One of the unexpected joys of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the story of Dennis K. Morgan, the delusional national anthem singer for the Nashville Predators who went to the media and complained about losing his gig in the postseason to ‘A-list’ country music superstars.

Who among us will forget when Dennis K. Morgan lamented that Carrie Underwood was stealing his gigs because “she’s a whole lot prettier than me” and “I’m not married to the captain?”

The controversy led to massive protests around Bridgestone Arena during playoff games, as Predators fans rallied to support their disrespected anthem … oh, wait, sorry, had some bad information there … yes, in fact no one gave a flying [expletive] and rather enjoyed hearing Luke Bryan and Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum instead.

Thus, Dennis K. Morgan became a national punchline, like a journeyman Broadway performer going to the New York Post because his show’s producers replaced him with Lin-Manuel Miranda for a month. The Predators basically dared him to do it, and he did, and that was that.

His contract ended on July 1. And alas, so did his tenure with the franchise:

“No one has contacted me from the Predators. My contract [with the team] expired last Friday, and I assume I’m done,” he told Sportsnet after the playoffs.

It's been over for 2+ months but my time with the Preds officially ended yesterday. Most of it was fantastic. Thx to all who were a part. — Dennis K. Morgan (@dkmorgan18) July 1, 2017





While Morgan might have felt irreplaceable, the Predators are in fact replacing him next season via a contest. Fans can submit their applications to be a new anthem singer. Ten finalists will be invited to perform in front of a live audience and celebrity judges, where the top four contestants will move onto the final round.

The top vote-getter will then perform at “select home games” during the season, and the second and third place contestants will be “fill-ins” during the season. All of them will likely understand that if, like, Trisha Yearwood is around and wants to sing the anthem at a Predators game one night, they should be like “OK” and then do not, under any circumstances, complain to The Tennessean.

“The Preds’ platform made way for international media coverage throughout the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs of the legendary musical guests who performed the National Anthem before each home playoff game,” wrote the team, obviously downplaying the fact that one of those performers was the captain’s wife. (tm, Dennis K. Morgan)

This being a fan contest, one assumes that should Dennis K. Morgan apply he would be eligible to advance to the finals and such. Hey, Nashville is where John Scott happened – it’s a city of dreams!

Although Dennis K. Morgan believes that dream with the Predators is now over. “I know I’m done. Even in the unlikely event I was invited back, I don’t want to have an association with the organization any longer just because of this,” he told Sportsnet.

Fare thee well, Dennis K. Morgan.

We’ll remember your voice, your passion and that time you unloaded on your employer to a local newspaper because you couldn’t understand why more people might be into seeing Carrie Underwood sing the anthem than some entitled egotist who apparently didn’t understand the parameters of his own agreement with the team.

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS



