'That's When You Know It's Bad': Elliotte Friedman Gets Honest About Steven Stamkos
Steven Stamkos' time in Nashville hasn't exactly been good, and now, Elliotte Friedman has highlighted a major problem with the star forward.
Last summer, the Nashville Predators landed some major names in free agency, with perhaps the biggest of all being long-time Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who left Tampa Bay for the first time in his NHL career.
Unfortunately, his production took a major step back a season ago, and after a dreadful start to the 2025/26 campaign, what was once a major pickup is now seeming like a mistake for both parties.
Elliotte Friedman Highlights Stamkos' Struggles
In the Predators last matchup, the Predators lost in dramatic fashion to the Minnesota Wild, but in the game, Stamkos drilled a key goal, giving him 2 in his first 15 games.
Just 2 goals in 15 games shows how far Stamkos has truly fallen, and in his latest 32 Thoughts piece, Elliotte Friedman has revealed his shots have taken a dramatic fall off, as has his production as a result.
The biggest indicator of concern about the Nashville/Stamkos match is his shot rates. The last three years in Tampa, he had 241, 240 and 262. Last year in Tennessee was 174 (he shot 15.5 per cent, a 40-goal pace with 262 shots.) This season, he's on-pace for 175. He's just not getting attempts as often as he used to. That said, it's never a one-way street. Barring a trade for a distributor, he's got to do everything he can to make an impact, whether that means changing his game or impacting it in other ways. He even played net-front on one of the power plays last night. But Stamkos is in the NHL to score, first and foremost. I do not believe any kind of bold trade request is the plan, but I think if there's a situation that made sense everyone involved would have to look at it.
Ultimately, this was meant to be a move that catapulted the Predators into Stanley Cup contention, but it's had the opposite effect for everyone involved, and with just 2 goals in 15 games, it's safe to say that these struggles don't have an end in sight.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 6|436 ANSWERS 'That's When You Know It's Bad': Elliotte Friedman Gets Honest About Steven Stamkos Will Stamkos have 25 or more goals this season? | ||
| Yes | 141 | 32.3 % |
| No | 295 | 67.7 % |
| List of polls | ||