After playing only one Game with Dallas in the 2003/04 Season, he signed with the Nashville Predators in 2007, where he won the backup Goalie job, though he would be elevated to the primary backstop when Chris Mason struggled.  Ellis had a good year, appearing in 44 Games and leading the NHL in Save Percentage (.924).  

He was not able to build on that year as his stats slipped, and his backup, Pekka Rinne, took over and held on to the starting position for well over a decade.  Ellis played two more years in Nashville and was still decent, keeping his Save Percentage over .900.  

After the 2009-10 Season, Ellis was traded to Montreal, who promptly released him, though he went on to play five more seasons in the NHL.  Ellis had a 49-42-8 record with a 2.64 GAA as a Predator.

Undrafted in 1997, Andy Delmore signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and made the team, bouncing between the parent club and the minors for three years before he proved he belonged as an NHLer.  The Flyers dealt him to Nashville for a third-round pick, and Delmore responded with two surprising campaigns considering where he came from.

Delmore had 72 Points over the next two years, anchoring the Nashville power play and averaging half a point per game.  While the Predators were only a half-decade old, Delmore’s production placed him as the first-star offensive Defenseman in franchise history.  Perhaps sensing a fluke, Delmore was traded for the same equity he arrived with, a third-round pick.

Kevin Klein played his first 403 Games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, who selected him in the Second Round in 2003.  Klein only played 18 Games for the Predators in his first three years, spending most of his time in the AHL, but by 2008, he was never sent down again.

Klein would find his role as a lockdown defender, known for his clean play.  The blueliner’s best year in Nashville was in 2011-12, where he had 21 Points with only four Penalty Minutes and 173 Blocked Shots.

Klein was traded to the Rangers midseason during the 2013-14 campaign, and with the Predators, he produced 82 Points with 716 Blocked Shots.

Nick Bonino played for Anaheim, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh, where he was a two-time Stanley Cup Champion.  The Center joined the Predators in 2017, months after he was on the winning side that defeated Nashville in the Finals.

Bonino would play for Nashville for three years, playing on the third or fourth line, providing depth at the Center position.  Over his three seasons, Bonino scored 95 Points, and he received Selke votes in the last two of those seasons.  Bonino left the Predators when he was traded to Minnesota before the 2020/21 Season.