NHL Hockey Trivia: Nashville Predators Firsts

The Nashville Predators entered the National Hockey League in the 1998-99 season. The team has enjoyed moderate success for an expansion team, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs in seven of fourteen NHL seasons. The Predators have won two playoff series, taking the opening round of the 2010-11 playoffs over the Anaheim and the opening round of the 2011-12 playoffs over the Detroit Red Wings. Nashville suffered a setback in 2012-13, not qualifying for the post season for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

There’s a first for everything. Test and expand your knowledge of the NHL’s Nashville Predators with the following four questions regarding ‘firsts’ in the team’s short history.

Q. Who was the first ever head coach of the Nashville Predators?

A. Barry Trotz is not only the first ever head coach of the Predators but he is also, as of 2013-14, the only head coach the team has ever had. Trotz played junior as a defenseman with the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

Before Nashville, Barry coached in the American Hockey League from 1992-93 to 1996-97. His first year was with the Baltimore Skipjacks. Trotz moved with the franchise to Portland where he coached the Pirates for the next five years. In 1993-94, the Portland Pirates won the Calder Cup championship, beating the Moncton Hawks 4-2 in the finals. That year, Barry was honoured with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year.

Q. On October 13, 1998, what player scored the first ever goal for the Nashville Predators?

A. In his only season with Nashville, Andrew Brunette holds the honour of scoring the team’s first goal. Brunette retired after the 2011-12 season. Over his career, he appeared in 1,110 regular season NHL games with the Washington Capitals, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks. Interestingly, he played for coach Barry Trotz for five years with the Portland Pirates in the AHL.

Q. Who was the first Nashville Predator to score on a penalty shot in overtime?

A. David Legwand was not only the first Predator to do this in 2000 but was also the first NHL player to ever accomplish this feat.

Q. Who was the first player ever selected by the Nashville Predators in the NHL Entry Draft?

A. David Legwand was selected second overall in 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Legwand played one game with the Predators in the team’s inaugural season and had been a mainstay with the club until a deadline trade in 2013-14 sent him to the Detroit Red Wings.

Legwand was drafted by Nashville after his first of two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Plymouth Whalers. In that 1998 NHL draft, only Vincent Lecavalier of the Rimouski Oceanic went higher, going first overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Fred Shero

Fred Shero is perhaps one of the best hockey coaches to ever stand behind a bench in professional hockey. The fact that the Hockey Hall of Fame took over two decades after his death to finally honour Shero is an enormous injustice. Test and expand your knowledge of “The Fog” with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. Long before he was a head coach in the National Hockey League, what NHL team did Fred Shero play for?

A. For the New York Rangers, Shero played a total of 145 regular season and 13 playoffs games between 1947-48 and 1949-50. As a defenseman, Shero totaled 22 points in the combined 158 games. Fred played pro from 1943-44 to 1957-58 in the EHL, AHL, USHL, NHL, PCHL, WHL and QHL. He was a member of consecutive Calder Cup championships in the AHL with the Cleveland Barons in 1952-53 and 1953-54. He exploded offensively with the Barons in 1953-54 with 21 goals and 53 points.

Q. Fred Shero twice coached the Stanley Cup finalists, in the form of the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers and the 1978-79 New York Rangers. In both these occasions, what team defeated Shero’s team?

A. The Montreal Canadiens were Stanley Cup champions in four consecutive seasons from 1975-76 to 1978-79. In the first and last years of their dynasty, the Habs met and defeated team’s coached by Fred Shero. In 1975-76, the Flyers were denied their third consecutive championship, swept by the Canadiens in four games. In 1978-79, the Rangers were able to win one game against Montreal.

Q. In what year did Fred Shero win the Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the NHL?

A. Shero was the first ever recipient of the Jack Adams Award, winning in 1973-74. His Philadelphia Flyers became the first of the 1967 expansion teams to win the Stanley Cup. The Flyers were also the first non-Original 6 team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Maroons captured the championship in 1934-35.

Q. Fred Shero coached championship teams in four professional hockey leagues. What team did he lead to a Calder Cup victory in the American Hockey League?

A. Going into the 1969-70 AHL season, it was understood to be a swan-song season for the Buffalo Bisons. There wasn’t enough room at the Auditorium in Buffalo for two professional hockey teams and the Buffalo Sabres were set to start their inaugural NHL season in 1970-71. The Bisons swept the Springfield Kings to capture their fifth and final Calder Cup.

12 of 30 National Hockey League Teams Still Looking For 1st Stanley Cup

Of the thirty teams in the National Hockey League, there are still twelve that have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup. There is just one team from the NHL size doubling expansion in 1967-68 that have yet to win a Stanley Cup. Since the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Cup in 1966-67, Toronto and the St. Louis Blues are tied for the most years without a Stanley Cup victory.

Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild entered the NHL for the 2000-01 season. The Blue Jackets have made the playoffs just once since their inception and they didn’t make it past the first round. The Wild have had mildly better success with a Western Conference finals loss in 2002-03.

The Atlanta Thrashers began play in the NHL one year before Columbus and Minnesota. Atlanta’s one trip to the playoffs was a first round sweep in 2006-07 at the hands of the New York Rangers. Since moving to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season, the Jets have not reached the post season.

The Nashville Predators have been in the NHL one more year than Atlanta. Nashville has had some success qualifying for the post season. The team has made the playoffs seven times over their short lifetime and have reached the Western Conference semi-finals twice.

The Florida Panthers have made the playoffs just once since 1999-00, losing in the 2011-12 opening round to the New Jersey Devils in seven games. The team came into the league in 1993-94 and had very rapid success, making it to the Stanley Cup finals in just their third year in the league. The Panthers lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the finals at the height of the ‘neutral zone trap’ era.

The latest incarnation of the Ottawa Senators entered the league in 1992-93. Despite being one of the top regular season teams for a number of years, the Senators made it to the Western Conference finals in just 2002-03 (losing to New Jersey Devils) and the Stanley Cup finals in just 2006-07 (losing to the Anaheim Ducks). A team called the Ottawa Senators won four Stanley Cups in the 1920’s before moving to St. Louis then disappearing from the league back in 1930’s.

The San Jose Sharks entered the NHL a year before the Senators. As with the Senators, the Sharks have fielded a top-notch team that has done great during the regular season but has had trouble in the playoffs. The team has made it to the Western Conference finals twice before being knocked out, 2003-04 against the Calgary Flames and 2009-10 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Phoenix Coyotes moved to the desert from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 season. The Coyotes didn’t win a single playoff series until 2011-12 when they managed to reach the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings. The team was originally dubbed the Jets in Winnipeg from the 1979-80 NHL season forward and had no better luck at that location. As a member of the World Hockey Association, however, the Jets won the Avco Cup three times as the league’s playoff champions.

The Washington Capitals have been favoured to compete strongly for the Stanley Cup over the past decade but have provided their fans with perennial post season disappointment. The Capitals entered the league in 1974-75. They have lost in the Conference finals just once, losing to the Boston Bruins in 1988-89, and the Stanley Cup finals just once, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98.

The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks both entered the NHL for the 1970-71 season. Buffalo has lost in the Stanley Cup finals twice while the Canucks have played the role of bridesmaid on three occasions. The Sabres lost out to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974-75 and the Dallas Stars in 1998-99. The Canucks lost to the mighty New York Islanders in 1981-82, the New York Rangers in 1993-94 and the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.

The only team from the expansion of 1967-68 that is still in search of its first Stanley Cup victory is the St. Louis Blues. The Blues went to the Cup finals in their first three years of existence and haven’t been back since. The Kings made one unsuccessful trip to the finals, a loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93, before winning the championship in 2011-12 with a victory over the New Jersey Devils in the finals. Los Angeles did it again in 2013-14.
 

 

2 NHL Teams With Losing Records To Win Stanley Cup

In the modern age of the NHL with 30 teams competing for 16 playoff spots, it is inconceivable that a team could win the Stanley Cup with a losing record during the regular season. In the modern era, teams with a better than .500 record often do not even make the playoffs.

Believe it or not, twice in the history of the National Hockey League, teams with a losing record have not only made it to the Stanley Cup final but have taken the Cup home as league champions. It happened once during the ‘Original Six’ era and once even before that when there were eight NHL teams split into two divisions of 4 teams.

Chicago Blackhawks – 1937-38

The first time this happened was during the 1937-38 season. At the time, the teams in the league played just a 48 games schedule and long lost teams, the New York Americans and Montreal Maroons were still going strong. The Toronto Maple Leafs took the Canadian Division during the regular season with a record of 24 wins, 15 losses and 9 ties. The Boston Bruins ran away with the American Division with a record of 30 wins, 11 losses and 7 ties.

The Chicago Black Hawks finished third in the American Division, just two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings with a dismal record of 14 wins, 25 losses and 9 ties. The only team worse was the Montreal Maroons who were in their last year of existence. Yet, when all was said and done, the Black Hawks were crowned Stanley Cup Champs.

