NHL Rumor Mill – November 6, 2025
Check out the latest on Predators forward Steven Stamkos, Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, and more in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST ON STEVEN STAMKOS
DAILY FACEOFF: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman appeared on the “Morning Cuppa Hockey” podcast on Wednesday, where one of the topics discussed was Steven Stamkos’s slow start with the Nashville Predators, and the possibility that the two sides might consider a trade.
Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos (NHL Images)
Friedman was asked if the Predators might be willing to retain part of Stamkos’ $8 million average annual value through 2027-28 to facilitate a trade. He believes if they can get an offer that makes sense, it will be considered.
Stamkos’ scoring has declined since leaving the Tampa Bay Lightning to head to Nashville in July 2024. Friedman believes that may be due in part to the Predators lacking a set-up man comparable to the one Stamkos had in Tampa Bay with Nikita Kucherov.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos has had a career worthy of the Hockey Hall of Fame, but his performance has declined noticeably since leaving the Lightning. The 35-year-old forward’s age is also a contributing factor.
A rival club could take a chance on Stamkos if they believe they have a suitable passer who can set him up in the offensive zone. However, the Predators could end up having to retain up to half of his remaining cap hit to make it happen. If such a trade were to occur, it would be during the offseason.
AN UPDATE ON ARTEMI PANARIN
BLEACHER REPORT: Frank Seravalli weighed in on recent speculation over Artemi Panarin’s future with the New York Rangers.
The 34-year-old winger is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July, and there is no sign of progress in contract extension talks between the two sides. That’s prompted rumors suggesting he could be traded.
Seravalli pointed out that there is still a lot of time between now and the March 6 trade deadline. He believes Rangers management is still determining what kind of team they have before making any drastic decisions, such as trading Panarin.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If the Rangers are in playoff contention and Panarin remains their offensive sparkplug by March, they’ll hang onto him for the rest of the season and hope to reach some common ground contract-wise before July. If not, then they could be open to trading him if he seems intent on testing the market or unwilling to accept a shorter, less-expensive contract.
KINGS GETTING OFFERS FOR BRANDT CLARKE
RG.ORG: James Murphy reports there are teams interested in Brandt Clarke, but the Los Angeles Kings aren’t interested in moving the 22-year-old defenseman.
Clarke is a right-shot defenseman with top-four upside who has seven points in 14 games thus far in this season. He’s due to become a restricted free agent next summer. The fact that he hasn’t signed an extension yet has prompted some speculation about his future.
Murphy believes the Kings’ focus on re-signing UFA-eligible winger Adrian Kempe has delayed contract extensions for other players, such as Clarke. Once the Kempe issue is resolved, management’s focus will shift toward re-signing Clarke.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings would be foolish to part ways with Clarke. He’s coming out of his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights, so they hold all the leverage in contract discussions. Regardless, he’s a promising part of their defense corps. It wouldn’t make any sense to move him unless they’re getting someone better to take his place, and that doesn’t seem likely.
TIDBITS FROM THE LATEST “32 THOUGHTS” COLUMN
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman doesn’t know if there’s anything going on trade-wise with Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei. However, he believes other teams may be calling after the talented youngster was benched for four straight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lohrei’s had his difficulties defensively this season, but it’s unlikely the Bruins will part with the 24-year-old unless someone makes an eye-popping trade pitch. He’s also in the first season of an affordable two-year contract. The Bruins will continue to work with him to improve his overall game.
The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues were the most active in the trade market last week. Friedman believes they wanted to ensure that they weren’t missing out on any trade possibilities.
Friedman pointed out that the Seattle Kraken are still having trouble offensively. They have five first-round picks and four second-rounders in the next three drafts to draw on for trade bait if they want to add an impactful player.
The Edmonton Oilers could send players to the minors and through waivers to make room for players returning from injuries. Friedman said they’re trying to get Troy Stecher “a new opportunity”.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In other words, they’re trying to find a trade partner for Stecher.
The Carolina Hurricanes are carrying three goaltenders as Brandon Bussi has played his way into the rotation. Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov aren’t waiver exempt. Friedman said they were looking for defensemen, but some of their injured blueliners are close to returning.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes have little choice right now but to hang onto all three goaltenders, given veteran Frederik Andersen’s injury history.
The Buffalo Sabres are trying to find a new home for Alexandar Georgiev. They’re hanging onto Colten Ellis. Friedman would be surprised if they traded Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, as he’s still their best goalie when healthy.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devon Levi recently surfaced in the rumor mill, but Friedman pointed out that the 23-year-old netminder is getting the bulk of the starts with their AHL affiliate in Rochester.
Friedman claims the word on Adin Hill is that the Vegas Golden Knights netminder will be sidelined for a few months.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That would also explain why the Golden Knights moved so quickly to sign Carter Hart.
Panarin was moved to line with JT Miller and Zibanejad on Tuesday. Carolina was missing 3 D men and NY still got shutout at home. Those 3 players plus Lafreniere have combined for 10 goals so far this season. Same total as Kreider and Trouba have with Ducks. I understand cap implications but Drurys moves last couple of seasons and the way he’s handled business is looking really bad. Zib made it pretty clear that he’s not interested in waiving his nmc. I’ll assume Panarin won’t either. Perhaps Drury should make it clear he won’t be back next season and maybe they can find a team willing to give him an extension ?
