Nashville Predators Trivia
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47 free Nashville Predators trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The Nashville Predators exist because New Jersey said no, their logo is a saber-toothed cat dug up beneath a downtown bank, and their fans throw catfish and make fang fingers to the Psycho theme. This Predators trivia quiz covers all of it: Craig Leipold's expansion bid, the naming vote he quietly won himself, David Poile and Barry Trotz, the 2000 opener in Tokyo, Paul Kariya's 8-0 start, the Forsberg rental, the Balsillie saga and 'Our Team Nashville', Shea Weber's record offer sheet, Pekka Rinne's rise from the eighth round and the 2017 sweep of the Blackhawks on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. It then follows the Presidents' Trophy season, the Subban trade, Roman Josi's captaincy, the Winter Classic and Stadium Series, Trotz's return as general manager and the arena on Broadway built to salute the Ryman. Questions range from easy to expert, with the hard ones aimed at fans who remember the Mustard Cats. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedic and reference sources before publishing, and each question carries a citation. For more, try our NHL trivia and hockey trivia pages.
30 of 47 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which 1997 expansion team followed Nashville onto the ice in 1999?
Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers followed in 1999, with Columbus and Minnesota in 2000; Nashville took the ice first, in 1998, because its arena had already been open for almost two years.
Q 02Which NHL team did Nashville nearly lure to its new arena in 1995?
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils tried to end their arena lease as Nashville dangled a $20 million relocation bonus in 1995, then restructured it and stayed, in the same summer they won their first Stanley Cup.
Q 03Which Wisconsin businessman led the group awarded the Nashville franchise?
Craig Leipold
Craig Leipold, a businessman from Racine, Wisconsin, led the ownership group awarded the Nashville franchise in June 1997; he later sold the club and bought the Minnesota Wild.
Q 04Which former Capitals general manager became the Predators' first GM in July 1997?
David Poile
David Poile ran the Washington Capitals for 15 seasons before Nashville hired him; in 2018 he passed Glen Sather as the NHL's winningest general manager by beating Edmonton 4-2, the club Sather had built into a dynasty.
Q 05Which minor-league club was the Predators' first head coach running when Nashville hired him in 1997?
Portland Pirates
The Portland Pirates won the 1994 Calder Cup in their first season after the franchise moved from Baltimore, under the coach Nashville hired in August 1997 as its first; the club was Washington's top farm team.
Q 06The Predators' logo honors a saber-toothed cat skeleton found where in 1971?
Beneath a downtown Nashville bank site
Beneath a downtown Nashville bank site is where workers building the First American National Bank tower in 1971 broke into a cave holding Smilodon bones; that building later became the UBS Tower.
Q 07Which fan-submitted finalist lost the Predators' 1997 naming vote to the owner's own entry?
Ice Tigers
Ice Tigers, Fury and Attack were the fans' three finalists. The club had unveiled its saber-toothed logo on September 25, 1997, seven weeks before the vote gave the team a name.
Q 08Which goalie did Nashville claim in the 1998 expansion draft, then lose back to the Rangers?
Mike Richter
Mike Richter, a pending free agent, was claimed from the Rangers by Nashville in the June 1998 expansion draft, then re-signed with New York, so the Predators never got him under contract.
Q 09Nashville lost its first-ever game 1-0 to which team on October 10, 1998?
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers won 1-0 on a Ray Whitney power-play goal; three nights later Andrew Brunette, who returned in 2023 as head coach, scored Nashville's first-ever goal in a 3-2 win over Carolina.
Q 10In which country did the Predators open the 2000-01 season with two games against Pittsburgh?
Japan
Japan hosted both games at the Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo in October 2000, the third time in four years the NHL opened a season there; Nashville won the first 3-1 and Pittsburgh took the second by the same score.
Q 11Nashville took Shea Weber 49th in the 2003 draft after picking which defenseman seventh overall?
Ryan Suter
Ryan Suter and Weber, taken 42 picks apart in the same draft, grew into Nashville's top defense pair, until Suter left for Minnesota as a free agent in 2012.
Q 12Which team ended Nashville's first playoff appearance in 2004?
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings, the league's best regular-season team, needed six games: Nashville won Games 3 and 4 at home, its first playoff victories, before Detroit closed the series with a shutout.
Q 13Which free agent did Nashville sign in summer 2005, ahead of its 106-point 2005-06 season?
Paul Kariya
Q 21Which team's 14-year, $110 million offer sheet to Shea Weber did Nashville match in 2012?
