Steven Stamkos may be 36 years old, but fantasy hockey managers who automatically treat him like a declining veteran could miss one of the better goal-scoring values in the middle rounds of 2026-27 drafts.
My Steven Stamkos projection for the 2026-27 NHL season is 39 goals, 32 assists and 71 points in approximately 81 games for the Nashville Predators.
That projection isn’t based on reputation. Stamkos just scored 42 goals with 24 assists for 66 points in 82 games, including 14 power-play goals. NHL.com currently projects him for 70 points and ranks him No. 100 overall in its fantasy rankings.
The part of his fantasy profile I still love is Nashville’s power play. The Predators converted at 23.1 percent last season, tied for 10th in the NHL, and Stamkos remains surrounded by high-end offensive talent. Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi are established first-unit weapons, while Jonathan Marchessault gives Nashville another proven scoring option.
For fantasy managers, that gives Stamkos something increasingly valuable as he gets older: a role that doesn’t require him to dominate at five-on-five to remain productive.
Why Steven Stamkos Can Still Reach 70 Points in 2026-27
There is an obvious reason to be cautious with Stamkos: age. At 36, I don’t expect him to suddenly return to the 90- or 100-point seasons he produced during his peak years in Tampa Bay.
But fantasy hockey isn’t about drafting what a player used to be. It’s about identifying which parts of his game remain repeatable.
Stamkos’ shot remains one of those skills.
NHL EDGE tracked his hardest shot at 95 mph last season, putting him in the 97th percentile among forwards. He also ranked in the 96th percentile in both high-danger goals and mid-range goals. Those are meaningful numbers because they indicate his 42-goal season wasn’t simply the result of floating around the perimeter and getting lucky.
He did shoot 20.4 percent last season, so some shooting-percentage regression should be built into any responsible projection. That’s one reason I’m dropping him from 42 goals to 39 projected goals.
However, I see an opportunity for the assists to move in the opposite direction.
Stamkos recorded only 24 assists last season. If Nashville generates slightly better finishing around him and the Predators’ reworked forward group provides more offensive depth, getting Stamkos back into the low-30s in assists isn’t an aggressive expectation.
That combination gets my model to 71 points.
Nashville’s Power Play Keeps Stamkos Fantasy-Relevant
This is where I believe Stamkos can outperform his average draft position.
A Nashville first power-play unit featuring some combination of Stamkos, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault and Roman Josi contains multiple shooting threats and enough puck movement to prevent penalty kills from simply cheating toward Stamkos.
O’Reilly remains a fixture on the first unit alongside Forsberg, Josi and Stamkos, according to NHL.com’s current fantasy outlook.
My projection calls for approximately 15 power-play goals and 25-27 total power-play points from Stamkos.
In leagues that reward goals, shots, power-play points, game-winning goals and hits, I would value him more aggressively than a manager playing in a simple points-only league.
A Late Predators Roster Change Adds Some Intrigue
One development fantasy managers need to account for is Nashville’s September 1 trade of Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils.
Evangelista recorded 56 points last season and had previously been projected alongside Stamkos and O’Reilly. His departure creates another opening in Nashville’s top nine and could lead to different combinations involving Stamkos, Marchessault, Mavrik Bourque or one of Nashville’s younger forwards.
That’s an important update because some earlier summer lineup projections are already outdated.
I don’t view the uncertainty as a major negative for Stamkos. His fantasy floor is tied far more closely to his shooting ability and first-unit power-play role than to one specific even-strength winger.
Steven Stamkos Career NHL Stats
| Type | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | 1246 | 624 | 632 | 1256 | -7 |
| Playoffs | 128 | 50 | 51 | 101 | -11 |
Steven Stamkos Contract and Role Security
Stamkos is playing on the four-year, $32 million contract he signed with Nashville in 2024, carrying an $8 million average annual value. The NHL’s 2026-27 upper salary-cap limit is $104 million, meaning Stamkos’ cap hit represents roughly 7.7 percent of the league ceiling.
That doesn’t directly create fantasy points, but it reinforces something fantasy managers should care about: Nashville has a major financial and competitive investment in keeping Stamkos in an offensive role.
My Steven Stamkos Fantasy Hockey Prediction
Projected games: 81
Projected goals: 39
Projected assists: 32
Projected points: 71
Projected power-play goals: 15
Fantasy outlook: Strong mid-round target, particularly in category leagues
My biggest concern is age-related regression rather than opportunity. My biggest reason for optimism is that Stamkos doesn’t need to rediscover an old version of himself to produce fantasy value — his shot, power-play deployment and goal-scoring instincts are already enough.
NHL.com is currently projecting 70 points for Stamkos. My model lands one point higher at 71 because I expect a small rebound in assists to offset some regression from last season’s 42-goal total.
If your fantasy league rewards power-play production and goal scoring, Steven Stamkos is a player I would be willing to draft ahead of his overall points ranking.
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