Friday Four: Why hasn’t it worked for Steven Stamkos in Nashville?

The Friday Four is a collection of thoughts and information on some intriguing storylines from around the NHL. On deck this week is:

• Steven Stamkos off to another slow start with Predators

• Drew Doughty trying to solidify Olympic spot

• Anthony Cirelli a catalyst for Lightning

• Frank Vatrano navigating demotion to fourth line

Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators

From the moment Steven Stamkos pulled a Nashville Predators sweater over his head, it just didn’t look right. 

The bright yellow was a jarring contrast from the Tampa Bay Lightning blue we were accustomed to seeing Stamkos in for the past 16 years. For players who have spent a significant portion of their career with one franchise, it takes time for the hockey world to get used to seeing them in a different setting. While everyone is adjusting to Stamkos in a new jersey, he’s still trying to find his footing on the ice in Nashville. 

For the second season in row, Stamkos couldn’t have started any colder. He’s managed just three points in 16 games and has found the scoresheet once in 11 outings. Last year wasn’t much better during his first season in Nashville, as Stamkos scored just one goal in his first 10 games, before ultimately finishing the 2024-25 campaign with 53 points. Not a terrible season by any means, but not up to the standard Stamkos has set. In his last three years with the Lightning, Stamkos averaged 90 points and scored 40 goals in his final season before joining the Predators. 

There was an expected drop-off when Stamkos arrived in Nashville because he was leaving a loaded Lightning roster, but I’m not sure anyone expected the fall to be this steep. Last season’s output of 53 points looks like a fantastic season compared to this year’s 15-point pace. Stamkos will turn 36 in February and still has two years after this one remaining on his deal, with an $8-million cap hit. That’s going to be a nightmare situation if Stamkos can’t at least get himself headed in the right direction once again. 

So why has his production plummeted? For starters, Stamkos feasted on being part of a very potent Lightning power play. During his final season in Tampa, Stamkos had 81 points and nearly half of those (39) came with the man advantage. The Lightning power play was the best in the league that season at 26.3 per cent and Stamkos hasn’t played on a unit anywhere close to that in Nashville. In 2024-25 the Predators power play ranked 18^th and this year it’s been much worse, sitting at 27^th. 

Tampa obviously has more high-end talent with Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Victor Hedman and others, but the issue is more than personnel. With the Lightning, a lot of the time the puck was funnelled through Stamkos on the man advantage for one-timers. Kucherov would find him with a cross-seam pass on the left half boards or Hedman would nudge it over for an uncontested blast. That isn’t happening enough with Nashville. He’s on pace for 175 shots, which is right on his pace from last year but way down from his numbers in Tampa. In his final three years with the Lightning, Stamkos averaged nearly 250 shots per season.

Stamkos is on the second power-play unit and he isn’t being utilized the same. Here’s a Preds power-play goal from Nick Blankenburg earlier this week, where you can see Stamkos parked at the side of the net. Normally, Stamkos would be stationed on the half boards for a perfect one-timer from Blankenburg in that situation.

The other thing to consider is Roman Josi is a bit of a different power-play quarterback than Hedman was in Tampa. Josi is injured, but when healthy, he loves to shoot the puck. Hedman is averaging 2.1 shots per game for his career, while Josi comes in at 2.9. Josi has also surpassed 200 shots in eight seasons, compared to just two for Hedman. It’s not that Josi and Stamkos couldn’t work together on a power play, but the veteran blueliner is just a lot more inclined to shoot, whereas in Tampa, Hedman was trying to find Stamkos for a shot much more regularly. 

Another more obvious element at play here is Stamkos is losing a step or two as he enters his mid-30s. According to NHL EDGE, Stamkos has a max skating speed of 21.83 m.p.h. this season, which is nearly three m.p.h. slower than his top mark from last season. That might not seem like a drastic drop-off but in a league where time and space is always at a premium, it’s significant. Stamkos’ skating was actually a big strength for him a year ago and he had the seventh highest top speed among all skaters. To put that in perspective, Stamkos’ best speed of 24.21 m.p.h. in 2024-25 is only slightly slower than the league leader this season, none other than some guy named Connor McDavid. Stamkos will have a more difficult time getting open and creating scoring chances as he slows down. 

With all this said, I don’t think Stamkos suddenly forgot how to produce and he should still be a very effective player in the right situation. He can shoot the puck really well, but the challenge is getting him enough looks in the right spot. Stamkos’ bread and butter is similar to Alexander Ovechkin’s, setting up on his off wing for one-timers, especially on the power play. He’s still shooting the puck at well over 90 m.p.h. and Stamkos should be able to park himself in the offensive zone and rip the puck on the net with great effectiveness for at least a few more years. This rocket from the other night shows he’s still got it, the challenge is just unlocking it more often. 

Stamkos may not be able to score at the rate Ovechkin has leading up to age 40, but he still has the skillset to generate respectable numbers. 

The question is where will that be? It doesn’t seem to be working in Nashville and for a team possibly trending toward a rebuild, how much sense does it make for Stamkos to go along for that ride? Stamkos has a full no-move clause and will control the process, but maybe he’d be open to a trade if things don’t turn around for the Predators this season. Some teams may be scared off by his contract, though with the cap making a big jump, deals like Stamkos’ may not be as immovable as they once were, especially if Nashville eats some money. 

