As the NHL trade deadline rapidly approaches, the Minnesota Wild continue to fly on the wind of the rumor mill. Acquiring Quinn Hughes accelerated the team's Stanley Cup timeline, which has thrust the team to the front of the line when if comes to other big names floating around the trade market.
While linked to the likes of Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers, a new name emerged in Steven Stamkos of the Nashville Predators. Last week, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that Stamkos would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, and the Wild were one of the team's he'd be interested in joining.
But last Friday, Stamkos shut down those report, saying that he never approached the Nashville front office and that he prefers to stay with the team.
“I haven’t talked to [general manager Barry Trotz] at all about that,”. said Stamkos.“But what I’ll say, with this group, we want to be together. I can only control what I can control, but I love being here.”
Steven Stamkos shuts down report regarding waiving no-move clause for Wild, other contenders
Well, so much for that idea.
In that aforementioned LeBrun report, the Wild were one of three teams he'd be "willing" to be traded to, with the others being the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. But since Stamkos has a full no-movement clause, he would have to approve of any trade. Based on his comments last Friday, he has no desire to do so, and sounds like a player who will remainin Nashville for the rest of the season.
Stamkos would have been a tremendous add for the Wild, considering he boasts incredible playoff experience as evidenced by his two Stanley Cup victories. In his playoff career, Stamkos has 50 goals and 51 assists through 128 playoff games.
This season, Stamkos has 30 goals and 16 assists through 50 games with Nashville, and is on pace to have his most productive campaign yet with the team.
The Wild fanbase can scratch Stamkos off of their list for potential top six forward they can acquire. But the team is notably in the running for Trocheck, who General Manager Bill Guerin is quite familiar with after picking him for Team USA in the Winter Olympics. The Wild are also linked to Stamkos' teammate, Ryan O'Reilly, who is also having a productive season in Nashville, posting 21 goals and 36 assists in 59 games.
It will be interesting to see who Guerin and the Wild end up adding once the trade window closes at 3:00 p.m. ET this Friday. But we can cross Stamkos off of fans' wishlist, as he sounds like someone who doesn't intend to leave Nashville.