The Senior Director of Hockey Media Relations at Elite Prospects, Cam Robinson, confirmed on X that he has heard a few people in the industry mentioning that the Vancouver Canucks may have talked to the Nashville Predators about Steven Stamkos.
The Preds have begun the season much like the last, quite poorly. They are now 5-6-2, and the guy they signed to help put them over the edge into contention, Stamkos, has two points in 13 games. This is not good enough for the future Hall of Famer veteran who has struggled since arriving to get back to the caliber of play we saw from him in a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey.
It could be the age that's led to this decline, or it could be the absence of elite playmakers around him. In Tampa, he had the likes of Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov feeding him the puck. In Nashville, there is no established elite playmaker to help him. Perhaps a team could make a bet on better playmakers awakening his scoring touch.
That bet seems to be one the Canucks are debating. Going into the season, they had a big question mark at 2C with Filip Chytil being the best candidate to fill it. With another unfortunate injury to a forward who has struggled to remain on the ice, however, they find themselves with a hole in the lineup.
Eilliotte Friedman told DMase Vingan and Daunic on 102.5 The Game Nashville that Stamkos wouldn't be willing to waive his no trade clause, if it even comes to that and no one is going to be trading for Stamkos. He needs someone to get him the puck.
Elliotte Friedman: [Stamkos] needs someone who can get him the puck; nobody is gonna be trading for Stamkos and he's not gonna be waiving his no-trade to go anywhere...if it comes to that...where there isn't a player where...that solves the problem - DMase Vingan & Daunic (10/30)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) November 2, 2025
The Canucks sit at 6-7-0, just outside of a wildcard spot currently and in a similar spot as the Predators in the early season standings. If they can get Stamkos in the fold and get some scoring from him, could they solidify a position in the race?
General Manager of the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz, will likely be asking for some younger NHL talent in return as he continues to try and retool the roster around his aging core of Captain Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Juuse Saros.
You'll remember last year at the trade deadline, Trotz treated veteran O'Reilly as though he had a no-trade clause. As in, if the player didn't ask for the move or approve of it, he wasn't going to go through with it. One can assume the treatment for Stamkos will be the same or similar, and it's worth noting that nothing publicly has been said by Stamkos about a trade request.
If a trade doesn't come to fruition, Trotz could explore a buyout this offseason. It wouldn't be the first of his tenure, as he bought out Matt Duchene early in taking over. One thing is for sure: something has to give because the current path the team is on is a losing one.