Stamkos very well could have been in the perfect situation with the Lightning to continue to produce substantial offence as he ages and sometimes a change of scenery doesn’t always work out. If he wants to get back to being a 35-40-goal scorer, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen in Nashville. 

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

At this time last year, Drew Doughty faced a season of uncertainty. The Los Angeles Kings defenceman suffered a broken ankle during the 2024 pre-season and missed 47 games, leading Canada to exclude Doughty from their initial roster for the 4 Nations tournament. He would eventually work his way onto the squad after Alex Pietrangelo withdrew from the team, but it was clear Doughty was trying to jump on a moving train last season. 

The start to the 2025-26 campaign has been much more normal for Doughty. With a full training camp under his belt, he’s hit the ground running and became the Kings all-time leader in goals by a defenceman earlier this week. Now he’ll turn his attention to once again trying to solidify his spot on Canada’s Olympic team before the best-on-best tournament in February. 

Doughty will soon turn 36 and obviously isn’t the player he was 10 years ago, but he isn’t showing any major signs of slowing down. He may not be a big point producer anymore, yet Doughty continues to average nearly 24 minutes a night and is starting nearly 50 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone. That’s the second-highest rate of his career and it’s clear Los Angeles still continues to trust him the most in key situations. That trust factor Doughty brings to the table is the biggest reason Canada selected him for the 4 Nations. 

There are a lot of younger Canadian defencemen who are hungry for an Olympic spot. Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson and even Matthew Schaefer will be hoping to knock someone like Doughty out to earn a role for Canada. Doughty, though, brings a wealth of experience along with a pair of Stanley Cups and Olympic gold medals, and continues to prove he belongs on hockey’s biggest stage. Some of those other blue-liners may just have to wait another four years. 

Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning

If you were betting on which player would be the catalyst to get the Tampa Bay Lightning out of their early-season funk, you’d probably have to go through a handful of players before Anthony Cirelli. We’re used to the likes of Kucherov, Point, Hedman, Hagel and Andrei Vasilevskiy carrying the team, but the core of the Lightning did not get off to a typical start. 

Vasilevskiy had only one quality start in his first five games, Point and Kucherov are sitting at a combined minus-11, Hedman still hasn’t scored yet and it took Hagel until game No. 9 to get a goal. All that added up to the Lightning starting the year 1-4-2 and having a brief stay in the Eastern Conference basement. Since then, though, Tampa has reeled off six wins in seven games, thanks in large part to the play of Cirelli. 

The normally defence-first centre has sparked the Lightning offence this season, scoring seven times and tallying 11 points. Cirelli’s career-best offensive campaign came in 2024-25, when he posted 27 goals and 59 points. At his current pace, he would shatter both of those marks. Cirelli’s shooting percentage is definitely going to come down as the year goes and even if he cools off eventually, this early season surge has been critical to helping the Lightning find their footing. 

Coach Jon Cooper has come to rely on Cirelli as one of the league’s top defensive centres and it’s clear there’s not many players he trusts more. Cirelli feels like a lock for Team Canada once again when they take to the ice in February because Cooper can count on him in almost any situation without sacrificing things in the defensive zone. That said, Cirelli is also proving there’s a lot more to his game than just playing in his own end. If he gets the opportunity to play with skilled players, Cirelli can make you pay at the other end of the ice as well and he may be unlocking another facet of his game.

Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are leading the Pacific Division after the first month of the season, despite getting little to no production from Frank Vatrano. 

It’s been a challenging 2025-26 for Vatrano, to say the least, as the Ducks forward didn’t find the back of the net at all in October and has just two points to his name. He’s playing less than 13 minutes a night, which is about five minutes less per game than Vatrano skated in last season. Vatrano has averaged 27 goals over his past three seasons in Anaheim, so I’m sure few around the Ducks organization saw this quiet start coming. 

His poor play, combined with the emergence of youngsters Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson, along with the arrival of veteran Chris Kreider, has pushed Vatrano down to the fourth line. He’s playing with Ross Johnston and Jansen Harkins, a pair of hardworking players who don’t have much offensive upside. Vatrano will be hard-pressed to find his offensive touch with his current deployment, so he’ll have to hope that new Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville will give him another look further up the lineup in order to get him going offensively again. 

You’d think Anaheim would be keen to do so, considering they gave Vatrano a three-year deal worth $18 million less than a year ago. It’s understandable that Vatrano should have to earn his ice time, but putting him on the fourth line isn’t an ideal way to get the most out of him. He needs to play with more skilled players to bust out of this slump and the Ducks are stocked with them in their top nine. If Anaheim hopes to continue its strong play over the course of 82 games and push for a playoff spot, it’s hard to imagine them doing so without Vatrano at least making some kind of impact. It’s up to both player and team to get him back on track.

More from Sportsnet

NHL Power Rankings: Checking in on the new guys

Scout’s Analysis: What Easton Cowan showed in his first NHL stint