Nashville won the Western Conference before losing the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 to Pittsburgh in six games. The Predators won the Presidents' Trophy for the 2017-18 season but ranked 26th out of 32 NHL teams Monday five points back of the second wild-card spot in the West.

One of Nick Saban's forgotten coaching disciples prior to his magical two-year run at Indiana, Curt Cignetti credits the Alabama legend with helping him set up his own process behind the scenes as the leader of a program while instituting principles that have led to sizable wins.