2007–08 Nashville Predators season

The 2007–08 Nashville Predators season began October 4, 2007. It was their tenth season in the National Hockey League.

2007–08 Nashville Predators
Division2nd Central
Conference8th Western
2007–08 record41–32–9
Home record23–14–4
Road record18–18–5
Goals for230
Goals against229
Team information
General managerDavid Poile
CoachBarry Trotz
CaptainJason Arnott
Alternate captainsJean-Pierre Dumont
Steve Sullivan
ArenaSommet Center
Average attendance14,910 (87.1%)
Team leaders
GoalsJean-Pierre Dumont (29)
AssistsJason Arnott (44)
PointsJason Arnott and Jean-Pierre Dumont (72)
Penalty minutesJordin Tootoo (100)
Plus/minusJason Arnott (+19)
WinsDan Ellis (23)
Goals against averageDan Ellis (2.34)

The 2007 off-season was dominated by the attempted purchase of the Predators by Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie,[1] who signed a letter of intent to purchase the team for at least $220 million.[2] The attempted sale led to widespread speculation that Balsillie intended to relocate the team to Hamilton, Ontario, if the Predators failed to reach a 14,000 paid average attendance in 2007–08, allowing the team to break its lease.[3] Balsillie had already entered negotiations on a lease at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.[4] Despite calling the negotiations a "contingency plan," Balsillie petitioned the NHL to decide on his ability to relocate the franchise at the same time the NHL Board of Governors voted on his purchase of the team.[5] However, the deal was ended by Predators Owner Craig Leipold on June 22, as he informed the NHL that he was pulling out of the agreement due to a lack of a finalized sale agreement and over concerns that Balsillie would relocate the team to Hamilton.[6]

On August 1, a group led by local businessman David Freeman issued a letter of intent to purchase the Predators.[7] The sale was approved by the Board of Governors on November 29.[8]

In January, it was revealed that former Predators Owner Craig Leipold was purchasing the majority share in the Minnesota Wild.[9]

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

Regular season

On November 15, 2007, Martin Erat scored just 19 seconds into the overtime period to give the Predators a 5–4 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks.[10] The Thrashers' Marian Hossa would tie that mark in overtime on December 23, 2007, in a 3–2 Atlanta road win over the St. Louis Blues.[11] Both goals would prove to be the fastest overtime goals scored during the 2007–08 regular season.[12]

Divisional standings
Central Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1p – Detroit Red Wings8254217257184115
2Nashville Predators824132923022991
3Chicago Blackhawks824034823923588
4Columbus Blue Jackets8234361219321880
5St. Louis Blues8233361320523779

Conference standings
Western Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – Detroit Red WingsCE8254217257184115
2 y – San Jose SharksPA82492310222193108
3 y – Minnesota WildNW8244281022321898
4 Anaheim DucksPA8247278205191102
5 Dallas StarsPA824530724220797
6 Colorado AvalancheNW824431723121995
7 Calgary FlamesNW8242301022922794
8 Nashville PredatorsCE824132923022991
8.5
9 Edmonton OilersNW824135623525188
10 Chicago BlackhawksCE824034823923588
11 Vancouver CanucksNW8239331021321588
12 Phoenix CoyotesPA823837721423183
13 Columbus Blue JacketsCE8234361219321880
14 St. Louis BluesCE8233361320523779
15 Los Angeles KingsPA823243723126671

Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner

October

Record: 4–7–0; Home: 4–2–0; Road: 0–5–0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 4Colorado0 – 4NashvilleMason16,3631–0–02
2October 6Dallas1 – 5NashvilleMason13,0792–0–04
3October 10Nashville1 – 4St. LouisMason19,1502–1–04
4October 11Phoenix6 – 3NashvilleMason12,1552–2–04
5October 13Calgary7 – 4NashvilleMason13,1522–3–04
6October 17Nashville1 – 3AnaheimMason17,1742–4–04
7October 20Nashville0 – 3San JoseMason17,4962–5–04
8October 23Nashville0 – 6Los AngelesMason14,0262–6–04
9October 25Atlanta0 – 3NashvilleEllis13,3833–6–06
10October 27Florida3 – 4NashvilleEllis15,7674–6–08
11October 30Nashville1 – 5CalgaryMason19,2894–7–08

