Steven Stamkos Recaps First Season With Nashville Predators “Very Tough Feeling” & NHL Future

Steven Stamkos Recaps First Season With Nashville Predators “Very Tough Feeling” & NHL Future

[Music] long summer. Yeah. Well, I think there’s, you know, there was a lot of expectation, a lot of excitement, a lot of hope coming into this season and certainly didn’t didn’t pan out that way, which I think for everyone was very disappointing. Um, you know, you look at at the core group of guys that are here and um, you know, the seasons that all of us collectively had this year, it, you know, we’re hoping that that it’s a one-off and and we can regroup this summer. Um, understand the feeling that that we had this year. There was a ton of frustration. I think uh a ton of, you know, kind of look at yourself in the mirror moment and and figure out what was trying to figure out anyways what what the issues were. I think there was probably a few. I think um you know, injuries I think played a little bit of a part of it. Um you know, the inability to score. I don’t know whether you chalk that up to to bad luck or, you know, new guys coming in and taking a little longer to to adjust to certain areas. Um, could be one thing, too. So, you know, when when the season ends, you know, you wake up the next morning, you’re not coming to practice, you’re not playing, it’s it’s a very very tough feeling. You you play this game to play in the playoffs. That’s the best hockey and the most exciting and that’s what everyone school is at the beginning of the year. And when you don’t accomplish that, there’s a there’s an empty feeling for sure. And it takes some time to really digest exactly what went wrong. So, I’m sure we’ll do that in the next couple weeks. But, you know, just just a just a tough feeling for sure. What do you confidence? What gives you confidence? just one. Well, you look around the room and and you look at the pieces that are here and you know, it’s why there’s there’s been success in in the past because of the core guys that are here and the guys that were brought in last summer, the guys that are brought in throughout this season through trade. Obviously, you know, if we were in a better position, I know, you know, that management would have been aggressive in trying to get players. It didn’t work out that way and we go the the opposite way, but guys guys were still brought in. I mean, you you look look like, you know, a guy like Bunting who is in a hockey trade, per se, and he’s going to be a big piece of that. You know, guys are going to get healthy and and have a a good summer to to come back and feel refreshed and and energized. And you know, to me, you look, you look back at this the start of the year, you know, the starting 0 and5. I mean, that was at that point, you just kept telling yourself, okay, it’s going to change, it’s going to change, it’s going to change, and it and it snowballed. And we we were just playing catch-up the whole year. And then eventually, it just, you can’t do that in this league. And, you know, you look back, hey, if we would have done this or done that at the beginning and maybe got a win here, a win there, maybe it changes the dynamic of the season. But unfortunately, that’s not how the business works. It’s uh it’s results. It’s winning. Um and it’s accountability. And for me personally, you know, need need to to find a way to be better and and to, you know, put all the things that are in your head. And when you get into a new situation, you know, it it it was tough in that regard for for me and learned a lot about myself and certainly, you know, how to handle things maybe a little better. Um, but it was a first for me and I can’t speak for anyone else, but it it it was tough and I think I’ve learned some lessons in that and um I think that for me anyways gives me confidence going into next season that um I know how to handle those things and I’m more comfortable in certain situations and know what to expect and um I’m looking forward to that. Stephen, talking to Maro about the style of play, you see clearly it didn’t work so you’re going to have to have to make some adjustments there. Do you have thoughts on on what you think needs to change from a from a style of play standpoint? Yeah, it’s I mean it’s it’s it’s tough, you know, when when you lose and when you’re not having success, everything sucks, right? You know, you find things to complain about, you find things to be negative about. It’s any aspect of life, right? you’re things are going well, you know, yeah, the food might have not been great last night, but I had a great time at dinner because today was a great day. When you when things aren’t going well, everything sucks. You find ways to to complain about things. That’s human nature, and that’s what, you know, crept into a lot of us this year was those negative thoughts. So, when you’re talking about systems, [Music] um I mean, it was it new for for a lot of us? Absolutely. um is there things that can be tweaked I think to um help out the group that we have now. That’s that’s the challenge is every year there’s different players on on teams that you know you have to try to figure out what works. You have to see what works, what doesn’t work, and then kind of evolve around that. So that takes some time. That takes some thought. So I think you know is there one thing that’s glaring that that needs to be changed? I’m not sure if there is, but there there there certainly can be tweaks and that’s why you have those relationships with the leadership group and the coaches and you try to feel out that process and um you know, but sometimes you need to see it before whether it works, whether it doesn’t work. And you know, this year obviously was a tough year, so I’m sure things will be talked about behind the scenes. Played a lot more center this year. enjoy it. I guess looking ahead, would you like to just keep doing that or would you prefer going back to more? Yeah, I mean I I didn’t mind it at all. I I thought for me anyways in terms of, you know, being around the puck and having the puck and generating some speed. I mean, that that helps my game for sure. Um, you know, it’s it’s the old question of, you know, are you okay playing the wing with, you know, certain guy at center, you know, yeah, if if there’s a guy that is, you know, playing really well and facilitating the puck and, you know, that that obviously was a question mark for a group this year as well. And you know, obviously with when with when Novi got traded and there was a hole there, a glaring hole, I I was able to step in