Insider proposes Islanders GM reunite with this Cup champ

The NHL rumor mill continues to grind even when the league breaks for Christmas. And such chatter involves Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos. The former two-time Stanley Cup champ has been on the trade block for some time now.

One interesting club proposed as a target for Stamkos is the New York Islanders. At least that’s what insider Chris Johston of The Athletic believes.

In a December 24 piece, Johnston posited that the New York Islanders could be an interesting destination for Stamkos. The link there is the relationship with current Isles’ GM Mathieu Darche. Stamkos and Darche were part of the Tampa Bay Lightning squads that went to three-straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning twice.

Johnston wrote the following thought:

“But why not a move to Long Island, where former Lightning exec Mathieu Darche is now calling the shots? The Islanders are hanging in the playoff race, but could use an offensive boost to help them get there. After a sluggish start, Stamkos has been finding the net with much more regularity and still has the finishing ability to boost a power play.”

The idea of adding a scoring forward should make fans feel giddy. But there’s one other reason Johnston uses to justify his thoughts:

“Pairing him with a pass-first center such as Mathew Barzal might even allow him to turn back the clock.”

Sure, Stamkos is past his 60-goal prime. But then again, wouldn’t a Barzal-Stamkos combo look like something enticing?

The price to land Stamkos is reportedly not cheap. Plus, there’s Stamkos’ $8 million cap hit to worry about. But supposing that Stamkos would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to head to Long Island, Darche would be remiss not to look into this reunion.

While this deal may never happen, it’s still interesting to speculate if it could. The Islanders could use more scoring, and the Predators are looking to get younger. So, there could be a match there.