November

Record: 8–2–2; Home: 3–1–1; Road: 5–1–1

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 1Nashville3 – 0VancouverEllis18,6305–7–010
13November 2Nashville4 – 1EdmontonEllis16,8396–7–012
14November 4Nashville5 – 2ChicagoMason12,0867–7–014
15November 7Nashville3 – 2DetroitSOMason16,8857–7–115
16November 10Columbus4 – 3NashvilleSOMason15,9478–7–117
17November 12Nashville4 – 1ColumbusMason12,5549–7–119
18November 15Chicago4 – 5NashvilleOTMason15,35310–7–121
19November 17St. Louis3 – 2NashvilleSOMason15,24610–7–222
20November 19Nashville1 – 2St. LouisMason15,23910–8–222
21November 22Detroit2 – 3NashvilleMason14,34611–8–224
22November 24Minnesota4 – 3NashvilleMason12,63911–9–224
23November 29Nashville6 – 5OttawaEllis19,53812–9–226

December

Record: 6–9–0; Home: 3–4–0; Away: 4–5–0

Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
24 December 1 Nashville 5 - 4 Montreal SO Ellis 21,273 13-9-2 28
25 December 4 Nashville 1 - 3 Toronto Mason 19,400 13-10-2 28
26 December 6 Vancouver 5 - 2 Nashville Ellis 15,918 13-11-2 28
27 December 8 Anaheim 2 - 4 Nashville Mason 13,469 14-11-2 30
28 December 10 Detroit 2 - 1 Nashville Ellis 15,056 14-12-2 30
29 December 13 Colorado 2 - 1 Nashville Mason 12,456 14-13-2 30
30 December 15 Nashville 1 - 3 Colorado Mason 16,582 14-14-2 30
31 December 18 Nashville 2 - 3 Minnesota Ellis 18,568 14-15-2 30
32 December 19 Nashville 2 - 5 Chicago Ellis 14,151 14-16-2 30
33 December 22 Los Angeles 3 - 4 Nashville Ellis 15,698 15-16-2 32
34 December 23 Nashville 3 - 1 Columbus Mason 15,481 16-16-2 34
35 December 26 Nashville 2 - 5 Chicago Mason 20,511 16-17-2 34
36 December 27 Columbus 3 - 4 Nashville Mason 14,331 17-17-2 36
37 December 29 San Jose 5 - 2 Nashville Mason 13,298 17-18-2 36
38 December 31 Nashville 1 - 0 Dallas Ellis 18,584 18-18-2 38

January

Record: 8–3–3; Home: 5–1–1; Road: 3–2–2

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
39January 3Edmonton2 – 5NashvilleEllis12,67619–18–240
40January 5Minnesota1 – 4NashvilleEllis17,11320–18–242
41January 7Nashville2 – 5AnaheimEllis17,17420–19–242
42January 8Nashville7 – 0Los AngelesMason14,75121–19–244
43January 12Nashville1 – 2ColumbusSOMason16,23021–19–345
44January 13Chicago3 – 2NashvilleSOEllis12,48421–19–446
45January 15Calgary0 – 3NashvilleMason11,76422–19–448
46January 17Anaheim2 – 1NashvilleMason14,19322–20–448
47January 19Nashville5 – 2St. LouisMason19,27523–20–450
48January 21St. Louis3 – 6NashvilleMason13,64224–20–452
49January 22Nashville4 – 0ColoradoEllis15,23525–20–454
50January 24Nashville3 – 4PhoenixOTMason12,62225–20–555
51January 29Nashville1 – 3BostonMason14,15025–21–555
52January 31Columbus2 – 4NashvilleMason13,74526–21–557

