Steven Stamkos’ Resurgence Shuts Down Predators’ Trade Talk

The Steven Stamkos era with the Nashville Predators had been nothing short of a disaster. The Predators signed Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in the 2024 offseason to make a run towards the Stanley Cup, but the only place they ended up in the 2024-25 season was the draft lottery. It looked like the same story early this season, but the Predators and Stamkos have been red-hot.

The Predators are one point behind the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings in the standings, with all four teams in a battle for the final wild-card position. With the possibility of finally breaking through with this roster, it’d be hard to see them give up on Stamkos and be sellers at the trade deadline.

One of the Predators’ best moments of the season was on Thursday night, as Stamkos recorded a hat-trick to help Nashville rally from 3-0 down to defeat the Ottawa Senators and close the deficit in the playoff race. It’s hard to count Nashville out of any game, given how they are playing.

Steven Stamkos’ Vintage Pace

Stamkos’ 53 points in 82 games last season were disappointing, but it was his 27 goals that didn’t sit well with Nashville fans. It was only the third time in his career that Stamkos was unable to score 30 goals when he had a relatively healthy season.