1998–99 Nashville Predators season

The 1998–99 Nashville Predators season was the team's inaugural season. The team accumulated 28 wins and 47 losses, with seven games ending in ties for a total of 63 points, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division and 12th in the Western Conference. The team failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

1998–99 Nashville Predators
Division	4th Central
Conference	12th Western
1998–99 record	28–47–7
Home record	15–22–4
Road record	13–25–3
Goals for	190
Goals against	261
Team information
General manager	David Poile
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Tom Fitzgerald
Arena	Nashville Arena
Average attendance	16,194
Minor league affiliate(s)	Milwaukee Admirals Hampton Roads Admirals
Team leaders
Goals	Sergei Krivokrasov (25)
Assists	Cliff Ronning (35)
Points	Cliff Ronning (53)
Penalty minutes	Patrick Cote (242)
Plus/minus	Rob Valicevic (+4)
Wins	Mike Dunham (16)
Goals against average	Tomas Vokoun (2.95)

Off-season

In the expansion draft, the Predators chose five goaltenders, including Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun, who would become their starting goaltenders, and Mike Richter, who was a free agent and chose not to sign with the Predators. In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the Predators chose David Legwand, a center, as their first-ever draft pick, second overall.

Regular season

The Predators struggled on the power-play during the regular season, finishing 27th overall in the NHL in power-play goals scored (40). They also had the lowest penalty-kill percentage in the league, at 78.99%.

Season standings

Central Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	43	32	7	245	202	1202	93
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	37	32	13	237	209	1308	87
3	10	Chicago Blackhawks	82	29	41	12	202	248	1807	70
4	12	Nashville Predators	82	28	47	7	190	261	1420	63

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	28	10	239	205	98
3	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	43	32	7	245	202	93
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	37	32	13	237	209	87
6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
7	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
8	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	33	37	12	230	226	78
9	Calgary Flames	NW	82	30	40	12	211	234	72
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	41	12	202	248	70
11	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	32	45	5	189	222	69
12	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	47	7	190	261	63
13	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	23	47	12	192	258	58

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season
October: 3–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 10, 1998 0–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 0–1–0 Recap 2 W October 13, 1998 3–2 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 1–1–0 Recap 3 L October 17, 1998 1–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 1–2–0 Recap 4 T October 19, 1998 2–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 1–2–1 Recap 5 L October 21, 1998 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 1–3–1 Recap 6 L October 23, 1998 3–4 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 1–4–1 Recap 7 L October 24, 1998 4–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 1–5–1 Recap 8 W October 27, 1998 5–4 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 2–5–1 Recap 9 W October 31, 1998 3–2 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 3–5–1 Recap
November: 6–7–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 10 L November 4, 1998 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 3–6–1 Recap 11 W November 6, 1998 2–1 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 4–6–1 Recap 12 L November 7, 1998 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 4–7–1 Recap 13 W November 10, 1998 4–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 5–7–1 Recap 14 W November 12, 1998 3–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 6–7–1 Recap 15 L November 14, 1998 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 6–8–1 Recap 16 L November 17, 1998 1–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 6–9–1 Recap 17 W November 19, 1998 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 7–9–1 Recap 18 L November 21, 1998 3–6 New York Islanders (1998–99) 7–10–1 Recap 19 L November 24, 1998 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 7–11–1 Recap 20 W November 25, 1998 4–3 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 8–11–1 Recap 21 W November 27, 1998 3–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 9–11–1 Recap 22 L November 29, 1998 1–5 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 9–12–1 Recap
December: 4–6–2 (home: 3–3–2; road: 1–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 23 L December 1, 1998 1–3 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 9–13–1 Recap 24 L December 5, 1998 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 9–14–1 Recap 25 T December 8, 1998 3–3 OT Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 9–14–2 Recap 26 W December 10, 1998 2–1 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 10–14–2 Recap 27 T December 12, 1998 2–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 10–14–3 Recap 28 L December 16, 1998 1–6 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 10–15–3 Recap 29 L December 17, 1998 1–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 10–16–3 Recap 30 W December 19, 1998 6–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 11–16–3 Recap 31 W December 23, 1998 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 12–16–3 Recap 32 W December 26, 1998 3–1 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 13–16–3 Recap 33 L December 28, 1998 0–1 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 13–17–3 Recap 34 L December 30, 1998 2–5 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 13–18–3 Recap
January: 5–9–1 (home: 3–5–1; road: 2–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 35 L January 1, 1999 5–6 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 13–19–3 Recap 36 L January 2, 1999 1–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 13–20–3 Recap 37 W January 4, 1999 2–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 14–20–3 Recap 38 L January 7, 1999 3–4 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 14–21–3 Recap 39 T January 9, 1999 3–3 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 14–21–4 Recap 40 L January 11, 1999 0–8 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 14–22–4 Recap 41 L January 14, 1999 1–2 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 14–23–4 Recap 42 W January 15, 1999 2–0 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 15–23–4 Recap 43 L January 18, 1999 1–8 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 15–24–4 Recap 44 W January 19, 1999 4–1 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 16–24–4 Recap 45 L January 21, 1999 2–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 16–25–4 Recap 46 L January 26, 1999 1–4 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 16–26–4 Recap 47 W January 28, 1999 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 17–26–4 Recap 48 W January 30, 1999 3–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 18–26–4 Recap 49 L January 31, 1999 1–5 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 18–27–4 Recap
February: 3–6–2 (home: 0–4–1; road: 3–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 50 T February 4, 1999 2–2 OT @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 18–27–5 Recap 51 L February 5, 1999 2–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 18–28–5 Recap 52 L February 9, 1999 2–5 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 18–29–5 Recap 53 W February 12, 1999 2–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 19–29–5 Recap 54 L February 13, 1999 2–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 19–30–5 Recap 55 L February 15, 1999 4–7 New York Rangers (1998–99) 19–31–5 Recap 56 T February 19, 1999 4–4 OT Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 19–31–6 Recap 57 W February 20, 1999 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 20–31–6 Recap 58 L February 23, 1999 3–4 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 20–32–6 Recap 59 W February 24, 1999 2–1 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 21–32–6 Recap 60 L February 27, 1999 1–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 21–33–6 Recap
March: 5–8–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–5–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 61 L March 2, 1999 1–5 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 21–34–6 Recap 62 W March 4, 1999 4–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 22–34–6 Recap 63 L March 5, 1999 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 22–35–6 Recap 64 L March 7, 1999 3–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 22–36–6 Recap 65 L March 10, 1999 2–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 22–37–6 Recap 66 W March 12, 1999 5–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 23–37–6 Recap 67 W March 14, 1999 3–1 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 24–37–6 Recap 68 L March 16, 1999 2–4 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 24–38–6 Recap 69 L March 18, 1999 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 24–39–6 Recap 70 T March 20, 1999 1–1 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 24–39–7 Recap 71 W March 24, 1999 3–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 25–39–7 Recap 72 L March 26, 1999 1–4 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 25–40–7 Recap 73 L March 28, 1999 0–3 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 25–41–7 Recap 74 W March 30, 1999 3–2 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 26–41–7 Recap
April: 2–6–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 1–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 75 L April 1, 1999 1–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 26–42–7 Recap 76 W April 3, 1999 3–2 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 27–42–7 Recap 77 L April 7, 1999 1–4 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 27–43–7 Recap 78 W April 9, 1999 4–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 28–43–7 Recap 79 L April 12, 1999 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 28–44–7 Recap 80 L April 14, 1999 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 28–45–7 Recap 81 L April 15, 1999 2–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 28–46–7 Recap 82 L April 17, 1999 1–4 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 28–47–7 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.

			Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
7	Cliff Ronning†	C	72	18	35	53	−6	40
22	Greg Johnson	C	68	16	34	50	−8	24
25	Sergei Krivokrasov	RW	70	25	23	48	−5	42
71	Sebastien Bordeleau	C	72	16	24	40	−14	26
24	Scott Walker	RW	71	15	25	40	0	103
21	Tom Fitzgerald	RW	80	13	19	32	−18	48
19	Andrew Brunette	LW	77	11	20	31	−10	26
10	Patric Kjellberg	RW	71	11	20	31	−13	24
20	Jamie Heward	D	63	6	12	18	−24	44
43	Vitali Yachmenev	LW	55	7	10	17	−10	10
15	Drake Berehowsky	D	74	2	15	17	−9	140
28	Denny Lambert	LW	76	5	11	16	−3	218
42	Joel Bouchard	D	64	4	11	15	−10	60
23	Blair Atcheynum‡	RW	53	8	6	14	−10	16
27	John Slaney	D	46	2	12	14	−12	14
6	Bob Boughner	D	79	3	10	13	−6	137
44	Kimmo Timonen	D	50	4	8	12	−4	30
5	Jan Vopat	D	55	5	6	11	0	28
16	Ville Peltonen	LW	14	5	5	10	1	2
9	Darren Turcotte	C	40	4	5	9	−11	16
12	Rob Valicevic	RW	19	4	2	6	4	2
18	Mark Mowers	C	30	0	6	6	−4	4
36	J. J. Daigneault‡	D	35	2	2	4	−4	38
32	Jeff Daniels	LW	9	1	3	4	−1	2
7	Jeff Nelson	C	9	2	1	3	−1	2
17	Patrick Cote	LW	70	1	2	3	−7	242
4	Jay More	D	18	0	2	2	2	18
8	Doug Friedman	LW	2	0	1	1	0	14
40	Karlis Skrastins	D	2	0	1	1	0	0
29	Tomas Vokoun	G	37	0	1	1		6
7	Greg de Vries‡	D	6	0	0	0	−4	4
1	Mike Dunham	G	44	0	0	0		4
35	Eric Fichaud	G	9	0	0	0		0
47	Matt Henderson	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	2
2	Dan Keczmer†	D	16	0	0	0	−3	12
11	David Legwand	C	1	0	0	0	0	0
30	Chris Mason	G	3	0	0	0		0
12	Brad Smyth	RW	3	0	0	0	−1	6
50	Petr Sykora	C	2	0	0	0	−1	0
2	Rob Zettler	D	2	0	0	0	−2	2

Goaltending

		Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Mike Dunham	44	16	23	3	1387	127	3.08	.908	1	2472
29	Tomas Vokoun	37	12	18	4	1041	96	2.95	.908	1	1954
35	Eric Fichaud	9	0	6	0	229	24	3.22	.895	0	447
30	Chris Mason	3	0	0	0	44	6	5.22	.864	0	69

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Sergei Krivokrasov

Transactions

This section will cover signings from May 4, 1998, until the end of the 1998–99 season.

Free agent signings

Nashville signed the following free agents between June and September 1998: Jayson More (June 4), Tom Fitzgerald (July 6), David Gosselin (July 9), Jeff Staples (July 16), Brad Smyth (July 16), Jamie Heward (Aug. 6), Andrew Brunette (Sept. 2), Vitali Yachmenev (Sept. 2), Sebastien Bordeleau (Sept. 3) and Sergei Krivokrasov (Sept. 11).

