According to Pierre LeBrun, the Nashville Predators have signed former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to a deal likely to be in the four-year, $8 million AAV range as NHL free agency kicks off today.
Stamkos played sixteen seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. In his time with the Lightning, Stamkos has played 1082 career games in which he recorded 555 goals and 1137 points. He led the Lightning to two Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. At 34 years of age, Stamkos played 79 games and scored 40 goals and 81 points last season with the Lightning.
After talks with Tampa Bay hit an impasse, Stamkos became one of the biggest players expected to hit free agency. Nashville’s four-year deal will bring his offensive skill set and leadership to a Predators team wanting to get back to being a serious Cup contender in that time frame.
