The single season record for goals scored in Nashville was set by Jason Arnott in the 2008-2009, and some of that damage was done in this very sweater.
That record has since been surpassed by Viktor Arvidsson in 2018-2019, but Arnott sat on top for a decade (along with Filip Forsberg in 2015-2016) with a career tying performance in scoring that season.
The big man was destined for 40 goals off of what was shaping up to be a potential career high in shots taken before injuries derailed his season in just 65 games.
The most notable detail about Arnott’s 2007-2008 Navy Set 2 gamer is that it was worn during the eighth and final hat trick of his career on February 28th, 2009 against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Predators absolutely demolished the Wings that night, and Arnott was named first star of the game with his three tallies.
Photos from the game match this jersey to the repairs in the silver fabric of the left sleeve, as well as the distinct repair on the #1 of the left sleeve numbers.
Nashville wore their Navy Set 2 jerseys from January 1st, 2009 to March 5th, 2009 in 19 games. Only 18 of those were home games, with one game being a reverse jersey game on the road.
Arnott’s jersey is a huge size 58+ and has the captain’s “C” on the chest.
The front is actually pretty clean and they are very few marks in the arms. The left sleeve has the three aforementioned repairs; two in the silver fabric below the elbow and one more in the #1 of the sleeve numbers. There is some paint transfer and pilling near the sleeve numbers on the right sleeve.
Beyond that, there is not much visible wear beyond a ton of loose threads throughout the jersey.
Arnott scored an eye opening 10 goals and 13 assists in 19 games in this sweater, putting him at better than a point-per-game production wise. That’s pretty impressive and fairly rare. This is only the second or third point-per-game jersey in my collection.
The 2008-2009 season was the last vintage season the Nashville Predators got out of Arnott before the injuries began piling up. After another injury shortened season in 2009-2010, Arnott was traded to the New Jersey Devils.
The Preds would then spend the next several years looking for a replacement in the middle of the ice. A replacement that would not be found until Ryan Johansen was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets.