Former NHL player and coach Terry Crisp shakes hands with Nashville Predators hopeful Yujiro Nakajima in Tokyo on Monday in front of the Stanley Cup.

If the Nashville Predators put on half the show that Terry Crisp did Monday afternoon, the National Hockey League has nothing to worry about.

Crisp, a former NHL player and coach who now does color commentary on Predators broadcasts, was in town to promote the Oct. 7-8 Game One Japan 2000 Opening Games that will pit upstart Nashville against the more seasoned Pittsburgh Penguins at Saitama Super Arena.

"This is my first time in Japan and I'm very excited to be here," exclaimed an enthusiastic Crisp at a news conference at a Tokyo hotel. "Everyone in Nashville is excited about this. It's just our third year in the league, but we've got a young, exciting team to watch." Crisp, who got his name on the Stanley Cup twice over an 11-year playing career with Boston, St. Louis, Philadelphia and the New York Islanders and once as coach of the Calgary Flames in 1989, even tried his hand at a little Nihongo, which seemed to leave the room stumped. He also put out a call for some good Japanese recipes to take back to Nashville with him.