Chicago was coached by Bill Stewart. Never a player in the National Hockey League, it was the only year Stewart was a head coach in the league. The Black Hawks were led offensively during the regular season by Paul Thompson. Thompson scored 22 and assisted on 22 over 48 games. Two years later, Paul was the head coach for Chicago. In the playoffs, it was Russian born Johnny Gottselig that led the team with eight points.

Toronto Maple Leafs – 1948-49

The second time the situation arose was during the 1948-49 season. There were only six teams in the league and only the top four teams competed in the post season playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings took first place easily with 75 points over the 60 game season. Boston and Montreal were second and third with 66 and 65 points and the Toronto Maple Leafs rounded out the top four with 57 points on 22 wins, 25 losses and 13 ties.

Toronto went on to take their third straight Stanley Cup despite the weak regular season showing. This was the last time the feat was ever accomplished and probably will be the last time ever unless the league downsizes or changes its playoff structure in the future. It should be noted that most every season during the ‘Original Six’ era, the fourth place time had a losing record during the regular season so almost every year the opportunity was there for a severe underdog to take the Stanley Cup home.

The Hap Day coached Maple Leafs had Bill Barilko in the lineup and were led offensively by Harry Watson during the regular season. In the playoffs, it was Ted Kennedy leading the way with eight points. Turk Broda played goal for all of Toronto’s regular season and playoff games.

 

Hockey Trivia: 1971-72 Boston Bruins

Before 2011, the 1972 Boston Bruins were the last to bring the Stanley Cup to Beantown. The 1971-72 Boston Bruins can be considered among the top National Hockey League teams of all time, losing just 13 of 78 games during the regular season and finishing ten points beyond the second place team before storming their way to the Stanley Cup victory.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the 1972 Boston Bruins with the following four hockey trivia questions:

Q. What Bruins player was the team leader in both goals and points in 1971-72?

A. Phil Esposito, coming off a record 76 goals and 152 points in 1970-71, led the team with lower, but still impressive, numbers than the year before. Esposito finished out the year with 66 goals and 130 points.

There’s a bit of an asterix here as Esposito tied Bobby Orr for the team lead with 24 points during the playoffs. In the goals department, Esposito, John Bucyk and Ken Hodge all tied for the team lead in the post season with nine each. Assists? It was all Bobby Orr. Orr led the team during the regular season with 80 assists and led in the playoffs with 19.

Q. Each of the Boston Bruins goaltending tandem finished off the 1971-72 season with an equal 27 wins. Although Gerry Cheevers is thought of when the topic of Boston goaltenders from the 1970’s comes up, who was the goalie that platooned with Cheevers that season?

A. Eddie Johnston quietly had the same number of wins, although his goals against average was slightly higher than that of Gerry Cheevers. Johnston played in the National Hockey League from 1962-63 to 1977-78 with the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. His days in Chicago were limited to the final four games of his Eddie’s NHL career.

Q. What team did the Boston Bruins beat in the finals to win the 1972 Stanley Cup?

A. The Bruins met the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals and won the series in four games. The Rangers finished second overall in the NHL during the regular season, ten points behind the Bruins. The Rangers took out the Montreal Canadiens in the quarter-finals then swept the Chicago Black Hawks in the semi-finals to earn the match-up against Boston.

Even though the teams had both been in the NHL since the mid 1920’s, it was just the second time Boston and New York met in the Stanley Cup finals. The previous time came in 1928-29 with the Bruins sweeping the best of three series in two games.

Q. The Boston Bruins lost just thirteen games in 1971-72. One team was responsible for nearly a quarter of those losses. Which team did Boston lose three games to in the regular season?

A. Not too shockingly, the Bruins lost three to the Montreal Canadiens. Interestingly, two of the thirteen losses came at the hands of the lowly California Golden Seals. Seven of the thirteen losses came against teams that finished the year below .500.
 

Hockey Trivia: Bernie Parent

Bernie Parent is easily the best goaltender to ever wear the jersey of the Philadelphia Flyers. Until the untimely end to his National Hockey Career in 1978-79 due to an eye injury, Parent was one of the best goalies of that era in the NHL.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bernie Parent with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Bernie Parent played one season in the World Hockey Association. Which WHA team did he play for?

A. Originally signed by the Miami Screaming Eagles, after not playing a single game in Florida, the Screaming Eagles were moved to Philadelphia where they were known as the Philadelphia Blazers for the 1972-73 season. Parent played 63 games for the Blazers in their only season in the WHA before becoming the Vancouver Blazers.

Parent left the Toronto Maple Leafs to play in the WHA’s inaugural season. Upon returning to the National Hockey League for the 1973-74 season, Bernie returned to the Flyers, the team that had traded him to Toronto during the 1970-71 season.

