August 6 NHL History
1997: Barry Trotz is named as the first coach of the Nashville Predators, who are scheduled to enter the NHL in the 1998-99 season.
Trotz enjoys success as a minor league coach and leads Portland, then the American Hockey League affiliate of the Washington Capitals, to the Calder Cup in 1994. David Poile, then the general manager of the Capitals, is hired by the Predators in 1997 and quickly hires Trotz as coach.
Trotz remains with the Predators for 15 seasons and 1,196 games, going 557-479-100 with 60 ties, before being let go on April 14, 2014. But Trotz isn’t out of work for long; the Capitals hire him a month later to replace Adam Oates.
2005: The Carolina Hurricanes sign forward Ray Whitney to a two-year contract. In his first season there, he has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Carolina win the Cup for the first time. It is also the first championship for Whitney, who is in his 14th season in the League.
Whitney goes on to play five years in Carolina and plays four seasons after that, ending his NHL career with the Dallas Stars following the 2013-14 season. Whitney totals 1,064 points (385 goals, 679 assists) in 1,330 games in 22 seasons.
2010: Mike Modano, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer among U.S.-born players and a native of Livonia, Michigan, is introduced as the newest member of the Detroit Red Wings. He joins the team he grew up watching after spending 20 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise.
Modano had to wear No. 90 after wearing No. 9 throughout his time with Minnesota and Dallas because that number has long since been retired by the Red Wings in honor of Gordie Howe. Modano is limited to 40 games because of a wrist injury and finishes with NHL career lows of four goals and 15 points before retiring in the summer of 2011 with 1,374 points (561 goals, 813 assists) in 1,499 games. He is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