All season trades

Date	Traded	Acquired	Acquired From
May 29	future considerations	Marian Cisar	Los Angeles Kings
June 26	future considerations	Kimmo Timonen and Jan Vopat	Los Angeles Kings
June 26	future considerations	Darren Turcotte	St. Louis Blues
June 26	1998 5th round pick	Ville Peltonen	San Jose Sharks
June 26	future considerations	Sergei Krivokrasov	Chicago Blackhawks
June 26	future considerations	Jim Dowd	Calgary Flames
June 26	future considerations	Sebastien Bordeleau	Montreal Canadiens
June 26	1998 7th round pick	Dominic Roussel and Jeff Staples	Philadelphia Flyers
June 30	1999 7th round pick	Mike Sullivan	Phoenix Coyotes
July 7	future considerations	Vitali Yachmenev	Los Angeles Kings
July 9	future considerations	Tony Hrkac	Dallas Stars
July 14	Doug Brown	Petr Sykora, 1999 3rd round pick, and 1999 conditional pick	Detroit Red Wings
August 19	future considerations	Jeff Nelson	Washington Capitals
Oct 1	Jim Dowd and Mikhail Shtalenkov	Drake Berehowsky, Eric Fichaud and Greg de Vries	Edmonton Oilers
Oct 5	Dominic Roussel	Marc Moro and Chris Mason	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Oct 25	Greg de Vries	1999 3rd round draft pick	Colorado Avalanche
Oct 31	future considerations	Cliff Ronning and Richard Lintner	Phoenix Coyotes
Jan 13	J. J. Daigneault	future considerations	Phoenix Coyotes
Jan 26	future considerations	Sergei Klimentiev	Philadelphia Flyers
Mar 23	Blair Atcheynum	2000 6th round pick	St. Louis Blues
Apr 13	1999 4th round pick	Andy Berenzweig	New York Islanders
May 3	Brad Smyth	future considerations	New York Rangers

Draft picks

Expansion draft

These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Predators were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential.

#	Player	Drafted from
1.	Frederic Chabot (G)	Los Angeles Kings
2.	Mike Dunham (G)	New Jersey Devils
3.	Mike Richter (G)	New York Rangers
4.	Mikhail Shtalenkov (G)	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
5.	Tomas Vokoun (G)	Montreal Canadiens
6.	Joel Bouchard (D)	Calgary Flames
7.	Bob Boughner (D)	Buffalo Sabres
8.	J. J. Daigneault (D)	New York Islanders
9.	Al Iafrate (D)	San Jose Sharks
10.	Uwe Krupp (D)	Colorado Avalanche
11.	John Slaney (D)	Phoenix Coyotes
12.	Rob Zettler (D)	Toronto Maple Leafs
13.	Chris Armstrong (D)	Florida Panthers
14.	Blair Atcheynum (RW)	St. Louis Blues
15.	Paul Brousseau (F)	Tampa Bay Lightning
16.	Doug Brown (RW)	Detroit Red Wings
17.	Andrew Brunette (LW)	Washington Capitals
18.	Patrick Cote (LW)	Dallas Stars
19.	Jeff Daniels (LW)	Carolina Hurricanes
20.	Craig Darby (C)	Philadelphia Flyers
21.	Doug Friedman (LW)	Edmonton Oilers
22.	Tony Hrkac (C)	Pittsburgh Penguins
23.	Greg Johnson (C)	Chicago Blackhawks
24.	Denny Lambert (LW)	Ottawa Senators
25.	Mike Sullivan (C)	Boston Bruins
26.	Scott Walker (RW)	Vancouver Canucks

Entry draft

Nashville's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	2	David Legwand	Center	United States	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
3	60	Denis Arkhipov	Center	Russia	Ak Bars Kazan (Russia)
3	85	Geoff Koch	Left Wing	United States	University of Michigan (Big Ten)
4	88	Kent Sauer	Defense	United States	North Iowa Huskies (USHL)
5	138	Martin Beauchesne	Defense	Canada	Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
6	147	Craig Brunel	Right Wing	United States	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
8	202	Martin Bartek	Left Wing	Slovakia	Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
9	230	Karlis Skrastins	Defense	Latvia	TPS (SM-liiga)

References

• "Nashville Predators 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
• "1998-99 Nashville Predators Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Podnieks, Andrew (2000). The NHL All-Star Game: 50 years of the great tradition. Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-200058-X.