Just like a horrible rerun from Nashville Predators history of adding former NHL greats, Steven Stamkos couldn't live up to the expectations in his first year after leaving the Tampa Bay Lightning. The question is, how much of that was on him and how much of that was on the overall ineptitude of the entire team?
Stamkos and the Predators have already officially hit the ice for 2025-26 training camp and preaching a short memory about last season and turning the page to a new opportunity this season.
"There’s just a general excitement of, ‘OK, last year's in the past. Let's come in, let’s have some fun, let’s work hard and let’s get back to why we love this game, why we play this game.’ Today was a good start.” --> https://t.co/ID3Cy0P56A #Preds
— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) September 19, 2025
Stamkos shared his thoughts about the upcoming season with Brooks Bratten of the team's official website, stating that basically the past is the past and let's get back down to the basics.
Simply put, Steven Stamkos has to shoot way more in year 2 with Nashville Predators
It's unclear exactly where Stamkos is going to line up in the Predators starting lineup which has a lot of competition in training camp. Especially without any resolution yet to be reached with RFA Luke Evangelista, who is absent at least at the start of training camp.
Stamkos could play center and he could play on the wing. We just really don't know yet for sure, but in the initial practice lines have Stamkos lining up on the left wing with youngsters Fedor Svechkov and Joakim Kemell. Of course these line combinations will be very fluid throughout the preseason.
In terms of how Stamkos can be at his top potential in his second year with the Predators, the first most glaring area that comes to mind is more shot output. Not even just shots on net, but total shot attempts. He dropped off enormously from 490 total shot attempts in his last year with Tampa Bay to 356 total shot attempts in his first year with Nashville. That's also in three more games played.
Furthermore, Stamkos maintained his excellent career shooting percentage in his first season with Nashville, sticking at over 15 percent. So it's not as if Stamkos was plagued by bad puck luck. He scored at an efficient rate when getting shots on net, he just didn't shoot nearly enough for a player of his Hall of Fame caliber.
There's also a need for Stamkos to cut back some on the penalties. He took more than you would expect from a veteran of his caliber. We saw him go to the box in some unfortunate moments in games. Some of them I recall seemed to come out of frustration and desperation. He was pretty vocal in his disgust on many occasions which totaled 48 total penalty minutes. His highest amount of penalty minutes going back to 2017-18.
For Head Coach Andrew Brunette, one of his primary focuses for Stamkos has to start with finding him the best linemates that will get Stamkos shooting in his wheelhouse. That might be tough to pull off on a line with two unproven youngsters. That will command more attention from the defense on Stamkos, but in return could also leave more opportunities for Stamkos to be the distributor and make guys like Svechkov and Kemell use their scoring abilities. So I actually don't hate that line combination at all as an early experiment in training camp.
As for Stamkos getting more shots and shot attempts, it really falls on himself first. He was very passive early on last season. He was turning down shot chances and trying to get his linemates going. I think we'll see a more aggressive Stamkos this season. One that shoots more and if he even comes close to his career shooting percentage, he'll easily surpass 30 goals. He had 27 last season in what most consider a down year for him.
Another key to unlocking Stamkos in his second year with Nashville is building on chemistry. He should come in much more comfortable and feeling at home now. I can't imagine the early goings of last year after the drama of leaving Tampa Bay, a place he spent 16 years building a Hall of Fame career only to see that organization let him walk.
Stamkos should have a lot less outside noise to deal with and just come in locked in. Also, he should have a more defined role with Nashville this year. One where he can kind of act as a second captain on this team to the true captain, Roman Josi. I can see Stamkos adopting that mentor role while still having a huge presence on the power play, which he maintained last season with 14 power play goals.
Stamkos can be a big part of the solution to the Nashville Predators rebuilding
It's now Year 18 for the illustrious and decorated NHL career of Stamkos. As a Predators fan I don't want people to look back one day on his career and see that his two years with the Predators were a waste and just forgetable. I would love nothing more than for Stamkos to cap off his legacy by being a vital part to the Predators ushering in a new era of hockey that one day brings the first Stanley Cup to Music City. But it's obviously it's going to require more patience.
We're not even asking for that much more out of Stamkos. Just more consistency and a more defined role whether that's on the second line or the top line. More consistent linemates will do a lot of good as well, but again that might take a few games into the season to really settle on what is working the best.
Stamkos isn't what he once was as a 5-on-5 player, and that expectation was already there before he played his first game in a Predators sweater. But I do think he can show improvement in that area if he plays with the right linemates and establishes that consistent role with the team. That will lead to more shots attempts from the career 16.6 percent shooting percentage that Stamkos has. Just spectacular efficiency from a guy who has piled up over 3,500 career shots on goal. You cannot hold that guy back from shooting. It's malpractice, so find a way to get this guy shooting early and often.
Preferably once Evangelista does get signed, assuming this standoff doesn't stretch into regular season games, I'm consistent on wanting to see Stamkos with Svechkov and Evangelista. You only move Stamkos to a center spot as a last resort if Svechkov isn't working out. And you stick with this trio on the second line for more than just a couple games. Give it time to brew something up before pulling the plug on it after two games.
If that line combo proves to not be working after giving it some time, then the Predators will be in scramble mode already. It will turn into a domino effect and Stamkos might have to shift to center, which I'd rather avoid if at all possible. He's just so much better on the wing with a center who can get him the puck regularly in scoring areas. But as we know, the Predators are very thin at center and don't have a lot of options.