February

Record: 6–4–3 ; Home: 5–2–2 ; Road: 1–2–1

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
53February 2Phoenix2 – 3NashvilleEllis27–21–559
54February 5Carolina0 – 1NashvilleEllis28–21–561
55February 7Tampa Bay2 – 1NashvilleOTEllis28–21–662
56February 9Nashville3 – 4San JoseEllis28–22–662
57February 10Nashville6 – 3PhoenixEllis29–22–664
58February 12Detroit2 – 4NashvilleEllis30–22–666
59February 14Chicago6 – 1NashvilleMason30–23–666
60February 16St. Louis1 – 2NashvilleEllis31–23–668
61February 17Nashville4 – 5MinnesotaOTEllis31–23–769
62February 19Edmonton4 – 5NashvilleEllis32–23–771
63February 21Vancouver3 – 2NashvilleOTEllis32–23–872
64February 23Dallas6 – 3NashvilleEllis32–24–872
65February 27Nashville4 – 8BuffaloMason32–25–872

March

Record: 7-6-1; Home: 2-4-0; Road: 5-2-1

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
66March 1Nashville3 – 1DallasEllis18,58433–25–874
67March 4Nashville5 – 1EdmontonEllis16,83934–25–876
68March 6Nashville2 – 6VancouverEllis18,63034–26–876
69March 7Nashville2 – 1CalgaryEllis19,28935–26–878
70March 9Nashville3 – 4DetroitMason20,06635–27–878
71March 11San Jose2 – 1NashvilleEllis14,96535–28–878
72March 13Los Angeles4 – 1NashvilleEllis15,85335–29–878
73March 15Nashville3 – 1DetroitEllis20,06636–29–880
74March 18Washington4 – 2NashvilleEllis17,11336–30–880
75March 20Detroit6 – 3NashvilleMason17,11336–31–880
76March 22Chicago1 – 2NashvilleSOEllis17,11337–31–882
77March 25Columbus0 – 3NashvilleEllis16,33038–31–884
78March 28Nashville2 – 0ColumbusEllis15,59539–31–886
79March 30Nashville0 – 1DetroitOTEllis20,06639–31–987

April

Record: 2-1-0; Home: 1-0-0; Road: 1-1-0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
80April 1Nashville4 – 3St. LouisOTMason17,35740–31–989
81April 3St. Louis2 – 3NashvilleEllis17,11341–31–991
82April 4Nashville1 – 3ChicagoMason21,92941–32–991

Playoffs

Western Conference Quarter-finals: Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Nashville Predators (8)

Red Wings win series 4–2.

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 10Nashville1 – 3DetroitEllis20,0660 – 1
2April 12Nashville2 – 4DetroitEllis20,0660 – 2
3April 14Detroit3 – 5NashvilleEllis17,1131 – 2
4April 16Detroit2 – 3NashvilleEllis17,1132 – 2
5April 18Nashville1 – 2Detroit1OTEllis20,0662 – 3
6April 20Detroit3 – 0NashvilleEllis17,1132 – 4

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Jason Arnott792844725441014
Jean-Pierre Dumont802943723460224
Alexander Radulov812632584462246
Martin Erat762334574061348
David Legwand651529443831012
Marek Zidlicky79538436360338
Vernon Fiddler791121324760000
Ryan Suter76724317161124
Radek Bonk791415294061012
Dan Hamhuis80423276661126

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L OT GA SO Sv% GAA GP TOI W L GA SO Sv% GAA
Chris Mason512692182261304.8982.90000000.0000.00
Dan Ellis44222923103876.9242.34635724150.9382.52
Pekka Rinne 1 29 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00

Awards and records

Records

On March 30, goaltender Dan Ellis had a 233:39 long shutout streak snapped in a 1–0 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. This was the fifth longest shutout streak in league history

Milestones
Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Jason Arnott700th NHL PointOctober 4, 2007
Ville Koistinen1st NHL GameOctober 6, 2007
Martin Erat200th NHL PointOctober 11, 2007
Jason Arnott900th NHL GameOctober 23, 2007
Dan Ellis1st NHL ShutoutOctober 25, 2007
Kevin Klein1st NHL AssistOctober 25, 2007
Jason Arnott400th NHL AssistOctober 27, 2007
David Legwand500th NHL GameNovember 10, 2007
David Legwand300th NHL PointNovember 15, 2007
Chris Mason200th NHL GameNovember 19, 2007
Jed Ortmeyer200th NHL GameDecember 1, 2007

