5 potential commerce locations for Predators’ Steven Stamkos

Before we ponder the place Steven Stamkos may go subsequent, let’s simply take a second to recollect the place this man has been.

From the second Stamkos stepped on the ice for his sophomore NHL season, he turned the very best goal-scorer on Earth for, roughly, a five-year interval. Between the beginning of the 2009-10 marketing campaign by Nov. 11, 2013, Stamkos scored a league-high 199 objectives in 311 contests. That’s 34 extra objectives than the second-place individual in that timeframe (Alex Ovechkin, 165) and 59 greater than the third-place man (Corey Perry, 140).

If you’re questioning why we cited the Nov. 11 date in 2013, it’s as a result of that marked the sport when Stamkos crashed into the Tampa internet on a backcheck in Boston and broke his leg. 

While he was actually nonetheless a incredible goal-scorer after that harm, he by no means returned to the heights he achieved throughout Years 2 by 5 within the league.

Stamkos is undoubtedly not that participant immediately, toiling for a second yr on a go-nowhere Nashville membership that’s believed to be considering some severe strikes within the aftermath of a free-agent spending spree in 2024 that simply didn’t work.

Both Stamkos and Preds centre Ryan O’Reilly appeared on our personal Nick Kypreos’ first commerce board of the season. Like Stamkos, O’Reilly was a part of that drunken-sailor spendfest in 2024 by Nashville GM Barry Trotz, and Stamkos’ sizable $8-million cap hit by 2027-28 is unquestionably a giant speaking level — and potential sticking level — in all this hypothesis.

Another a part of that dialog is questioning how a lot the 35-year-old has left within the legs. Sure, he’s not the man who terrorized goalies at the beginning of his profession and even the participant who routinely popped 40 objectives through the again half of his long term in Tampa Bay. Still, it is a winger who scored 27 occasions final yr on a crew the place principally nothing went proper.

And whereas he’s scored solely 5 occasions this yr, when you may have a monitor file like Stamkos’ and an impeccable repute as a teammate who desires to win, groups are going to concentrate.

The actuality is, it’s not going to take a membership’s ‘A’ bundle to amass Stamkos, particularly if stated membership can swing this with out asking Nashville to retain a lot or any of Stamkos’ remaining invoice. 

There’s clearly not a cornucopia of suitors for Stamkos the best way there would have been had he waited a pair extra days and hit the open market in 2016, and there’s seemingly not even a crew as keen as Nashville was when it handed him an enormous verify 18 months in the past. 

That stated, groups are going to kick tires, and it’s price questioning what may be in the fitting scenario. If Stamkos is moved, listed here are some golf equipment that could possibly be wise touchdown spots. 

Consider this line from Kypreos’ commerce board piece: An buying crew wants to ensure it has a facilitator who can feed Stamkos’ still-lethal shot.

Now image proficient rookie Ivan Demidov doing what he does finest, gaining the blue line, surveying the panorama and whipping a cross-ice go for Stamkos to hammer.

Hey, one of many high-end comparisons Demidov will get is Nikita Kucherov; why not full the image and pair him with Stamkos?

In all seriousness, Stamkos checks extra bins for the Habs than you may initially suppose. While he wouldn’t be the 2C the Canadiens would love so as to add — Stamkos is clearly a winger at this level — he’s a veteran presence who may add a second layer of scoring on a crew that may be overly reliant on the highest line. 

Montreal has damaged up the normal high trio of Nick Suzuki between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky just lately to attempt to attain extra steadiness. Getting Stamkos within the combine would assist with that, and there actually does appear to be a match with Demidov, particularly on an influence play unit.

The Canadiens simply additionally occur to have a man, in Patrik Laine, who accounts for a barely increased AAV ($8.7 million) than Stamkos. If Montreal may ship Laine — whose contract ends in July — again to Nashville, maybe the Habs may get Stamkos with out asking Nashville to eat cash, thus lessening the prospect (or draft choose) capital required to get the participant.

Winnipeg forwards have scored 69 objectives this yr, and 43 of them have come from the sticks of the three guys on the highest line: Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi. That means one line has accounted for 63 per cent of the objectives produced by forwards.

Why not attempt to catch the previous Lightning in a bottle?

The Jets inked Gustav Nyquist to a one-year, $3.25-million deal within the hopes he may discover slightly spark and pot 20 objectives. So far, he’s bought zero in 17 outings.

Winnipeg may ship Nyquist again to Nashville to assist clear some area for Stamkos. 

Brad Lambert, the 30^th choose within the 2022 draft, has been informed by the group he has permission to hunt commerce companions, and the Jets may additionally half with someone like defenceman Ville Heinola — one other first-round choose — if Nashville is focused on younger gamers who want a contemporary begin.

It’s a threat, however Stamkos would certainly be invigorated taking part in on a crew with Cup aspirations and having a Canadian postal code for the primary time in his professional profession. 

Seattle doesn’t have a single participant with 16 factors this yr. The solely different membership that may shamefully say that’s the lowly St. Louis Blues. Each of the opposite 30 squads has a minimum of two guys with 16 factors.

The Kraken missed the playoffs every of the previous two seasons and, from the beginning of 2023-24 by Thursday evening, Seattle’s 2.77 objectives per sport ranks 30^th within the NHL. 

This franchise wants extra expertise, full cease. 

Former Predator Eeli Tolvanen scored 23 objectives for Seattle final yr, however he’s caught on three this season and is the ultimate yr of a contract that counts for $3.5 million in opposition to the cap. Shipping him again to Nashville would assist open up some room.

Kraken coach Lane Lambert additionally has a protracted historical past with Barry Trotz, having labored on his bench as an assistant for years. You’d need to consider he has a minimum of a slight in with the Nashville GM.

This is pretty much as good a time as any to say that Stamkos has full no-move safety, however Seattle is a superb place to reside and the membership is much extra aggressive than the one he’s at present on. 

By legislation, it’s important to point out the Canes when gamers with a scoring pedigree change into obtainable. Carolina is perpetually developing brief within the latter levels of the playoffs and is in foot-to-the-floor mode in the case of including expertise.

Carolina has a great deal of cap area and an influence play that at present ranks 29^th within the league at 14.7 per cent. 

The Wings might need an apparent want for Stamkos on the face of it, with offence-first guys like sniper Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane — the first-overall choose in 2007 the yr earlier than “Stammer” went No. 1 — already within the high six.

Still, Detroit has a lot of cap area and is pulling each lever it may well to finish a close to decade-long playoff drought. And, in fact, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman inked Stamkos to an eight-year deal (albeit after a drawn-out negotiation) in Tampa 9 years in the past.