Some Nashville Predators dress to impress. Here is absolutely unarguably the worst
Their outfits are identical on the ice — a gold and white jersey with a Nashville Predators logo embroidered on the front, hockey pants, gold or white helmets and black skates.
Off the ice, the fashion acumen of Predators players is another story, one that often is shown on the team's social media posts as they enter the arenas on game days.
That's a story for another day this week.
First, though, we'll look at the worst-dressed players on the team.
Or, as it turns out, player.
The one who is not in the game-day wardrobe team pictures.
Roman Josi: 'It's hard to not make fun of him'
Roman Josi extended his right arm, right index finger pointed.
Aimed right at Tommy Novak.
Novak was across the locker room at Bridgestone Arena, changing after a late December practice.
The question: Who is the team's worst-dressed player?
Without hesitation, Josi pointed to the evidence.
Novak was in the midst of his post-practice changing routine. Beneath his hockey shorts were a pair of dark blue sweatpants-looking things.
"I don't even know what that is," Josi said, unable to hold back a chuckle. "It's hard to not make fun of him."
Does Novak have any fashion sense?
"None," the Predators captain said. "Zero. His suits are plain."
Even his practice getup is a disaster.
Michael McCarron: 'Always messy. Never looks clean'
Novak's teammates hardly lined up in his defense.
"He's terrible," forward Michael McCarron said. "He has some of the worst outfits I've ever seen. Always messy. Never looks clean. He's always got random (crap) on that doesn't match."
"Novy's not a style guy," center Ryan O'Reilly said.
Luke Evangelista named Novak first, then momentarily and jokingly wondered aloud whether it might be Yakov Trenin before reiterating his answer.
"Novy for sure," he said.
Suffice to say, Novak is rarely seen on social media posts showing off players' fashion fortitude before games.
He was last spotted before a game in Calgary, with a dark gray knit cap, matching black pants and coat, and a blue, white and gold tie against a white shirt.
He was shown in an almost identical outfit, only his tie swapped out, three days earlier in Toronto.
Tommy Novak: 'I'm working on it'
Novak didn't object to what seemed to be a universal truth in the Predators' dressing room about how he dresses.
He addressed it thusly: "As of now, I'm the worst," he said. "I'm working on it, though.
"Ask me in a couple months if that's still the case."
Novak said he's focused on turning "is" into a "was."
He's not running away from the runway.
He's putting his money where his mouth is.
Luke Evangelista: 'He's still in last place'
Cody Glass couldn't pass up a chance to rib rookie Evangelista, tabbing him briefly as a challenger for Novak's title.
"Me?" Evangelista asked incredulously.
"He has a Gucci belt and that's all he wears," Glass said before offering his final answer.
Novak.
"He's my boy, though, so we're going to get the style figured out," Glass said. "He's working on it. He's done a lot of good work."
"He said he's going to set aside a little cash and splurge up a bit," Evangelista said. "We'll have to see what he comes up with."
Evangelista and Glass took Novak on a clothes-shopping field trip recently in Seattle. He sometimes leans on them for fashion advice.
"He picked up a couple of things, which really helped him," Evangelista said. "Unfortunately, he's still in last place."
With no place to go but up, according to Glass.
"He's finally picking it up," Glass said. "He got a nice pair of off-white shoes so we'll see where it goes."
MEMORIES: What does Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard think of Nashville, Bridgestone Arena?
COME ON IN: Bridgestone Arena's favorite elevator lady has rules in her domain: Just 'ask Vince Gill'
HYPED UP: Why Titans' Will Levis was wearing Predators jersey in front of Connor Bedard
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Some Nashville Predators dress to impress. Here is absolutely the worst
