I spent a lot of time worrying about Mike Fisher.

When I learned that he had been traded from the Ottawa Senators to Nashville, I was immediately concerned that too much would be expected of him from Predators fans. A lot of buzz surrounded Fisher as the husband of country music superstar Carrie Underwood, but to me, Fisher was the solid, though not flashy, veteran center of 11 NHL seasons. He would be a credit to a hardworking team, but if superstar could go to only one person in the Fisher household, his wife would claim it.

To make matters worse, I felt like the team had before promoted players based on off-ice characteristics that only set them up for on-ice disappointment. Blake Geoffrion, who was promoted as the first Tennessean in the NHL, and later Seth Jones, the son of basketball great Popeye Jones, were among them. But I should not have worried.

Fisher came in, played his understated style of game and minded his own business. That Underwood sometimes appeared at games to large applause was no distraction; it added intrigue and another reason for Nashvillians to attend a hockey game.

I worried some more in 2014 when Fisher ruptured his Achilles tendon and was expected to miss up to six months. Such an injury could be devastating for an athlete in his mid-30s. But Fisher came back, good as new.

Then I worried that he would play too long. That is my concern always about athletes. Fans and even many writers hate to see athletes ride away, and advocate that they play longer. “Just one more year.”

► Exclusive:Read Mike Fisher's heartfelt goodbye letter to Predators fans

But history is replete with athletes who played too long and were the worse for it. Brett Favre, anybody?

Wayne Gretzky has told a story many times about riding with his father to the final game that he would play for the New York Rangers, and how his father spent the entire trip trying to convince him to play another season. Gretzky said the conversation only reinforced his decision.

Phil Esposito, one of hockey’s best players in the 1970s, has said that he should have retired after taking the Rangers to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final. Instead he played two more years, under the mistaken belief that the team would win a Cup. In his last season, 1980-81, Esposito scored just seven goals in 41 games.

Fisher came to this point in his career after the Game 6 loss to the Penguins in the Cup Final. A chorus of “just one more year” showered the internet and hockey talk throughout the city.

► Rexrode:What Mike Fisher's retirement means to Predators

I didn’t join in, and I hoped Fisher wouldn’t either. I didn’t want to remember Fisher nearing 40, serving a valuable purpose yes, but in a more and more diminished role.

What I wanted to remember, and will remember, is that victorious Fisher who scored the game-winning goal against San Jose in triple overtime in the 2016 playoffs, who was here when the team won its first playoff series and its first Game 7, and who captained the team within sniffing distance of the Cup.

The Predators could win the Stanley Cup next year, although I wouldn’t bet the house on it, and Fisher would miss out on the one thing his career lacks. I would hate that for him, but I don’t think he would. He has said so himself.

Because Mike Fisher is a pro all the way who knows the right time to go, and I shouldn’t have ever worried about him.

Alex Hubbard is a columnist, reporter and editor for The Tennessean. Email him at dhubbard@tennessean.com.