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers front-loaded the richest offer sheet in NHL history with $68 million in signing bonuses; Nashville, which had just lost another star defenseman to free agency, matched it five days later.
Q 22Which franchise original, then its all-time leading scorer, was traded to Detroit in 2014?
David Legwand
David Legwand, the first player Nashville ever drafted and its career points leader, waived his no-trade clause in March 2014 so the club could send him to the Red Wings, the team of his birthplace.
Q 23Which forward came from Columbus in 2016 in exchange for defenseman Seth Jones?
Paul Kariya chose Nashville over nine other suitors in August 2005, drawn by its fast-skating style, and set a club record with 85 points; he left in 2007, citing the team's uncertain future as it was put up for sale.
Q 14Which former league MVP did the Predators rent from Philadelphia at the 2007 deadline for Upshall, Parent and picks?
Peter Forsberg
Peter Forsberg came from Philadelphia at the February 2007 deadline for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and two draft picks, but Nashville lost to San Jose in the first round for a second straight year.
Q 15Which Canadian billionaire tried to buy the Predators in 2007, allegedly to move them north?
Jim Balsillie
Jim Balsillie, the Research In Motion co-CEO, agreed to buy the Predators in 2007 and took season-ticket deposits in Hamilton, Ontario, before the deal collapsed and a local group kept the team in Nashville.
Q 16Which Predators minority owner's fraudulent loans led to a 97-month prison sentence?
Boots Del Biaggio
Boots Del Biaggio bought his share of the Predators with loans he had obtained by fraud; he went bankrupt in 2008, drew a 97-month prison sentence, and a trustee sold his stake to repay creditors.
Q 17Which goalie's 233-minute shutout streak in 2008 helped Nashville grab the final playoff spot?
Dan Ellis
Dan Ellis began 2007-08 as Chris Mason's backup; his 233 minutes 39 seconds without conceding, across four games late in the season, carried Nashville to the West's last playoff spot.
Q 18Which Russian forward was suspended in 2008 for signing with Salavat Yulaev Ufa while under Predators contract?
Alexander Radulov
Alexander Radulov left for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in 2008 with a year left on his Nashville deal, returned in 2012, and was suspended again after a late-night Scottsdale bar sighting during the 2012 playoffs.
Q 19Which defenseman did Nashville select 38th overall in the 2008 draft?
Roman Josi
Roman Josi lasted until the second round, 38th overall; he became captain in 2017 and in 2020 the first Predator to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.
Q 20Which team beat Nashville in the franchise's first second-round series in 2011?
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks, that season's Presidents' Trophy winners, beat Nashville in six games in the 2011 second round after the Predators had eliminated Anaheim for their first series win.
Ryan Johansen
Ryan Johansen came from Columbus on January 6, 2016, in a one-for-one trade for defenseman Seth Jones, giving Nashville the first-line center it had lacked.
Q 24Whom did the Predators receive from Montreal in the 2016 trade of captain Shea Weber?
P. K. Subban
P. K. Subban, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner, arrived on June 29, 2016, in a one-for-one swap of star defensemen; in his first season Nashville reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time.
Q 25Which top seed did Nashville sweep in the 2017 first round?
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks, the West's top seed, were swept in four games by Nashville in the 2017 first round, the first playoff sweep in Predators history, on a run that ended in the Stanley Cup Final.
Q 26Which team beat Nashville in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final?
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins won in six: Game 6 was scoreless when a quick whistle wiped out a Colton Sissons goal for Nashville, and former Predator Patric Hornqvist scored the winner with 1:35 left.
Q 27Which country star sang the anthem before Game 3 of the 2017 conference finals, then joined Titans players on the Jumbotron?
Keith Urban
Keith Urban sang the anthem before Game 3 against Anaheim, then turned up on the video board beside Titans players Taylor Lewan and Marcus Mariota, who were serving as that night's pre-game hype men.
Q 28Which captain retired in August 2017, then un-retired to finish the following season?
Mike Fisher
Mike Fisher announced his retirement on August 3, 2017, after captaining the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final, then returned in January 2018 and played through that spring's playoffs before retiring again.
Q 29Which team eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Predators in the 2018 playoffs?
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets won Game 7 in Nashville 5-1 in the second round, ending the season in which the Predators had finished first overall and taken their first division title.
Q 30Which center joined Nashville from Ottawa in a 2017 trade for Girard and Kamenev?
Kyle Turris
Kyle Turris came to Nashville from Ottawa in the November 2017 three-team trade in which Samuel Girard and Vladislav Kamenev went to Colorado and Matt Duchene went from Colorado to Ottawa.