The Rags are a weird team Slick. They dominate chances but don’t score as much as they should. They have the worst shooting % in the NHL, and normally it’s pretty good. Last year it was better than average so not sure what the deal is. Basically the same guys.
Their PP is brutal as well. So just not finishing or? I dunno, don’t watch them other than the Oiler game which they won.
Shesterkin looks like he’s killing it again, so should be in most games and get this turned around. The SH% almost always comes back to the mean, so should be fine.
If I was a Ranger player and Drury wanted a favor, it would be tough. Not like he did some other well liked players any. Take a hardball stance, don’t be surprised when it comes back at ya I suppose.
Haha. Love this idea for Drury.
The team lacks speed as it ages right now……. they had to move Kreider or Mika for cap space and to change the room.
Guess wrong one moved
Every day on Twitter I see people posting stats for Kreider and Trouba this year as if that would have fixed all the Rangers problems.
I for one don’t buy it and its an easy (lazy) excuse for the way this season is going.
They were both here last year and played horribly. They were part of the problem (performance & leadership) and their cap hits were a burden.
The choices for this year realistically were:
A) keep Kreider and Trouba and roll out last year’s awful team again
B) trade for JT, sign Gavrikov, and extend Igor.
B can’t happen if A is still around.
And despite the slow start this year, I’ll choose B over A every time.
Having said all that, the Rangers are playing slow. Not just skating, but passing and shooting. Maybe they are still getting use to the new system and not playing instinctually. Maybe (likely) they need an injection of youth, skill, and speed.
They have some talent in Hartford… we’ll see if/when they tap into it.
And when that youth does get a call up, the experiment with Sheary has to end. The kids need to be given a real chance to play and develop. (You know, like the absurd minutes, top 6 deployment, and PP time that Sheary has been getting!!)
I think Trocheck will be returning this weekend based on practice reports over the last week. My guess is they’ll see how the team responds with him integrated back in for a week or so before they truly consider bringing up any of the AHL kids for a good look.
Ranger practice lines just came out. Looks like no Troch yet. Still practicing in red jersey today.
Panarin – Zibanejad – Raddysh
Cuylle – Miller – Lafrenière
Sheary – Laba – Brodzinski
Pärssinen – Carrick – Chmelař
Ugly.
The fact that Raddysh is on the top line should be grounds for Drury’s immediate termination.
Foleyd7
Kreider dealt with 3 different injuries last season and still had same amount of goals as JT. I get your arguments about cap. Trouba trade was a good move considering his cap and performance. Bringing in JT and moving Kreider? Vancouver was a bigger s**tshow than NY and Miller was smack in the middle. Kreider was a career Ranger who was worth every penny he was paid. Drury was a bigger problem for that locker room than any player. Gavrikov was still doable by letting KAndre walk. Lafreniere contract was a mistake. Team is wayyyy better defensively, but definitely lacks finishers. Not sure why Perreault hasn’t been brought up yet.
Man. When I suggested that drury treatment of players would be problematic I was roasted.
I agreed with that take at the time chrisms. Great minds I guess!
Of course it could be a problem, people are people regardless of their profession.
Thanks Ray. But I was specifically talking about ranger fans on here. Historically in all major sports you gotta walk a line between business and being player friendly. Drury , as an ex player, shoulda known that.
I don’t agree with that take. Nys problems aren’t stemming from a trade last year and a waiver move last offseason. That’s crazy talk! Doesn’t really make sense when the defense, team , defense and goaltending have been very good while the offense and pp have been putrid.
Are they only angry about past trades and waiver moves when they have the puck and their sticks, and somehow forget that anger while playing d?
Nys problems? Lack of a true goal scorer / scorers , chemistry. New coaching system and line juggled.
Zibanejad, Fox and Panarin are very much redundant. Pass , pass , pass , pass , pass. That’s great, but someone has to think shoot first. All are capable of scoring goals, but for some bizarre reason don’t.
Hitting the panic button 12-14 games in is a bit premature.
This team has played well. Their lack of offense is killing them. They probably need some personnel changes whether it be by trade or call ups. But if they can figure out how to score some goals, this team is much better than their record indicates.
I’ll wait until after US thanksgiving to hit the panic button.
Of these players were to be emotional basket cases over trades made a year ago, maybe Drury needs to hire a team shrink or trade them all?
Kreider trade sucks. Miller was welcomed trade, and trouba quit on the team MONTHS before being moved.
How about Lohrei for LAS Clarke?Change of scenery for both!
This year’s Rangers look like last year’s Penguins. Coincidence?
Lorei can skate and has good offensive instincts. The Bruins need to send him down to Providence to teach him how to play wing.
Barry,he can t be sent down without clearing waivers.
The Bruins aren’t playing him because his defense is so bad so if they can’t send him directly down
try him at wing or expose him to waivers. Not playing a young guy is ruining him.
Lohrei will get back in. B’s are on a 4 game heater, the D core is playing well, Sturm isn’t gonna change it.