If you are an avid visitor to Blue Line Station, you will know that we often recap trade rumors and try to make the math work. Recently, someone on Twitter suggested a different kind of rumor that the Rangers could pursue yesterday, and that was in reference to former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and his struggles since joining the Nashville Predators. It's different but has some merit when you think about it deeply.
New York recently traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and there has been a leadership void since. With the cap space created, the Rangers opened up a power vacuum. The leadership core was already being questioned, and with the departures of Trouba and Barclay Goodrow in the summer, there is an argument that the Rangers need to add a player with a few more leadership qualities that will help their issues. Well, Stamkos was the captain of the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Lightning.
New York needs the scoring help, and Stamkos can play on the wing and down the middle. He still has that rifle of a shot, which would be another weapon in the Rangers' powerplay. It would allow Vincent Trocheck to drop to the second unit and give the Blueshirts another option to put alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad if Reilly Smith isn't working.
Nashville have been one of the worst teams in the league to start this season after they were the sexy pick to resurge out of the Western Conference. If the Rangers wanted to, they could land the Canadian. He's not got a pretty contract, but the Rangers could make it work. Stamkos is 34, and he's signed until he's 38. His cap hit of $8 million would be tight, but the Rangers just shipped out the $8 million deal of Trouba, so there's cap space for the Blueshirts to use.
Stamkos has a no-movement clause throughout his deal, which is a problem. If he falls off a cliff at 36, the Rangers are stuck with that deal for the final two years unless he signs off on a deal. With that contract having $2 million in signing bonuses every year, there could be issues with a buyout if it comes to it. Stamkos' production is showing some signs of decline, with just seven goals and seven assists through 29 games, but how much of that is the Predators struggling?
Stamkos won't help the team defensively, but he does add a few other options, and the Rangers would be a good fit for him. Now, if the Blueshirts could work a deal to offload money in a similar vein, maybe a swap deal with Mika Zibanejad so it's cap neutral, it could be the freshening up of the locker room Chris Drury wanted while filling the leadership void. It's an interesting idea, but what do you think?