Transactions

The Predators were involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades
June 4, 2007
 To Nashville Predators
Matt Ellison		 To Philadelphia Flyers
future considerations
June 18, 2007
 To Philadelphia Flyers
Kimmo Timonen
Scott Hartnell		 To Nashville Predators
1st round pick 2007
(previously acquired from Nashville)
June 22, 2007
 To Florida Panthers
Tomas Vokoun		 To Nashville Predators
1st round pick in 2008
2nd round pick in 2007
conditional 2nd round pick
February 26, 2008
 To Tampa Bay Lightning
7th round pick in 2008		 To Nashville Predators
Jan Hlavac
February 26, 2008
 To Anaheim Ducks
Future Considerations		 To Nashville Predators
Brandon Bochenski

Free agents
PlayerFormer teamContract Terms
Jed OrtmeyerNew York Rangers2 years, $1.5 million
Radek BonkMontreal Canadiens2 years, $2.95 million
Greg de VriesAtlanta Thrashers2 years, $5 million
Shane WillisCarolina Hurricanes1 year, $475,000
Dan EllisDallas Stars1 year, $500,000
Martin GelinasFlorida Panthers1 year, $1.25 million
Josh LangfieldDetroit Red Wings1 year, $575,000
PlayerNew team
Paul KariyaSt. Louis Blues
Sheldon BrookbankColumbus Blue Jackets
Vitaly VishnevskiNew Jersey Devils

Draft picks

Nashville's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.[13] The Predators possess the 23rd overall pick in the draft. The pick was originally traded to the Philadelphia Flyers when the Predators acquired Peter Forsberg.[14] Nashville re-acquired the pick, however, on June 18 in exchange for Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen.[15]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (League)
1 23 Jonathon Blum D  United States Vancouver Giants (WHL)
2 54 Jeremy Smith G  United States Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
2 58 Nick Spaling C  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3 81 Ryan Thang LW  United States University of Notre Dame (CCHA)
4 114 Ben Ryan C  United States University of Notre Dame (CCHA)
4 119 Mark Santorelli C  Canada Chilliwack Bruins (WHL)
5 144 Andreas Thuresson W  Sweden Malmo Redhawks (SEL)
6 174 Robert Dietrich D  Germany DEG Metro Stars (DEL)
7 204 Atte Engren G  Finland Lukko (SM-liiga)

Farm teams

Milwaukee Admirals

The Milwaukee Admirals are the Predators' top affiliate, playing in the American Hockey League in 2007–08.

New Mexico Scorpions

The New Mexico Scorpions were a Predators' affiliate, playing in the Central Hockey League in 2007–08. On July 2, 2009, the Scorpions ceased operations.

See also

References
  1. Canadian businessman to buy Predators Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine, newschannel5.com, May 24, 2007
  2. Harless, Bill, Chamber, other business execs to stump for Predators Archived 2007-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, Nashville City Paper, June 5, 2007
  3. Balsillie has deal for Hamilton arena, cbc.ca, May 31, 2007
  4. Burnside, Scott, Balsillie given rights for Hamilton sports complex, ESPN.com, May 31, 2007
  5. Tedesco, Theresa, Balsillie raises NHL move Archived 2012-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, National Post, June 13, 2007
  6. Glennon, John, Report: Leipold wants Balsillie out of Preds deal, tennessean.com, June 22, 2007
  7. Predators sign letter of intent to stay local - USATODAY.com
  8. ESPN - NHL teams will play each other at least once per season - NHL
  9. Craig Leipold agrees to buy Wild
  10. "Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators Box Score — November 15, 2007".
  11. "Atlanta Thrashers at St. Louis Blues Box Score — December 23, 2007".
  12. "2007-08 NHL Schedule and Results".
  13. 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com
  14. Acquiring Forsberg 'a huge deal' for Preds, February 20, 2007
  15. Flyers acquire Hartnell, Timonen from Preds for pick, June 18, 2007
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