)
25. Jason Arnott (275)
26. Denis Arkhipov (273)
27. Paul Gaustad (248)
28. Patric Kjellberg (246)
29. Gabriel Bourque (242)
30. Vladimir Orszagh (239)
31. Adam Hall (234)
32. Joel Ward (230)
33. James Neal (219)
34. Nick Bonino (219)
35. Mike Ribeiro (209)
36. Scott Nichol (209)
37. Kevin Fiala (204)
38. Sergei Kostitsyn (198)
39. Eric Nystrom (185)
40. Kyle Turris (182)
41. Darcy Hordichuk (172)
42. Miikka Salomaki (167)
43. Paul Kariya (164)
44. Rob Valicevic (159)
45. Alexander Radulov (154)
46. Sebastien Bordeleau (146)
47. Radek Bonk (145)
48. Matt Cullen (139)
49. Matt Halischuk (136)
50. Sergei Krivokrasov (133)
51. Randy Robitaille (131)
52. Marcel Goc (124)


Defensemen

1. Shea Weber (763)
2. Roman Josi (632)
3. Dan Hamhuis (600)
4. Kimmo Timonen (573)
5. Ryan Suter (542)
6. Mattias Ekholm (538)
7. Ryan Ellis (527)
8. Kevin Klein (403)
9. Marek Zidlicky (307)
10. Karlis Skrastins (307)
11. Bill Houlder (302)
12. Mark Eaton (286)
13. Greg Zanon (230)
14. Cale Hulse (225)
15. Yannick Weber (223)
16. Drake Berehowsky (219)
17. PK Subban (211)
18. Seth Jones (199)
19. Francis Bouillon (195)
20. Matt Irwin (195)
21. Cody Franson (164)
22. Greg de Vries (154)
23. Andy Delmore (144)
24. Jason York (141)
25. Bob Boughner (141)


Goalies

1. Pekka Rinne (659)
2. Tomas Vokoun (383)
3. Mike Dunham (217)
4. Chris Mason (146)
5. Juuse Saros (119)
6. Dan Ellis (110)
7. Carter Hutton (75)


Voting closes in 24 hours. Feel free to nominate players for the next poll.​

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[Predsanddead24]

A lot of good options for 3D here but I'm going to go Timonen. He was our first true #1 D-man and filled that role for a very long time. For forward I'll go with Erat. Just like Legwand he was a very good offensive player for a very long time for us. I think it's really sad that for newer fans he's been turned into a meme due to the Forsberg trade rather than being recognized as one of the better players in team history. Goalie is obvious.

 

[jumb0]

Hmmm wonder who is going to win the goalie vote

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I went Erat and Kimmo... I think it's obvious that we're about to see our current guys like Arvy and (we hope!) maybe Joey or Duchene eventually overtake this spot. Although we still picked guys like Kariya and Sullivan on shorter bodies of work, so maybe I have a bit of a double standard going? Anyway, let Erat enjoy the accolades for now, he was a good player for a lot of years.

 

[BigFatCat999]

I'm gonna hot take....

when Erat is voted I want him on line 1 and Sully on line 3. I remember watch him play keepaway on PK vs 4 other opposing players. He was a master of holding the puck. Puck possession is defense. I would love a 3rd line of Sully-Fisher-JP

 

[triggrman]

I went Erat and Kimmo... I think it's obvious that we're about to see our current guys like Arvy and (we hope!) maybe Joey or Duchene eventually overtake this spot. Although we still picked guys like Kariya and Sullivan on shorter bodies of work, so maybe I have a bit of a double standard going? Anyway, let Erat enjoy the accolades for now, he was a good player for a lot of years.

Totally agree. Nostalgia is in full effect. I think the only thing holding Arvy back is he's point totals are low, even though his goal scoring is one of our best.

 

[OldFan]

I guess Ronning played for Preds so long ago that we’ve forgotten him.

 

[Armourboy]

I guess Ronning played for Preds so long ago that we’ve forgotten him.

Lots of people just look at stats, this puts the older guys at a disadvantage generally.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Ronning was certainly one of the best forwards we have had, but I think longevity with the organization hurts him as well as the period that he was here wasn't very eventful for the team overall. That's why I think Legwand and Erat get bonus points because they were here for a full arc, the buildup from expansion, the initial playoff run, the first "contender" years and then the demise that led to the first rebuild.

This particular vote was difficult, I went with Erat but honestly should probably have voted Arvidsson. But then you look at have Arnott, Dumont and Walker all right there too with Joey in the mix. I think after that group then Ronning has a chance.

Historically, I'm interested to see how nostalgia/time reflects the Dunham vs Mason vs Saros vote.

 

[Armourboy]

Ronning was certainly one of the best forwards we have had, but I think longevity with the organization hurts him as well as the period that he was here wasn't very eventful for the team overall. That's why I think Legwand and Erat get bonus points because they were here for a full arc, the buildup from expansion, the initial playoff run, the first "contender" years and then the demise that led to the first rebuild.

This particular vote was difficult, I went with Erat but honestly should probably have voted Arvidsson. But then you look at have Arnott, Dumont and Walker all right there too with Joey in the mix. I think after that group then Ronning has a chance.

