Steven Stamkos’ on-ice struggles since signing with the Nashville Predators prior to the 2024-25 season have been well-documented.

It’s also no secret the team’s inability to win consistently the past two seasons has mirrored the scoring issues of Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, who also came to the Preds that same off-season.

Recently, however, the tide seems to be turning both for Stamkos and the Predators. After a thrilling 2-1 comeback win in Sunrise, Fla. Against the Panthers on Thursday, Nashville has now won four of its last five games.

Stamkos’ own play over that stretch has hit a new level. The 35-year-old forward scored the golden goal against the Panthers in Thursday’s overtime win, benefiting from the net coming loose.

It was a far cry from a month earlier when Stamkos tied the Minnesota Wild with just seconds left in regulation, only to have the Preds give up an overtime goal after the net came off its moorings.

In typical classy form, Stamkos was content to talk about the win and his team’s overall play rather than on his overtime heroics.

“It was huge,” Stamkos said of the win after the game. “The penalty kill and our goaltender (Juuse Saros) were the difference tonight, especially in the second (period). We didn’t have much; we were killing the whole time. Those guys were probably exhausted, but we had a great effort in the third.”

Stamkos has now scored six points over his last five games after getting off to a slow start this season. He’s played a lot against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers, and seems to save his best for them.

Stamkos has recorded 82 points (42g-40a) in 70 career regular-season games against the Panthers; it is the highest goal total and points against a single franchise in his career. It is also the second-most career points any player in NHL history has recorded against Florida, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (45g-47a-92).

On Tuesday, Stamkos lit the lamp to score his 1,200th career NHL point in Nashville’s 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. His game-winner against Florida now leaves him just 10 goals shy of reaching 600 for his career.

The Preds signed Stamkos to be an offensive weapon, a quest that has mostly fallen short since his arrival. After putting up 40 goals during his final season with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023-24, Stamkos tallied just 27 in 2024-25.

Through 11 games this season, Stamkos managed just one goal, one assist and 25 shots. Preds head coach Andrew Brunette did everything he could to get Stamkos going, even briefly moving him from wing to center.

“He’s having trouble finding some chemistry,” Brunette said in October. “That’s kind of been for the whole time he’s here. We’re hoping we find somebody for him.”

Trade rumors involving Stamkos have picked up over the last several weeks, particularly with the solid contributions of rookie Matthew Wood and other younger players beginning to make their mark. Stamkos would still have two years left on the four-year, $32 million deal he signed in 2024. That, combined with his age, would make finding a willing team a difficult process.

Is Stamkos finally finding a rhythm and becoming the Stamkos of old? The superstar-caliber player from a few years ago is probably behind him, but we may be seeing glimpses of what he can do when put in the right situation.

There could be an additional benefit to keeping Stamkos in the fold. As the Preds move toward a youth movement, having a veteran like him on the roster would be a big help to the younger players. Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly have mentored players like Brady Martin and Wood, but younger guys could also learn a lot from a veteran who will surely be in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.

If the right deal for Stamkos should come along, Preds general manager Barry Trotz would most likely listen. Until then, rather than thinking of Stamkos as the savior who will carry the team on his back to a playoff run, perhaps it would be best to look at him as a complementary veteran piece to a team that is inevitably getting younger.

It’s too early to tell whether Stamkos has found a higher gear. Flashes of his goal-scoring ability still exist, especially when the game is on the line, as he showed Thursday against the Panthers and Nov. 4 against the Wild.

Wisely, Stamkos isn’t looking too far ahead.

“We talked about just a game at a time,” Stamkos said Thursday. “You can’t look too far ahead. We’re not in position to do that.”