22 days until the season opener…

Greg Johnson: 1999 – 2006 (Top Left), Jordin Tootoo: 2007 – 2012 (Top Middle), Scott Hannan: Top Right), Kevin Fiala: 2018 – 2019 (Bottom Left), Korbinian Holzer: 2020 (Bottom Middle), David Farrance: 2021 (Bottom Right), Nino Niederreiter: 2023 (Top, 2nd Slide), Tyson Barrie: 2023 – 2024 (Bottom, 2nd Slide).

Greg Johnson was drafted 33rd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1989. By the time he got to Nashville via the 1998 Expansion Draft, he had already played for the Red Wings, Penguins, and Blackhawks respectively over a period of 5 years. He would immediately become an Alternate Captain for the team, serving from 1999 to 2002, and then Captain from 2002 – 2006. His brother, Ryan Johnson, had a 15-year career in the NHL as well. He would play 502 games for the Preds, scoring 93 goals and tallying 145 assists for a total of 238 points. Johnson would be forced to retire at the age of 34 when he received abnormal results from an EKG test.

On July 7th, 2019, Greg Johnson was found dead in the basement of his Detroit home by his wife Kristin. Police reports concluded that the cause of death was suicide by firearm. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. On July 10th of this year, it was announced that Johnson was posthumously diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

Jordin Tootoo was drafted 98th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2001. He would play 486 games, scoring 46 goals and 79 assists for a total 125 points. He is the first player of Inuit descent to be drafted by an NHL team. Tootoo would earn two "Gordie Howe hat tricks" on January 10th, 2004, and on December 8th, 2007 and was widely regarded as one of the NHL's best agitators. He also holds the franchise records for Penalty Minutes at 725. On October 19th, 2018, Tootoo would retire and focused on efforts to enhance the lives of Native children.

Scott Hannan was drafted 23rd overall by the San Jose Sharks in 1997. He would play 29 games for the Preds, tallying an assist. He played a total of 1,055 games in his 16-year career.

Kevin Fiala was drafted 11th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2014. He would play 204 games, scoring 45 goals and 52 assists, before being traded to the Minnesota Wild for Mikael Granlund. In 215 games for the Wild, he would score 79 goals and 107 assists for 186 total points. Fiala is still currently playing for the Kings and producing at just shy of a point per game. Please make that trade make sense…

Korbinian Holzer was drafted 111th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs and 2006. He would play 3 games for Nashville.

David Farrance was drafted 92nd overall by the Nashville Predators in 2017. He played 2 games and currently plays in the DEL.

Nino Niederreiter was drafted 10th overall by the New York Islanders in 2010. In 56 games with Nashville he scored 18 goals and 10 assists. He is still currently with the Winnipeg Jets.

Tyson Barrie was drafted 64th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009. He played 65 games with the Preds, scoring 4 goals and 23 assists. He is currently on a professional tryout with the Calgary Flames.