Steven Stamkos Soars to No. 2 on Latest NHL Trade Board

The Nashville Predators are off to another dreadful start to the season, with the second-worst record in the NHL at 6-10-4, last place in the Central Division. On the newest trade board from Chris Johnston in The Athletic, the Preds have no less than three players in the Top 10 trade candidates at this early stage of the season, and Stamkos heads up the Nashville contingent at the No. 2 spot on the trade board.

But a move out of Music City for the future Hall of Famer won't be easy to pull off, notes Johnston:

A potential Stamkos trade carries some complications: The player owns a no-movement clause, and the team would likely have to retain salary to make it work. But the potential for a big payoff is there.

Stamkos, now in his 18th NHL season, is approaching the 600-goal mark for his career this season, and still had 27 goals last season for the low-scoring Predators (although his 53-point total was eons below his career point-per-game mark).

He will definitely have some suitors. But as Johnston alludes to, his $8M cap hit for another two seasons after this one, through to his age-37 year, could be a stumbling block.

"If they do move Steven Samkos, they’re going to have to eat (retain some of that cap hit)," agreed insider David Pagnotta on The Sheet with Jeff Marek. "So he’s going to lose a little bit on the exchange, from a tax perspective, (but) he’ll be paid still partially out of Nashville, if that’s the case. So it’s not going to be a full blow. But that is certainly a factor.

"Now, how much Nashville is willing to retain on a deal is another mitigating factor in all of this. I don’t think they’re gonna go full pop in terms of 50% percent.

"Is Steven Stamkos much more appealing at $5 million or five and a half vs. $8M? I would imagine," offered Pagnotta.

Regardless, teams are sniffing around, having exploratory discussions with Nashville.

"Make no mistake about it, Vancouver is part of that conversation, as is Montreal, as are a number of teams," said insider Jeff Marek on the Sekeres & Price show recently.

The two-time Stanley Cup winner and two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner is No. 2 with a bullet on the trade board.