Historically, I'm interested to see how nostalgia/time reflects the Dunham vs Mason vs Saros vote.

I never cared for Dunham but I don't think Saros has been around long enough to be too high imo.

 

[vipera1960]

Ronning was certainly one of the best forwards we have had, but I think longevity with the organization hurts him as well as the period that he was here wasn't very eventful for the team overall. That's why I think Legwand and Erat get bonus points because they were here for a full arc, the buildup from expansion, the initial playoff run, the first "contender" years and then the demise that led to the first rebuild.

This particular vote was difficult, I went with Erat but honestly should probably have voted Arvidsson. But then you look at have Arnott, Dumont and Walker all right there too with Joey in the mix. I think after that group then Ronning has a chance.

Historically, I'm interested to see how nostalgia/time reflects the Dunham vs Mason vs Saros vote.

That seems pretty obvious to me. I would rate both Dunham and Mason as “1b”, and since Dunham accomplished more (plus got Zids in trade) I would give him the edge. Saros may end up being better in the future, but he still has a long way to go.

 

[vipera1960]

I guess Ronning played for Preds so long ago that we’ve forgotten him.

Perhaps for some, but I would put my list like this:

1. David Legwand
2. Filip Forsberg
3. Paul Kariya
4. Steve Sullivan
5. Martin Erat
6. JP Dumont
7. Viktor Arvidsson
8. Cliff Ronning
9. Mike Fisher
10. Jason Arnott

 

[Legionnaire11]

That seems pretty obvious to me. I would rate both Dunham and Mason as “1b”, and since Dunham accomplished more (plus got Zids in trade) I would give him the edge. Saros may end up being better in the future, but he still has a long way to go.

See I think recency bias can help Saros as he appears to have taken over the starting job, and nostalgia can help Dunham. But really Dunham was not good, never had a winning season, never went to the playoffs, only one season over .910, only two seasons above 50 GP. But he was pushed as the first face of the franchise so people remember him more fondly than they should. Mason had the single best season of the three, but the interesting part about him is his broadcast career and if it makes people like or dislike him more. I think HF Preds dislike him more because of his broadcasts, but the general Preds public would like him more because of it.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I originally thought Dunham no question since he's the only other long term starter we've had, but I'm leaning Juuse now. Juuse is the all time leader in save percentage for the Predators (small sample size I know but still) and despite having less games is third in GSAA. Granted I was too young during the Dunham era to actually have an opinion on him as a goaltender. I thought Dunham was among the best in the league when I was a kid, but obviously that isn't true.

 

[triggrman]

I'm with Legion, Dunham wasn't that good and the dude was an asshole.

 

[Armourboy]

I'm with Legion, Dunham wasn't that good and the dude was an asshole.

Pretty much the view I think of most of us that were around then have.

 

[OldFan]

Pretty much the view I think of most of us that were around then have.

Yeah, he was a good backup in New Jersey. He was the face of the Preds franchise. We were lucky to have him. We all heard all of this. Then for some reason, unknown to me, he didn’t want to be here and acted like it. Really, the biggest disappointment to me of any player Preds have had.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I recall signing my mortgage in 2005 and the girl who had put all the papers together was chatting with me for a bit and we got onto the Predators and she said "I used to be a fan, but when they got rid of Dunham that was the last straw for me, they're never gonna be good!"...

 

[vipera1960]

Pretty much the view I think of most of us that were around then have.

Disagree (well, kind of). He was definitely an asshole, and he was definitely not anything approaching a star. That said in his time here (‘98-99 to ‘02-03, I’m skipping ‘03-04 because it’s not worth it to do the splits) he was 100-121-29 with a 2.65 GAA and .912%sv. For reference, durning that period he was 11th in GP(260), 15th in W(100), 26th in SO(13), 37th in GAA and 13th in %sv (min 40 GP). I would rate him as about an average starter.

 

[vipera1960]

See I think recency bias can help Saros as he appears to have taken over the starting job, and nostalgia can help Dunham. But really Dunham was not good, never had a winning season, never went to the playoffs, only one season over .910, only two seasons above 50 GP. But he was pushed as the first face of the franchise so people remember him more fondly than they should. Mason had the single best season of the three, but the interesting part about him is his broadcast career and if it makes people like or dislike him more. I think HF Preds dislike him more because of his broadcasts, but the general Preds public would like him more because of it.

Which season was that?

 

[Armourboy]

Disagree (well, kind of). He was definitely an asshole, and he was definitely not anything approaching a star. That said in his time here (‘98-99 to ‘02-03, I’m skipping ‘03-04 because it’s not worth it to do the splits) he was 100-121-29 with a 2.65 GAA and .912%sv. For reference, durning that period he was 11th in GP(260), 15th in W(100), 26th in SO(13), 37th in GAA and 13th in %sv (min 40 GP). I would rate him as about an average starter.

None of that is all that impressive.

 

[vipera1960]

None of that is all that impressive.

Never said it was. The point I was making is that Dunham was an average starting goalie for~5 years, not a bad one:

 

[lstcyr]

C'mon now, the man is in the Binghamton Hall of Fame and was a Jennings award winner. (Granted, it was in combo with Brodeur but still.