Q. Bernie Parent played his first NHL game with what team?

A. Parent was originally a prospect of the Boston Bruins. He played 39 games with the team in his rookie season, 1965-66, winning only eleven games. He played 18 games with the Bruins the following season before being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

In his first year with Boston, Parent moved right into the number one position, playing 39 games for the Bruins. Ed Johnston played 33 games and Gerry Cheevers appeared in seven. By 1966-67, Johnston and Cheevers had taken over as Boston’s goaltending duo and the 1967 expansion was a blessing for Bernie.

Q. In 2006-07, what record did Martin Brodeur break that Bernie Parent set in 1973-74?

A. It took over three decades for someone to break Parent’s record for most wins by a goalie in a season. In 1973-74 Bernie won 47 games for the Philadelphia Flyers while losing only 13 in 73 games. Brodeur’s season was four games longer than Parent’s and Marty had the advantage of overtimes and shootouts. In the end, Marty broke the record by just one win with 48. Bernie tied 12 games in 1973-74 which would have been potential wins in today’s game.

Q. Bernie Parent won a Memorial Cup in 1964-65 with what Ontario Hockey Association team?

A. Ironically, Parent’s junior success came with a team also called the Flyers. The Niagara Falls Flyers were an OHA team sponsored by the Boston Bruins. The team won the Memorial Cup in 1965 with the help of future NHLers Jean Pronovost, Derek Sanderson and Don Marcotte.

Niagara Falls met the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup final series. The series was entirely held at the Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta. The Flyers won four games to one, outscoring their opponents 16-3 in the final two games. Bill Long coached Niagara Falls and would go on to coach the Ottawa 67’s and London Knights in the OHL.

Philadelphia Flyers: 6 Times the Bridesmaids

The Philadelphia Flyers were the first of the 1967-68 NHL expansion teams to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Flyers won twice in a row, over the Boston Bruins in 1973-74 and over the Buffalo Sabres in 1974-75. Since, the team has been the Stanley Cup finals six more times but has yet to be crowned champions for a third time.

1975-76

In 1975-76, the Flyers were poised to make it a three-peat. The team finished second overall during the regular season, behind only the Montreal Canadiens. In the quarter-finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs took them to seven games but the Flyers prevailed. Philadelphia then met the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals and had an easier time with a tougher team, winning in five games.

The Flyers met Montreal in the Stanley Cup finals. The Broad Street Bullies were trying to create a dynasty but the Canadiens decided to start their own instead. The Habs swept the Flyers in what was their first of four consecutive championships. Reggie Leach of the Flyers scored 19 goals, a playoff record that stands today. Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in the losing cause. Reg also led the team in points with 24.

1979-80

After finishing first overall during the regular season, the Flyers found themselves at the wrong end of another budding dynasty in 1979-80. Philly met up with the New York Islanders in the finals and lost in six games. It would be the first of four consecutive for the Long Island squad.

On the road to the final series, Philadelphia beat the Edmonton Oilers in the preliminary round 3-0, the New York Rangers 4-1 in the quarter-finals and the Minnesota North Stars 4-1 in the semi-finals. Ken Linseman led the Flyers with 22 points.

1984-85

Philadelphia finished first overall again in 1984-85. After sweeping the Rangers in the division semi-final and losing just one game to the Islanders in the division final, the Flyers took out the Quebec Nordiques in six to win the conference.

The team came up against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in the finals and lost the series in five games. Brian Propp led the club with 18 playoff points.

1986-87

It was déjà vu in 1986-87 with the Flyers once again coming up against the Oilers in the finals. This time, Philadelphia pushed the series to the limit but succumbed to Edmonton in seven. For the second time in their history, the Flyers had a player awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy despite losing in the finals. Ron Hextall took the award in his first year in the NHL. Brian Propp once again led the team in post season scoring with 28 points.

1996-97

The Flyers didn’t make it back to the finals until 1996-97. The team finished fourth overall during the regular season, behind the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils. Like 1975-76 against the Canadiens, Philadelphia was swept in the final series.

Philly lost just three games in the first three rounds, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings were simply a powerhouse and took just four games to eliminate the Flyers. Eric Lindros led the club with 26 playoff points. It marked the last NHL games for Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk.

2009-10

Despite finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference during the 2009-10 regular season, the Flyers plowed through to meet the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final. Chicago took the series in six games. It was a real accomplishment, considering the team’s regular season point total would have placed them as low as 12^th if they were in the West.

The Flyers knocked off the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in the first round before stretching the next series with the Boston Bruins to the full seven games. In the conference final, Philadelphia beat the Montreal Canadiens in five. Daniel Briere led the team with 30 points in the playoffs.