and do my best to to help that. It’s was an adjustment for sure with with the system. It’s a different system than I had ever played in the Dzone with regards to being center. So, that took a little bit of time, too. But, I I enjoyed it. Um, you know, if I have to to continue to play it, I I’ll do so. Um, you know, obviously we’ll see what happens this summer and those are obviously questions for for management and coaching with regards to what they want to do with with the lineup, but um, you know, was something that was talked about last season and I think kind of reared its head a little bit this year with the depth that we have at at that position and um, you know, we’ll see what happens. Steph, what’s your level of confidence that this organization will do what it takes to, you know, turn things around and and get you back at the contention next year. Yeah. I mean, as as a guy who signed on, you know, for for as long as we all did last summer, the the new guys anyways, we we came here to be on a competitive team. So, you know, at the end of the day, you ask yourself the question is, you look at some of the ages of of the players that we have here. It’s, you know, I think we’re more on the we need to find a way to make this work than let’s start all over again. So, you know, as long as it keeps trending in that direction, I think we’re we’re all on the same page with wanting to to be a competitive team. So, um you know, again, you know, there’ll be some questions answered, I’m sure, this summer. We have tons of draft capital. We have some good young prospects. You know, I know Tros already talked about, you know, what his plans are in free agency and and the trade market. So, you know, it’ll be an exciting offseason to see what what transpires. Stephen, you’ve been doing this for so long after a year like this. Is there anything that you learn on the ice performance-wise about yourself? Um, I don’t know if I learned anything. I mean, I obviously I wish I could have played better. Um, disappointed in that. I I think just the mental aspect of how this year went weighed on me a lot and you know put me through some situations that I haven’t been in in a long time. You know, you talk about expectation and and that’s a pretty vague word, but the expectation for this franchise was high coming into this summer. And as an older guy, a veteran guy in the team, you bear the responsibility of that more more so than when you were a young guy. I mean, I played on some teams that didn’t make the playoffs early in my career, and it didn’t feel that bad at the end of the year because the expectation wasn’t there. And you’re a young guy and you’re happy to be in the league. And now, you know, when you don’t meet those expectations and you’re one of the guys that’s supposed to help you, you wear that. and it and it wore on me this year for sure. So, I think I learned more in that aspect than anything on the ice. I mean, I’ve played for a long time. I know, you know, what my strengths, my weaknesses, my capabilities, my li limitations on the I I know all that stuff. That’s that’s not going to change you. You want to ride that as long as possible, the good things. But off the ice, I think, you know, learned a lot about how to deal with these situations. a situation I wasn’t expecting and you know hopefully can use that as some motivation so it doesn’t happen again. Stephen, you talked in the offseason obviously just about how emotional it was for you and making the transition and all that. Did did that weigh on you maybe longer than you thought? Was that you know how was that process trying kind of getting through that? Yeah, it was it was it was hard. And I I didn’t know again when you have the season that that that we had, I think it makes it harder, you know, when things are going well and the team’s winning and you’re having success or you’re helping the team win. I think it’s easier to to move on or or just put those emotions and thoughts to the side when when it went the way it did this year. Obviously, some of those thoughts creep into your head and it it was tough. So, that that was part of that that mental aspect for sure. Um, you know, I think now you get through the year, you understand, you know, the situation. I mean, it’s just all those little things when you have a big change like like I did that you don’t think about at the time of, you know, signing that contract. It’s just so excit you’re, you know, you’re excited. You’re it’s a new challenge. you’re getting down, you know, finding a place to live, finding a place to put the kids in school. All those things take your mind away from, you know, the little things when you come to the rink, the relationships, the routines, all the little things that you did, you know, subconsciously throughout your career and now you come here and everything’s new and you got to find a new, you know, routine and all all those little tiny things as an athlete that sometimes you forget when you’re in the moment. Um, you know, that was part of of that process for me this year. This may be a weird way to to ask it, but I don’t know any other way. Do do you feel like a predator now? Do you feel like you got through that that process? Yeah, I mean to to to be honest, I I think it’s just it’s a tough question to to answer because it’s you’re we’re just so disappointed because of the season. Yeah. I I think now that you’ve played a year and you know I you know you come to the rink, you know exactly where you’re going. All all that little stuff that like I said that you don’t really think about that’s that’s second nature now. So yeah, I guess to answer your question, yes, I I do. I think having that year under your belt, I would love to have experienced playoff hockey here because that’s probably what I was one of the things I was most excited about. Um and I’m I’m you know disappointed that didn’t work out. Um, but uh I think now having been here a year, it’s it’s you’re definitely in a better spot than you were. Stephen, despite the record and the frustrations, when you think of the highlight reel of this season, what’s the first moment that comes to mind? Well, I just think a bunch of firsts for me, right? You know, I’ve played that was year 17 and there’s there’s usually not a lot of firsts after you’ve played that long. So when you’re in a new situation, that first game in this building, the first goal as a Predator, the first hattick, the first, you know, big win, you know, that we had as a team, like all those firsts were were really cool to experience cuz I haven’t had a lot of firsts