Steven Stamkos isn’t ready to leave Nashville.
Stamkos denied a report from The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that he might be willing to waive a full no-movement clause in his contract to be traded to a legitimate contender.
“I haven’t talked to (GM Barry Trotz) at all about that,” Stamkos said, adding there was “zero” chance he’d be willing to waive his no movement clause.
“Obviously there’s stuff that gets reported,” Stamkos said. “But what I’ll say, with this group, we want to be together. I can only control what I can control, but I love being here.”
Stamkos, 36, has drawn attention ahead of the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
In The Athletic’s Feb. 26 report, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild were mentioned as potential trade partners.
The Predators (27-24-7, 61 points) are coming off a 4-2 win over the Blackhawks that puts them within two points of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. But even if Nashville makes the playoffs, they’d face a tough task going up against teams like Colorado, Vegas, Dallas or Minnesota in the first round.
That’s fueled speculation that Trotz, who announced his retirement on Feb. 2, might be willing to sell off players like Stamkos to improve the team’s future.
At least for himself, Stamkos doesn’t see that happening.
“We want to play in meaningful hockey games and we’re playing in meaningful hockey games right now,” Stamkos said.
This season, Stamkos leads the Predators with 29 goals in 58 games, giving him 56 goals in two seasons with Nashville. The four-year contract he signed in 2024 includes an annual $8 million cap hit and runs through the 2027-28 season.
Prior to his arrival in Nashville, Stamkos spent 16 seasons with Tampa after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. On Dec. 31, Stamkos scored his 600th NHL goal, becoming the 22nd player in NHL history to pass the milestone.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
