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Longtime Predators GM David Poile inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame

Pabio November 13, 2024

The Nashville Predators now have not one, but two representatives enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

At a ceremony Monday in Toronto, former general manager and current senior advisor David Poile was inducted into the Hall alongside the defenseman he drafted in 2003, former Predators captain Shea Weber.

Poile joined Temple as a builder, alongside Colin Campbell, while Weber joined as a player, along with Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl. Poile joins his father, Bud, who was inducted into the Hall as a builder in 1990.

The first general manager in franchise history, Poile led the Predators for 25 seasons from 1998 to 2023. Before becoming the architect of Nashville, Poile was general manager of the Washington Capitals from 1982 to 1997. He is the only general manager to lead two different franchises to 1,000 games and 500 wins, and he became the winningest general manager in NHL history with his 1,320th victory during the 2017-2018 season. He finished his career with 1,533 victories.

The Predators have made the playoffs 15 times under Poile’s leadership, including eight consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2022. They have reached the Stanley Cup Final once (2017) and won the Presidents’ Trophy once (2018) . Barry Trotz assumed the role of general manager following Poile’s retirement in 2023, but Poile remained a senior advisor within the Predators’ hockey operations department.

“I have achieved the hat trick of life: who you marry and who you share your journey with, the job you have and the places you live,” Poile said during his induction speech. “(My wife) Elizabeth and I built a team from Atlanta to Calgary to Washington and eventually to Nashville. She was the rock of our family throughout our shared hockey journey.”

Poile’s journey to the NHL began in 1972, when he began working in the front office of the Atlanta Flames, a new expansion franchise. He was named assistant general manager in 1977 and when the Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, he remained with the franchise for two more seasons before accepting the general manager position in Washington.

“I’ve been fortunate to spend my entire professional career in hockey,” Poile said. “I put my heart and soul into the game, but hockey has given me and my family so much more. Thanks, hockey. Thanks to my family. Thanks to my friends. THANKS.”

In honor of their induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Predators announced they will welcome Poile and Weber back to Bridgestone Arena on November 23. The two men will participate in a faceoff ceremony before the Predators’ game against the Winnipeg Jets.

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