Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban is the cover athlete for EA Sports' NHL 19. 

The honor was announced Wednesday during the league’s annual awards show in Las Vegas, and the NHL shared the trailer:

Subban was a primary reason the Predators finished with a league-high 117 points this past season, scoring 59 points on 43 assists and 16 goals. It was his fifth straight season with at least 40 points and fourth time during that span with more than 50 as one of the best players in the entire NHL.

While Subban and the Predators ultimately fell short of their Stanley Cup goal thanks to a postseason loss to the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville fans looking to write their own history can pick up the newest copy of this game with the team’s star player on the cover and look to rewrite their own history in the virtual world.

Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson was arrested on Saturday and has been charged with domestic assault.

Per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, Watson was taken into custody in Tennesee by the Franklin Police Department before posting a $4,500 bond. He has a court date scheduled for June 28. 

The Predators issued a statement about Watson's arrest:

"We are still gathering facts and it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time, but this is a matter that we are taking very seriously and will cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement. The Nashville Predators have and will continue to stand side by side with AMEND in the fight to end violence against women."

Per WKRN, the arresting officer said there was a passenger inside a vehicle "trying to back away from being shoved, saying 'stop' and covering her face."

The arrest warrant noted Watson admitted to pushing the woman and there were red marks visible on her chest. 

The 26-year-old Watson was Nashville's first-round pick (18th overall) in 2010. After making his NHL debut during the 2012-13 season, he eventually became a regular in the Predators lineup in the 2015-16 campaign. 

In 76 regular-season games in 2017-18, Watson scored a career-high 14 goals. 

Skier Lindsey Vonn and Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban attended the CMT Music Awards together in Nashville on Wednesday night.

According to TMZ Sports, Vonn seemingly confirmed that she and Subban are a couple by posting a photo of them together on her Instagram story with a yellow heart emoji.

Vonn and Subban have been a rumored item in recent months; they were spotted together at a Boston Red Sox game and Boston Celtics game in May.

Vonn also attended one of Subban's playoff games, according to TMZ.

The 33-year-old Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist and a four-time winner of the World Cup overall championship.

Vonn is the all-time record holder in World Cup race wins among women with 82.

She previously dated golfer Tiger Woods from 2012-2015.

The 29-year-old Subban is a nine-year NHL veteran who began his career with the Montreal Canadiens before he was traded to Nashville in 2016.

He enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in 2017-18, with 16 goals and 43 assists for 59 points.

Although the Winnipeg Jets ended the Preds' hopes of returning to the Stanley Cup Final in the second round of the playoffs, the exit allowed Subban to hit the town with Vonn on Wednesday.

Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher is calling it quits. 

For real this time. 

After coming out of retirement in February to try to help the Predators make consecutive Western Conference title runs, Fisher confirmed Saturday he won't return following 18 NHL seasons. 

"I've milked this cow as long as it'll go," he said, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "It's bone dry."

Fisher, 37, tallied two goals and two assists in 16 regular-season appearances after rejoining the Predators. He also chipped in a goal in Nashville's 7-4 Game 3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the playoffs. 

The Jets secured a 5-1 Game 7 win Thursday, eliminating Nashville from the postseason.

"You don't want to be cleaning out your locker in May, there's no question," Fisher said, per Satriano. "I had a great three months or whatever it was. I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed coming to work with these guys. It was a great group of people, from the players to the whole organization and staff.

"I'm glad I came back. It was awesome. Obviously disappointing, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I know this team. They'll learn and grow and be better. There's a lot to look forward to."

Carrie Underwood, Fisher's wife, relayed the following message Thursday: 

A second-round pick in the 1998 NHL draft, Fisher spent the first 10-and-a-half years of his career with the Ottawa Senators before he was traded to the Predators in February 2011. 

The Peterborough, Ontario, native finished his career with 589 points, including 278 goals and 311 assists. 

James Shaw Jr., who disarmed the gunman at the Waffle House shooting in Tennessee last week, was honored by the Nashville Predators during Sunday's playoff game against the Winnipeg Jets:

In addition to showing him on the scoreboard to a loud ovation, the team also presented him with a personalized jersey before the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). Several first responders from the deadly shooting were also honored.

Shaw wrestled an AR-15 away from a man who had killed four people in a Waffle House. He created a GoFundMe page for the victims' families, with all proceeds going to them.

There is currently more than $200,000 donated to the GoFundMe page.

A Nashville Predators fan mailed two catfish to NHL headquarters in Toronto this week to protest a controversial call in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.

According to ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski, Preds fan Briley Meeks sealed two catfish in a cooler and wrote "You suck" on the inside cover before shipping it.

