The Story Behind Nashville's Retired Numbers and Who's Next
Hanging above the ice at Bridgestone Arena is a single jersey. One number that serves as the measuring stick for anyone who suits up for the Nashville Predators. Legendary Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne's number 35 jersey flies alone in the rafters.
Nearing three decades in the league, Nashville boasts one of the shortest catalogs of retired jerseys of any franchise. Given that some of the team's most iconic names are still active, the list of retired numbers is almost certain to expand soon enough.
So, who exactly are the names that could be joining Rinne in the rafters? Before I break down the candidates, I will look back at the original benchmark for legendary status on the ice in the Music City.
Pekka Rinne, 35
Rinne's consistency in goal, paired with impeccable leadership, is unmatched by anyone in team history. He earned the sport's greatest individual accolade for the position, winning the Vezina Trophy in 2018, when he secured a league-best of 8 shutouts.
To this day, Rinne is the only Predators player to win the Vezina award. His contributions are still being felt in net despite his retirement five years ago. Rinne served in a crucial mentorship role for the younger stars before ultimately passing the torch to another player we will get to later. He was rewarded with the Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership in his final season.
Despite being selected by the Predators with the 258th pick in 2004, Rinne emerged as a generation-defining player for the team. He spent his entire 15-season NHL career in Nashville. Across that time, he climbed the all-time ranks. His 60 career shutouts and 17,627 saves rank 20th and 31st in league history. For his countless accolades and accomplishments on the ice, Rinne was recently announced as a member of the 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame class; the only lifelong Predators player in history to receive the nod so far.
Now I will review the most credible resumes, considering only accomplishments affiliated with the Nashville franchise.
Roman Josi, 59
From one Nashville lifer to another, Roman Josi is more synonymous with the Predators franchise than any other active player, and by the time he hangs up the skates, he may even surpass Rinne himself as the team's greatest player.
Josi is the safest bet on this list after spending the past 15 seasons with the Predators and is set to return for a sixteenth with the 2026-2027 season. Over the past decade and a half, Josi has appeared in 1,030 games with Nashville, the only player to pass the millennium milestone in games played for the franchise.
For the past decade, Josi has stood among the league's very best defensemen, and he ultimately won the James Norris Trophy in 2020, being named the best player at his position. Josi leads all players in career assists with Nashville with 576, a record not likely to fall any time soon. The three-time All-Star also narrowly holds the franchise record in points at 779, likely making him a lock to have his jersey retired once he hangs up the skates.
Filip Forsberg, 9
Nashville's all-time leader in goals scored, Forsberg, demands significant consideration for retiring his number. He has netted 358 goals with the franchise over his entire 14-season tenure with the team. Joining the team one year after Josi, the pair have accounted for more points than any other two players in Nashville team history. Forsberg falls close behind Josi in the individual category with 756 career points.
There is no shot-maker in team history who compares in terms of production and longevity, and that fact alone warrants a jersey in the rafters one day. However, that time will have to wait as Forsberg is set to return for a fifteenth season with the Predators.
Juuse Saros, 74
The youngest and final active player on this list, Saros likely still has work to do. That being said, if he can maintain the same level of longevity as his mentor Rinne, he will have a compelling case. Saros has already spent over a decade in Nashville, while serving as the primary goalie for the past five years. He returns for what is expected to be a sixth year as the team's go-to keeper.
Saros took the keys from Rinne in 2021 and hasn't looked back. At just 31 years old, Saros has already played the second most games in goal in franchise history, while ranking below only Rinne in nearly every franchise record at the position. He has amassed over 12,000 saves in his career-long stint with the Predators, and with no immediate plan to replace him, he could continue to build a case for his jersey retirement.
Shea Weber, 6
The first non-lifer on the list, Weber spent the first 11 seasons of his career in Nashville before spending the final half-decade in Montreal. The four-time All-Star Team selection has already earned plenty of praise in his post-playing days, as he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.
While he may not have finished his career with Nashville, he still ranks fourth in team history in total appearances on the ice with 763. Paired with his 443 total points contributed and Hall of Fame status, Weber serves as a worthy candidate for jersey retirement.
David Legwand, 11
The franchise's first-ever draft pick, the Predators selected Legwand second overall in 1998. He proceeded to appear for the team in three separate decades. Legwand played the first 15 of his 17 seasons with Nashville. He played in 956 games in a Predators jersey, totaling 210 goals and 355 assists, which each rank top-3 in franchise history.
While his career isn't decorated with individual accolades, he is among the most prominant faces through the early years of the franchise. He helped set a precedent for Nashville hockey, which should warrant recognition from the organization with a jersey retirement.
Honorable Mention: Barry Trotz
Ok, so this one isn't a jersey, but a franchise pillar, like Trotz, deserves the same recognition. Nashville's first-ever head coach, Trotz nurtured the team through its infancy before establishing itself as a perennial playoff team in the late 2000s.
While Trotz's tenure didn't boast significant playoff success, he laid the foundation for a burgeoning franchise and, to this day, has coached more games by himself than Nashville's three other head coaches combined. Trotz spent 15 seasons at the helm before parting ways in 2014, ending the longest unbroken coaching streak in league history at 1,196 games. He later returned as the team's general manager in 2023, but the short-lived reunion ended when Trotz announced his retirement earlier this year.
Given his lifetime achievements and contributions to the franchise, along with his recent retirement, a banner is likely to be raised in honor of Trotz before long.
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