Which Player Will Be a Better Season: Steven Stamkos or Jake Guentzel?
Steven Stamkos and Jake Guentzel will be forever linked. The Tampa Bay Lightning moved on from Stamkos by trading for and then signing Guentzel to a seven-year contract. Stamkos signed a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators.
The Relationship Between Tampa Bay and Steven Stamkos was Broken Last Summer
For the next several seasons, the Predators and Lightning, along with these two players, will be compared. Again, the Lightning made a choice to move on from Stamkos and replace him with Guentzel. We will see if it was the right decision.
Entering the season, the Lightning will expect to see Guentzel replace Stamkos’s production, while the Predators hope Stamkos has another season or two as he did in Tampa to propel them to a Stanley Cup.
Last season Stamkos had 81 points (40 goals and 41 assists), while Guentzel had 77 points (30 goals and 47 assists) with the Penguins and Hurricanes before hitting the market and signing with the Lightning.
Nashville Predators Free Agent Signings Signal a Culture Change
TSN: TSN Hockey Analyst Frankie Corrado joined Sarah Davis on SportsCenter to discuss the latest topics heading into the 2024-25 NHL Season on the newest Inside Edge. Corrado was asked if Steven Stamkos or Jake Guentzel will have the better season.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Sarah Davis: And let’s end with a head-to-head question here. The Lightning moved on from Steven Stamkos, partly because they prioritized signing Jake Guentzel. Of course, you just mentioned, so interestingly enough, they have identical over/unders at FanDuel for four and a half. Who has a better season?
Frankie Corrado: “I want to say Steven Stamkos. I’m going to say Steven Stamkos, and it should be close. But the last three years, Stamkos has scored at a pretty high clip. He’s had two 40-goal years out of his last three seasons. Now he’s going to a Nashville Predators team that is going to improve offensively. There’s going to be plenty of pucks going to him. Yes, he’s not going to have Nikita Kucherov. Jake Guentzel is going to have Nikita Kucherov, but it just feels like Steven Stamkos has a lot to prove going to the Nashville Predators, and he has been scoring a lot more since he’s become healthy three years ago.”
Could the Tampa Bay Lightning Be A Surprise Team This Season?
Davis: “Your health is your wealth, isn’t it? Okay? It’s going to be a fun few months, Frankie, when we can see how all of these turn out. Now, of course, we have Mike Johnson, who we call “Mystic Mike” and he definitely hits the mark. Sometimes we’re going to have to figure out a nickname for you. Frankie Corrado. All the wheels are turning. Thanks for this.”
These two players will be closely watched to see not only which team performs better but also who has the better season production-wise.