Are the Vancouver Canucks trying to trade for Stamkos?
Perhaps the Vancouver Canucks’ interest in Steven Stamkos never dissipated.
Almost a decade after former Canucks general manager Jim Benning was fined $50,000 back in 2016 for comments he made about wanting to sign Stamkos, the forward’s name has popped up in rumours linking him to Vancouver once again.
Rick Dhaliwal was the first to suggest the connection between Stamkos and the Canucks, during Thursday’s episode of Donnie and Dhali.
“Someone told me the Canucks are poking around Steven Stamkos,” Dhaliwal said on the show.
“The Canucks are working the phones. They’re trying to get a centreman. They’ve called everybody.”
Later on in the day, this was backed up by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects.
I've heard this floating around from a couple people as well.
Not sure how serious it is though. https://t.co/bRDdMABYc6
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) October 30, 2025
Based on the fact that the Canucks are the most injured team in the NHL, their interest in an affordable trade target like Stamkos shouldn’t be a shock.
Unfortunately for the Canucks, this isn’t 2016.
Back then, Stamkos was an elite, first-line player who was primed to be one of the biggest free agents on July 1. Despite drama about him bolting for another team, he opted to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That ended up being a good choice for him and the organization, as they went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
However, Stamkos is now 35 years old, and he’s off to a terrible start with the aging Nashville Predators.
The Markham, Ont., native has just one goal and two points in 11 games so far this season for the Preds. It’s not for a lack of ice time either, as he ranks fourth among Nashville forwards, playing 17:22 per game.
He hasn’t even played centre for the most part this season, although the team recently shifted him back to the middle due to the struggles of rookie Fedor Svechkov.
Stamkos signed a four-year contract with the Predators in the summer of 2024, with a cap hit of $8 million per season. He’s only in year two of that contract, which would be an issue in most trade negotiations.
If the Predators truly want to trade Stamkos, what would other teams realistically be willing to give up? He’s one of the best goal scorers of the past decade, but his best years are seemingly behind him.
The Canucks don’t have much cap space right now. To make this trade happen, Nashville would surely have to retain salary.
Even then, the Canucks may have to trade a contract back to Nashville. That, or a player like Filip Chytil could go to long-term injured reserve if a return isn’t imminent.