When Steven Stamkos joined the Nashville Predators in 2024, there was a huge array of opinion on both sides of the spectrum.
Coming an 81-point season with Tampa Bay the season prior, some thought that his next chapter with the Predators would be full of uncertainty and potentially a scoring regression. For many, his first season in the mustard cat proved them right.
Despite playing a full 82 games, the first time in his career since the 2018-19 season, Stamkos only scored 27 goals and tallied 53 points with Nashville in 2024-25. This was his worst season statistically since his rookie campaign all the way back in 2008-09. By the end it, the then 35-year-old looked like his days in the NHL could be nearing an end. However, just one season later in 2025-26, all of that talk was instantly forgotten about.
In a storybook outing, Stamkos put up a 42-goal season, tying for his sixth best in his career. His 20.4-shooting percentage throughout the season set a career-high, surpassing his 2013-13 total of 20.2%. MoneyPuck, a website that tracks advanced analytics and predicts shooting talent, found that his shooting was more consistent than one season ago, with his scoring coming from in front of the net and the left side, rather than the left side completely.
If this demonstrated anything, it showed that Stamkos opted to be more versatile. Rather than insisting for his corner of the ice, he instead followed the play, setting up in front of the goalie for tips, snapshots and deflections. He fit the system and thrived under it.
Stamkos found most success when paired with Evangelista and O'Reilly
If there is one thing that helped Stamkos the most, it was a talented playmaker. Using MoneyPuck's advanced lines tool, we can see that he spent just under 60% of the season paired alongside Luke Evangelista and Ryan O'Reilly, two of the team's top playmakers. Statistically, this was the team's best line offensively as it had the highest expected goals for with 14.5%.
All around, it was their third best line with an expected goals percentage of .599 (found when dividing expected goals for by expected goals against). Number one belonged to Wiesblatt-McCarron-Smith, which no longer exists because two of the three names are on different teams. The same case goes to number two which is Bunting-Haula-Evangelista. Heading into next season, this should be the team's first line as it is the best remaining.
Across some of the biggest hockey outlets like the Daily Faceoff and PuckPedia, the consensus has this line staying together. The ability to rotate two lines with a 40-goal scorer proved to be crucial to the Predators push for a playoff appearance. It is unsure whether we can call Filip Forsberg our number one winger anymore; if anything, it becomes a 1A and 1B situation, where they both can be considered that top winger.
The acquisition of Mavrik Bourque over the offseason could be big for Stamkos. He is a talented playmaker who is also a righty, meaning he can slot on the right side when Evangelista isn't available. Same goes for when O'Reilly is out, or presumably traded at some point, Bourque can play center and line up Stamkos with perfect passes into open shooting lanes.
The additions of him along with a familiar face in Ross Colton can help Stamkos boost his numbers even further. I don't see him reaching the 50-goal mark, but I can easily see him put up another 40-goal campaign. At 36 years old, Stamkos has shut down the regression claims and is ready to continue dominating the puck.
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