Nashville’s Leading Man

The NHL is in the midst of a renewal. The same could be said for Paul Kariya.

As the end to the season-long lockout was being negotiated, so too was a rewrite of the rule book. Offense was back, and the skill players would be free to skate, pass and shoot after a decade of clutch and grab.

That gave Kariya hope in his bid to reclaim his stature as one of the game’s great players after one subpar season with the Colorado Avalanche. But surely he would do it on a grand stage. Los Angeles? Toronto? New York?

Nashville.

Nashville?

Even David Poile, the Predators’ general manager, who signed the seven-time All-Star to a two-year, $9-million contract, admits surprise.

“Honestly, I think there was a little bit of disbelief,” Poile said looking back at their landmark move. “Good or bad, right or wrong, I don’t think Nashville has been on anybody’s radar. We don’t play in eastern Canada or in New York.”

It made perfect sense to Kariya even if his move had many others around the league scratching their heads.

“As a hockey situation, I felt Nashville was a really good, young hockey club that was getting better,” he said. “You look at the way they played before the lockout. They were in the playoffs against Detroit. This was a good hockey club, and I liked the fact that everyone was coming back. They didn’t have free-agency issues. They didn’t have salary cap issues where you didn’t know who was leaving.

“I knew what I was getting into, and I thought very highly of their team and the organization.”

In the land of the Grand Ole Opry, the marriage of the highly skilled forward and a young emerging team has been nothing but sweet music.

The Predators ran off a club-record eight consecutive victories to start the season before losing two games last week -- to Columbus in overtime and Edmonton in regulation. They take an 8-1-1-0 record -- second only to Detroit’s league-best 11-1 mark -- into tonight’s game against the Mighty Ducks at the Arrowhead Pond.

Kariya still has some fondness for the place he spent his first nine years and became a household name, scoring 300 of his 315 career goals in Anaheim while becoming the face of a nascent franchise.

“I still have a lot of friends in the area, and obviously I have a lot of friends on the team,” said Kariya, who purchased 35 tickets for tonight’s game. “At the same time I’ve already had my first game back here with Colorado, so it’s not at that level.”

Nashville, in only its seventh year, has a roster filled with speedy youngsters who turned the corner in the 2003-04 season when it made the playoffs for the first time, losing in the first round to the Red Wings. Kariya has done his part with four goals and six assists in 10 games while playing on the top line with center David Legwand and wing Scott Hartnell. He has also won two games with shootout goals, including one against the Ducks on Oct. 8.

Mostly, he has provided a face to the previously no-name Predators and provided a rebuke to critics who wondered if he was entering the downside of his career after an injury-plagued season with the Avalanche in which he had a career-low 11 goals.

All that’s left in becoming an adopted favorite son in Music City is finding his inner twang.

“I still got the Canadian accent I’m trying to get rid of,” Kariya said with a laugh. “Still working on it.”

Steve Sullivan, Nashville’s leading scorer, said Kariya’s presence puts the Predators in the spotlight.

“The average sports fan has heard the name Paul Kariya,” Sullivan said. “Now with Paul Kariya as a Nashville Predator, it helps the market. It helps our team. I think it sold season tickets, I guarantee it has.”

Through six home games, the Predators are averaging an announced 14,610 in 17,113-seat Gaylord Entertainment Center, an average of 1,809 more than in 2003-04 for the same period. “People want to come see an All-Star,” Sullivan said. “It helps put our team on the map.”

Merchandising has also benefited. Mike Kapp, who manages the team store in the arena, said demand for Kariya apparel has been “overwhelming.”

“Every time I get a replica jersey, I immediately have it sent out to put Kariya’s name and number of it,” Kapp said. “Once I get it back, it’s gone.”

Poile understands.

“Basically signing Paul Kariya not only reestablished us in this market but took us to a new level,” he said.

At 31, Kariya says he is comfortable now as a leading man.

“I’ve been in the league awhile now,” he said. “As a group and as a player, everyone has to do a little extra, whether it’s with the media or signing autographs for fans to get the people back.”

Barry Trotz, the only coach the Predators have had, said his new star was intent on fitting in and not taking control of the locker room.

“I think at first, everybody was in awe,” Trotz said. “At first there was a little bit of ‘Let’s watch Paul.’ When it was all said and done, he’s fit in real good.”

Teemu Selanne is not surprised. Enjoying his own renaissance with the Ducks after an ill-fated attempt to chase a Stanley Cup in Colorado with his close friend, the right wing said Kariya regained his passion for the game during the lockout.

Nashville, he said, was a perfect situation.

“He knows what he’s doing, and he believes in what he feels,” Selanne said.

“He has his own plan, and I respect that. As long as a player is happy where he plays, that’s all that really matters.”

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Paul Kariya’s stats

Paul Kariya scored 300 goals for the Mighty Ducks.

*--* YEAR TEAM GP G A 1994-95 Mighty Ducks 47 18 21 1995-96 Mighty Ducks 82 50 58 1996-97 Mighty Ducks 69 44 55 1997-98 Mighty Ducks 22 17 14 1998-99 Mighty Ducks 82 39 62 1999-00 Mighty Ducks 74 42 44 2000-01 Mighty Ducks 66 33 34 2001-02 Mighty Ducks 82 32 25 2002-03 Mighty Ducks 82 25 56 2003-04 Colorado 51 11 25 2005-06 Nashville 10 4 6 CAREER 3 Teams 667 315 400

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