in a really long time. So I think for me that was great. you know, first game that my kids came to the game and you know, there’s there there are I mean, at the end of the day, it was a very disappointing season in terms of the expectations we had, but there were still some amazing moments um throughout the year and and those kind of get, you know, thrown under the carpet because of the way that we all feel. Um but there were still some amazing memories and, you know, the kids on the ice the last game. I mean, that’s something that you’re going to remember forever. Um, and you know, from from a family perspective, the year was was fantastic. So, uh, you know, I thought it’d be the opposite and it and it just worked the other way around. So, now I got to hold my end of of, you know, the hockey part. So, that part was great. We saw your kids on the ice the last game, but we’ve seen them at practice, too, playing with Marchie’s kids and Luke Shen’s kids. What has that been like for you as teammates to kind of bond over that? Yeah, that’s been amazing. I mean, not very often you have that many kids and boys especially around the same age that are just crazy for hockey and you know, you see them in the in the room playing mini sticks, you know, at the games. Obviously, you know, O’Reilly’s marches mine with Shanner when he was here, all all the boys were on the same team like that was that was really special. um and haven’t had that before anywhere. So that like I said, all that stuff was was great and some amazing amazing memories for them and for us to to be able to watch them with your kids in the youth hockey scene in Nashville. What can you say about the sport growing in the South? Yeah, it’s it’s growing for sure. Obviously, you know, where I was before and now here are not your traditional hockey markets per se. So, um, you know, for me growing up in in the Toronto area, it’s, uh, it’s a little different. So, you you you can’t compare the two, but you see the way that both, you know, when we’re, you know, Tampa and Nashville, you can tell the success of the organizations, how much it means to the community and how much it helps grow the game. And and I think the players and what they do, you know, you see Phil and Roman and what they do in the community to to promote hockey and and what the organizations do, it it’s only going to get bigger and better. And you you see, you know, the kids and how excited they are to to play hockey and there’s going to be more rinks coming and it’s going to get bigger and better. It takes some time for sure, but you can see that it’s well on its way. And I’m sure even 10 years ago from where it is, it’s it’s probably been impressive to to watch it grow. Chance, Stephen, and kind of lean into more of a rebuild than into a kind of a compete now. What does that do for your outlook, I guess? Yeah. I mean, that’s a yeah, a hypothet and have fun. Like, we’re here, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, we we picked to come here. You know, we talked about checking boxes, but the most important thing is is winning. And as long as we’re committed to to winning, then I think everyone’s going to be on the same page. I mean, I I hope we’re not having that that conversation because that means that we didn’t do our job um as players to to put management in a position to to feel comfortable continuing to to add to this roster. And, you know, let’s just say we hope that day doesn’t come. A lot of teams have had really deep runs and that makes the turnaround of next season really short. Um, how can you guys add a time off? Yeah, I mean I’m going to go pretty stir crazy. You know, it feels it’s been a couple days and you’re already, you know, waiting for a text to see what the schedule is tomorrow. Like that’s just how wired we are. I think is as hockey players, we’re so routine regimented that it’s tough when all of a sudden it just ends, right? Like you you talk about you see there’s 10 games left on the year, we know they don’t really mean anything. your thought at that time, oh, let’s try to get through these 10 games. And then it ends and you’re like, I wish I could play another 10 games. Like, honestly, that’s how I feel. So, it’s it’s I don’t know. To me, I’ve had some long runs and you take a couple weeks off and you get back into the swing of thing. Like, I enjoy that. I I don’t know if I’m going to enjoy this much time away from from the guys and from the rink. I mean, it’s great. You know, I have young kids obviously that are in a ton of sports and it’s going to be amazing to to be there for everything, you know, this summer. I’m looking forward to that. But, you know, you you miss you miss it. You miss the the competitiveness. And if anything, you have a long time to get your body and mind right. And um you know, whether it’s physically, whether you need to work on some things off the ice in the gym or on the ice, we have time. So there’s there’s certainly no excuse in that regard. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I I I talked about how in a year that was tough um there were still some amazing amazing memories and and that is certainly one of them. I’ve never had the chance to do that uh before with with the boys and to have their you know their buddies out there on the ice with them. I mean you saw they they kind of just went rogue and did a lap around. I mean, it was it was funny. It was funny until the Dallas scored 10 seconds later uh on the first shift and I thought, “Oh boy, that’ll never happen again.” But we uh we bounced back. But that was an amazing amazing experience. Do you feel like the mental work for you will be different because this season was so different than just last season? Yeah, I think yeah, I think it it I think this summer will be much easier for me from a mental perspective just because I’ve had the year now to acclimate and I’ve had the year to get the experience whether it was good or bad. I mean, just to be around, you know, a new organization, a new city, new players, new coaches, new man, like everything was just so new and and you have to feel that out, you know, you know what to expect now. And and for me, you know, I’ve never, you know, you don’t know how to react to change until it happens. I haven’t had a lot of change. And uh like I said, I think I learned a lot about how I can deal with it, you know, better. And I think it’ll be easier this time. Hey, hey, hey.

Watch as Steven Stamkos Recaps First Season With Nashville Predators “Very Tough Feeling” & NHL Future

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