In 2022, with former Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan by his side, former Nashville Predators goalie Pekke Rinne had thrown a catfish — errantly — on the ice before the team's outdoor game at Nissan Stadium.

Many others came before Rinne.

Catfish on ice, a Predators playoff tradition that dates to 1999.

The tradition lived on Friday at Game 3 of the Predators' first-round NHL playoff game against the Vancouver Canucks at Bridgestone Arena when at least four dead catfish were thrown on to the ice just after Colbie Caillat sang the U.S. national anthem and just before puck drop.

How, when did throwing catfish on ice become Predators tradition?

A former Broadway bar owner and musician named Bob Wolf claims he threw the first catfish on to the ice during the Predators' first season, on Jan. 26, 1999. The reason: Disdain for the Detroit Red Wings.

Wolf said he did it as a retort to one of Detroit fans throwing an octopus on the ice, which is their tradition.

Why catfish?

Wolf said he was inspired after he left a game with some friends and looked at the Cumberland River.

"Catfish!" he yelled.

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His buddies concurred.

He told The Tennessean in 2019 that before that January game against Detroit, he bought a nine-pound catfish from a market in Germantown, stuffed it up his shirt and down his pants. He planned to throw it on the ice after the Predators scored their first goal, which he did — after dropping it.

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Catfish thrown on ice at Predators' NHL playoffs Game 3 vs Canucks