Buying out Steven Stamkos would be better exit strategy for Nashville Predators than a trade

Everyone remembers how excited the Nashville Predators and their fans were when they signed Steven Stamkos on July 1, 2024. Besides what it meant for the assumed state of the team at the time, just the fact that one of the game's legends chose to sign with them was an incredible feeling.

Fast forward 16 months to the present day, and that sentiment could not be more different. The Stamkos experience has been an unmitigated disaster so far, he was not very impactful last year relative to expectations, and this year has been even worse so far, as he has one goal and one assist in eleven games.

It is obvious how much his abilities to create and drive plays at even strength have declined, and he is just a poor fit on a team with such a playmaking deficiency. Even just watching him in postgame interviews tells you mostly everything you need to know, as quite honestly, he always looks sad.

There is no reason to believe things are going to get any better, and all anyone is talking about now is when and how he is going to leave Nashville. It clearly needs to happen, but remember he has two years on an $8M AAV contract after this one ends, so however it does go down, it will not be pretty.

A Steven Stamkos trade is possible, but not very realistic for Nashville Predators

Of all possible avenues of departure for Stamkos, a trade is the one that would be the most preferred. It is the only way the Predators could get as much of his contract off the books as possible, while giving themselves a chance to get whatever slim assets they can get back in return.

Even Elliotte Friedman has talked about it too, as he mentioned on the Predators flagship station -- 102.5 The Game -- that both sides could explore a trade if things do not improve.

You can never rule it out especially if the NHL's top insider is talking about it, but what Friedman said sounds more like speculation than any kind of prediction, and the fact is it would be hard to pull off.

Let's not even sugarcoat it; no other team is trading for Stamkos with his contract being as it currently stands. If a trade were to happen, it would have to be with the Predators retaining no less than half his salary, and I am hesitant to believe they can do even that.

Half of Stamkos' AAV is $4M, and results for him in Nashville have been so bad that he may not even be worth that in the eyes of other GM's. Cap space is valuable, and $4M per year for this year and the next two after is not nothing, so teams may not want to burn it on a player who is doing so poorly on his current team.

Even if the Predators were to pull off a trade, they may even have to give up assets to make it work, which would especially not be ideal. There would be so many hurdles to overcome in a trade than make it seem very unlikely, and Barry Trotz and the front office might have to consider another avenue, which on the surface, sounds very painful.

Nashville Predators may have no choice but to buy out Steven Stamkos

I am sure many of you shuddered when seeing the above sentence, as the Predators have had their fair share of contracts over the years that have fallen into this category. You certainly could not spin it as good if that is what happened, but given the situation, it might not be the worst idea in the world.

Just giving some numbers to start out, if Stamkos were bought out at the end of this year, his contract would be on the books for an additional four years. In those first two years, they would save $3.375M and $3.125M respectively, and be on the hook for $1.625M each of the next two. In total, the Predators would save $9.75M of cap space with this move.

Now when you look at the rest of the Predators' contract situation, that is where you might see how a Stamkos buyout could make sense. Colton Sissons' and Mattias Ekholm's retained salaries come off the books next year, which would give the team some more breathing room financially.

Secondly, the large cap hits from Matt Duchene's buyout are over after this year, and Kyle Turris' buyout will be off the books during the latter two years of what would be Stamkos' buyout. As much as it would hurt, the Predators could realistically afford this.

Obviously, the optics would look bad, as they would add yet another contract to their dreaded buyout list, while also admitting a complete whiff on the Stamkos acquisition. But do you know what is even worse than that? Keeping a guy here who is clearly unhappy and on a contract that is hurting the team.

Even beyond that, just having him on the roster is hurting the Predators, as he is a terrible fit in the lineup and is holding a roster spot that could be given to a prospect, for example. If and when the Predators eventually move on from Stamkos, it is hard to see how going this route is not the most realistic scenario.