When Steven Stamkos left the Tampa Bay Lightning to join the Nashville Predators last summer, the veteran forward was hoping that his new team would compete for the same level of success the Bolts have had over the last several years.

Instead, the Preds started the 2024-25 season 0-5 and were never able to recover, finishing 30-44-8 in what was one of the worst campaigns in franchise history.

But the two-time Stanley Cup champion has already put that in the rearview mirror , as he told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun in a candid interview earlier this week.

“Last year was last year,” Stamkos explained. “We talked about it as a group and decided that it was in the rear view. … We talked about expectations last year — the start wasn’t where we wanted it, and it snowballed and just got

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