This morning, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that “the New Jersey Devils have discussed [Steven Stamkos‘] name internally, among many other trade targets.” LeBrun has previously reported that Nashville “would definitely listen to [trade] calls on him.” He also noted that the Devils were one of the suitors pursuing Stamkos during his free agency in the summer of 2024, meaning they do have documented interest in the player from the past.
Internal discussion of trade possibilities should not be taken as a firm desire by any team to actually directly pursue acquiring a player. A team can, and should, examine all potential options to improve its roster, even ones that may not be the most realistic.
But it is notable that New Jersey is at least considering the possibility of a Stamkos pursuit. LeBrun wrote that, at the very least, this is “something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the March 6 trade deadline.”
Where exactly Stamkos would fit on the Devils’ roster is less clear, especially at his $8MM cap hit. The Devils already have two forwards making $8MM per year (Timo Meier, Jack Hughes) and have another making $7.875MM (Jesper Bratt).
Whether the Devils would be best-served taking on the full freight of Stamkos’ $8MM AAV when they have upcoming contract extensions for Arseni Gritsyuk and Simon Nemec to consider is a fair question to ask.
For as much as Stamkos has accomplished in his career, his play over the last two seasons has been discouraging. He scored 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, but managed only 53 points in his first season in Nashville. So far this year, Stamkos is scoring at a 33-point 82-game pace.
In their discussions, the Devils may have considered the possibility that Stamkos’ decline in production is more attributable to the environment he’s playing in (he’s not the only Predators forward to be struggling) rather than any steep personal decline. But it’s unclear whether that line of thinking is actually fully accurate.
There were warning signs of a potential Stamkos decline that were emerging even during his final year in Tampa Bay. Stamkos’ five-on-five production was already slowing down considerably. Stamkos scored 70 even-strength points in 2021-22, but that number was down to 42 in his final year with the Lightning.
One could have made the argument that he was too reliant on the team’s power play, led by offensive dynamo Nikita Kucherov, for much of his production. An extension of that argument would have been that any team that signed Stamkos, but didn’t have a consistent Art Ross Trophy contender such as Kucherov to pair him with on a power play, might struggle to get the most out of his game.
The Devils may have reportedly discussed trading for Stamkos, but that doesn’t mean we have any reported clarity on how they view the state of his game, and his overall value.
If they do view Stamkos as more of a power play specialist, then it would be somewhat strange for the Devils to aggressively pursue acquiring him. New Jersey doesn’t appear to be a team in need of urgent assistance on the man advantage. They rank sixth in the NHL this season in power play conversion rate (24.3%) and that’s despite being without Hughes, their key offensive creator, for the last three weeks.
Worth noting is the existing connection that exists at the highest level of the Devils’ and Predators’ front offices. During his playing days, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald served as Nashville’s captain for four seasons, back when Nashville GM Barry Trotz was the club’s head coach. Fitzgerald also began his hockey operations career in the front office of the late Ray Shero in Pittsburgh. Before he was hired to run the Penguins, Shero was a key lieutenant of Hockey Hall of Fame inductee David Poile, who was the Predators’ longtime GM. Poile remains with the team in a senior advisor capacity.
None of these connections mean that the Devils’ reported discussion of Stamkos will materialize in an actual deal to bring Stamkos to Newark, of course. But they are worth noting when bringing up trade possibilities between the two clubs.
Photos courtesy of Per Haljestam-Imagn Images
Stamkos has nothing left.
Given that you said the same thing about Alex Ovechkin, this is a good sign for Steve Stamkos.
His numbers over the last season and half prove me correct.
27 goals LY on a bad team!
A few too many people in hockey management who have a surprisingly hard time — despite generations of evidence — wrapping their heads around the premise that players in their mid-thirties *decline.* Some faster and more abruptly than others.
Yet this is the thing you post the most! Perhaps you should be GM, and toss Selanne, Hasek, Ovechkin, Malkin, Jagr, Crosby and the list *goes on* into the abyss!
And for every one of those names, there are many, many more who fell off a cliff years earlier. Take a Teemu Selanne, for instance. He was relevant into his 40s, absolutely. Now how about some other stars out of the 1988 draft?
Mike Modano? Also a Hall of Famer, in decline in his mid-thirties, done at 40. Trevor Linden? Played 12 more years thereafter, but his last elite season was at age 25. Linden was a middle-sixer at best the rest of the way, and no better than a fourth-liner by 34. Jeremy Roenick? Another Hall of Famer, and the last year he broke 20 goals was at age 33. Bit player from his mid-thirties. Alexander Mogilny? Hall of Famer, and his last elite season was at 33. Out of hockey by 36.
That isn’t even naming the Khristichs, the Heinzes, the Juneaus, the Kamenskys: solid players in their primes, even stars, but petering out by 30 and gone by or before 35. But sure, by all means obsess over the rare handful who are elite all the way to retirement.
I really don’t understand why New Jersey would go after Steven Stamkos as it doesn’t make much sense in many respects as even the article itself states it. Furthermore, New Jersey only has $3.6M in cap space as they would need Nashville to retain 50% of Stamkos’ bloated $8M AAV and they would have to potentially send a player or two to Nashville to make the deal financially work. It really is a fruitless deal and doesn’t elevate New Jersey in any respects as it only would benefit Nashville from getting out of a badly misguided contract with a player in the very twilight of his career. It’s not worth it at all for New Jersey.
If they can get Nashville to retain salary, and if they could get Dougie Hamilton to waive for Nashville…
A hard no.
This is smokescreen for a Quinn Hughes deal if Vancouver blinks and concedes they’re not getting Nemec or Bratt
Nemec would definitely be going the other way in a Quinn Hughes trade
Then that trade will never happen. Nemec is improving as the season goes and taking himself off the tradebait table. Especially as Quinn could join as a UFA for nothing.
Every player in Nashville has seen their numbers go down under HC Brunette. Might be a reason for that.
Not sure that the Preds have any salary retainment spots left to eat any of Stamkos’ contract.
They have 1 retainer left with $8.13M in cap space. So they could retain 50% of the contract.