Meeks said the following regarding the stunt: "I hope they're not mad about it. It's just a prank. But we got robbed. The players were stunned. Even the Panthers players and fans knew it was a bad call too. I do want to clarify that there was no ice in the cooler. I wanted it to be disgusting."

On Tuesday, Filip Forsberg's game-tying goal against the Panthers was overturned after replay officials ruled that Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson had made contact with Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo.

Nashville lost the game 2-1 but remains atop the Western Conference with 113 points.

Sending catfish to Toronto was symbolic since Predators fans have been known to throw catfish on the ice prior to their games as a tradition.

Veteran center Mike Fisher announced his retirement from the NHL on Thursday after 17 seasons in the league. 

The 37-year-old Canadian made the news official with a special column for the Tennessean.

In the column, Fisher wrote the following about his decision to retire on the heels of helping lead the Nashville Predators to the Stanley Cup Final last season:

"This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but I know I've made the right one. I've decided to retire from the NHL.

"I kept praying for peace about the next step in my life. A peace that said this is God's will for your future. A peace that said whether or not this was the right time to walk away.

"I don't believe it came in a single instance or some aha moment, but as time passed, I gradually became certain that it was right for me to retire. I believe God gave me the ability to play hockey, and I was helped by dozens of individuals along the way, so it's not just up to me on when it's time to say goodbye."

Fisher played for the Ottawa Senators from the 1999-2000 campaign to the 2010-11 season, when they then traded him to the Predators. He played for Nashville ever since and proved his durability even at age 36 in 2016-17 when he appeared in 72 games and notched 42 points on 18 goals and 24 assists.

He will go out in impressive fashion considering it was his highest point total in three seasons.

In all, Fisher posted 585 points in his career on 276 goals and 309 assists, with seven seasons with more than 40 points as a consistent playmaker. However, his value went beyond scoring as a two-way forward who played solid defense and could be used in special-teams situations either killing the penalty or on a power play.

Fisher could have brought veteran leadership to Nashville or another team in 2017-18 with 134 postseason games on his resume, but he elected to retire after the Predators' deep playoff run.

The Stanley Cup Final is one of the hottest tickets on the sports calendar, and one Nashville Predators fan missed an opportunity to attend a game for free. 

Twitter user Andrew Fudge sent out this screenshot Monday, indicating he had won two tickets for the Predators' Game 6 home tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins:

He apparently had not checked his Twitter account in over a month, missing the chance to see the Predators compete in the first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.

"I died inside," he told Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports.

Pittsburgh wound up winning Game 6, 2-0, clinching its second consecutive championship.

After helping the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Nashville Predators to win the 2017 Stanley Cup, center Nick Bonino will reportedly switch sides to try to get the Predators over the hump. 

Per TSN Hockey's Darren Dreger, Bonino agreed to a four-year deal with the Predators.

Bonino spent the past two seasons with the Penguins after being traded by the Vancouver Canucks. His 18 goals last season marked the second-highest single-season output of his career, trailing only the 22 he scored in 2013-14. 

The 29-year-old was a highly sought-after commodity, with Dreger reporting on Thursday at least 10 teams were interested in him. 

Bonino only appeared in two games during the Stanley Cup Final against the Predators due to a broken leg, but he made his presence felt in Game 1 with two goals in less than 16 minutes of ice time.

His ability to create opportunities for himself and teammates will make him a fantastic addition for a Nashville team that finished 11th in goals scored last season. 

The Nashville Predators' David Poile was named the NHL's General Manager of the Year on Wednesday night at the league's annual awards show in Las Vegas. 

Poile bested Peter Chiarelli of the Edmonton Oilers and Pierre Dorion of the Ottawa Senators for the prestigious honor. 

Poile was under the microscope all season long, namely because he made the most aggressive move of the summer when he traded defenseman Shea Weber to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman P.K. Subban. 

As it turns out, that move paid off. 

Subban finished the season with 40 points in 66 games, and he helped reform the team's identity as the Predators emerged as a legitimate Western Conference contender. 

All told, the Predators went 41-29-12 and finished with 94 points to sneak into the postseason as the West's second wild-card team. 

Once they arrived in the playoffs, the Predators didn't take long to make a statement as they swept the No. 1-seeded Chicago Blackhawks before dispatching the St. Louis Blues in six games. 

The Predators then fended off the Anaheim Ducks in a six-game Western Conference Final to advance to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final. 

Poile also deserved praise for his draft expertise, as 2014 selection Viktor Arvidsson tied Filip Forsberg for the team lead with 31 goals. 

Thanks to the young foundation that Poile has put in place, the Predators are now well positioned to compete for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl throughout the remainder of the decade.