The Canucks have long been searching for extra help down the middle, a need amplified by the latest injury to Filip Chytil. To that end, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic recently reported (audio link) that he has been told that Vancouver has kicked the tires on Predators forward Steven Stamkos as they continue to cast a wide net in their search for a center.
Stamkos was one of Nashville’s splashy signings in the 2024 offseason, a summer that also saw GM Barry Trotz bring in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei in the hopes of establishing themselves as a contender in a tough Central Division. While Marchessault has worked out reasonably well so far (though underachieving relative to expectations), the other two haven’t.
Stamkos is in the second season of a four-year, $32MM pact, signed with the belief that he could still be a steady scorer away from Tampa Bay where he spent the first 16 years of his career. However, after putting up 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, the 35-year-old managed just 27 goals and 53 points last season. This year, he’s off to a much slower start, managing just a goal and an assist through 13 outings.
It should be noted that on top of having a contract that looks to be well above market value with how he has played so far, Stamkos also has a full no-move clause. That means that even if the two teams could agree on a trade, he has full veto power if he doesn’t want to go there.
At this point, there’s no indication that Stamkos is interested in even considering a change of scenery. However, with how things went off the rails for the Preds last year, another quiet start this season, and his own struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or the team decided to ponder the possibility.
Vancouver’s salary cap situation is quite tight; they’re nearly $2.8MM into LTIR, per PuckPedia. That means that the Canucks would need to match money to make a move work, something that could be mitigated in part by Nashville retaining salary. On the other hand, the Predators only have one retention slot remaining this season having already utilized them on Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons. Considering his value has dropped considerably, does it make sense to use that last slot (retaining several million dollars a year for multiple seasons) to elicit what would likely be a middling return? Or, would they be better off saving that last slot for someone else this season and revisiting the idea over the summer after those other two slots open back up?
While Stamkos is probably better off as a winger at this stage of his career, he has played with some regularity at center for the past few years after primarily playing the position before that. Given Vancouver’s need for help down the middle, he would certainly help there. However, considering how difficult it would be to make the cap fit work for the Canucks, Stamkos doesn’t seem like the most plausible of candidates at the moment. That said, they appear to be examining all possibilities as they look to upgrade the center position.
And?
Dhaliwal usually parrots whatever agents tell him, so there’s a decent chance that Stamkos’s agent was the source. The question then becomes why? Does Stamkos want out?
2 points and a -6 in 13 games, at $8M. Even if you choose to disregard the lack of scoring, looking at his Plus/Minus in the last 4 years clearly indicates that he is a defensive liability.
Even with max retention, one has to be incompetent to consider moving for Stamkos.
Do not bail Barry out. He needs Stamkos as a reminder of his own incompetence as GM.
+- is not a good stat. He played on an awful team and that should not be considered. He could still be a liability, but +- tells you very little unless it bucks a trend in a significant way.
If someone’s rating is the worst on his team, that is significant. When that happens several years in a row, the player is a defensive liability.
-6 is not significant either way. I’ve seen Sidney Crosby with a rating not much better than that. It just means the team is bad.
I mean he doesn’t pass the eye test. Maybe look at giveaways and takeaways as a better stat. Nobody is expecting him to hit or block pucks.
He definitely isn’t good defensively or really at all right now, but +- is not the way to prove that point.
It is significant because it’s the 2nd worst on his team. At the end of the year, it will be the worst.
2 years ago -21, worst on his team, next worst -16
1 year ago -36, worst on his team, next worst -29
That’s a pattern, not an aberration.
Crosby’s -20 was 6th worst on his team but his +4 this year is 8th best. That’s not a pattern.
Before this year, Stamkos was at least scoring. Now he isn’t even doing that. Players with his kind of numbers are typically are sent down or made healthy scratches.
Stamkos is not the answer at center if that’s what their hoping for.
Steven Stamkos moving to a different team isn’t going to change his production. His production has been declining since the 2022 season especially his plus/minus.
Look, if Stamkos was still a top 50 guy, he would still be playing in Tampa. The reality is, Tampa saw the writing on the wall and Nashville didn’t.
Stamkos once said “he’ll play til the wheels fall off”. Well, the wheels have pretty much come off.
Yep. There’s nothing at all bizarre about a guy in his mid-thirties in decline. Very few players *aren’t* at that age.
Stamkos is past the prime years of an athlete which is technically between the span of 27-32. After age 32, it’s a guessing game on how players will age and their production will hold as everyone is different.
I think for someone like Stamkos, however, his lengthy injury history early in his career has taken a toll on his body as he’s aged. Father Time has just caught up with him. It’s a reality all players face at some point.
And really, you’re being generous: prime’s around 27-28, and for the great majority of players not named Crosby, Ovechkin or Marchand, it’s generally downhill from there. There are any number of fine players who were stars at 28, overpaid and mediocre at 31, and retired at 33.
Actually, it’s not generous. That’s the actual prime age range in professional sports according to many experts in all leagues. Maybe 27-28 is the athletic peak in terms of athleticism for an athlete but the prime years is between 27-32 as most top athletes see their most success during those years. Like I said, every athlete is different but to say in the NHL for example only Crosby, Ovechkin or Marchand have had much general success outside of 27-28 range is greatly inaccurate if that’s what you’re claiming.
No, I’m not claiming that only those three have had success out of that age range; don’t be absurd. But regardless of what “many experts” claim, take a look at the numbers generally. People just focus on the early-to-mid thirties stars still in the game, and forget all about the ones who’ve long since fallen off the map.
Let’s take a look at age 35, the 2009 draft class. Sure, you can look at Tavares, Hedman, Kadri, Duchene, and think “yeah, they’re still playing at high levels.” Schenn? His high water mark was age 26. So was Leddy, so was Johansson, so was Silfverberg. OEL? 24. Evander Kane? 30. Krieder? 30. Tatar, Lee and Hoffman? 29. O’Reilly? 27. So was Barrie. Reilly and Craig Smith, 28. And a few of the guys I’ve just named are already out of hockey.
Never mind guys who were useful players at one point, the Alex Chiassons, Brandon Pirris, Cody Eakins, Sami Vatanens.