Predators’ Steven Stamkos expects team to contend for playoffs in 2026-27

The Stanley Cup Playoffs mean that the season is over for the 16 teams that did not qualify, and that comes with the opportunity to hear from players on those squads on getaway days, when the team gets together one last time to clear out their lockers and meet with the media.

For the Nashville Predators, this season did not go as hoped. After a disastrous 2024-25 campaign, the idea was for a veteran-heavy group to bounce back and make the playoffs.

A late push almost made that happen, but things looked so bleak for most of the year that general manager Barry Trotz announced over the winter that he would be stepping aside upon the conclusion of the season.

For veteran forward Steven Stamkos, a second consecutive year without the playoffs to start his tenure with the Predators does not deter what he sees as being possible for the group moving forward.

“I think the message was clear today from the current management and the coaching staff that from ownership to players, is that the expectation is to be a contending playoff team, and I don’t think that is going to change,” Stamkos told the media, including team reporter Brooks Bratten.

Given that it took until April 14 for Nashville to be mathematically eliminated this season, there’s plenty of reason to believe that things could be different next year.

For his part, Stamkos embodied the year the Predators had overall. He was off to a miserably slow start, producing just 2 points in 12 games in October, but he built a strong campaign as he went, rediscovering his goal-scoring touch and finishing with 42 goals to mark the eighth season in his career in which he’s scored at least 40.

That was good enough to put him in a tie for ninth in the NHL in goals. The longtime Tampa Bay Lightning star just completed the second season of a four-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $8 million per year that he signed in the summer of 2024, when Trotz went on a spending spree seeking to take the team to contender status.

Along with Stamkos, Trotz signed other experienced playoff veterans in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei to add to a team that went on a furious rally down the stretch to make the 2024 postseason.

Now, the team is undergoing the process of hiring a new general manager, one who will be tasked with creating some cap flexibility and adding more talent to a team that still has some holes in its roster.