The third-longest affiliation in the AHL will be going at least four more years after the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals renewed ties through the 2028-29 season Monday.

As an NHL expansion club in 1998, Nashville first affiliated with Milwaukee when the Admirals still played in the now-defunct International Hockey League. After the IHL’s end in 2001, Milwaukee came to the AHL and won a Calder Cup title in 2004.

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In all, the Admirals are 1,058-679-31-111-122 (.594) as a member of the Nashville organization, winning six division titles and two more conference championships. They are the first team in AHL history to string together 10 consecutive seasons with 40 or more wins. They have reached the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two seasons and are once again strong Calder Cup contenders. Second in the Central Division this season, they are 32-20-5-6 and clinched a playoff berth Sunday despite a crush of roster changes and injuries that have impacted both Nashville and Milwaukee. They have only missed the postseason in three of the 25 seasons in which there has been postseason play, and only the Hershey Bears have more points since the 2001-02 season when Milwaukee joined the AHL.

Apprenticing in Milwaukee has nearly become a prerequisite for a future role in Nashville through nearly the past three decades. Of the 215 players who have played for both Nashville and Milwaukee, that group has included the likes of Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros, and Shea Weber. The Admirals have long been a top destination among AHL veterans, including forward Cal O’Reilly who returned to Milwaukee in 2023 after beginning his pro career there late in the 2005-06 campaign.

Admirals owner and CEO Harris Turer also disclosed in a media availability Monday afternoon that talks will begin on extending the team’s lease at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, which has two years remaining. The team relocated to the downtown facility in 2016 with the imminent closing of the since-demolished Bradley Center.

With the Predators likely to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring, general manager Barry Trotz said that he expects Fedor Svechkov to be sent to the Admirals for the Calder Cup Playoffs along with other possibilities in defenseman Marc Del Gaizo and forward Kieffer Bellows. Milwaukee has faced the Coachella Valley Firebirds in each of the past two seasons in the Western Conference Finals.

This season the team is only two points behind the first-place Texas Stars in the Central Division, though they yield three games in hand. The Admirals, whose next game is Tuesday night against the visiting Manitoba Moose, will face Texas two more times in a trip to H-E-B Center on April 5-6.

Nashville also extended the organization's ECHL affiliation with the Atlanta Gladiators on March 13. That relationship began with the 2023-24 season and will run through at least 2026-27.

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