This is a very inflammatory rumor, so I find it hard to believe that the entire hockey world wouldn’t be blowing up over it if there were a reliable source attached to it at any point.

A good rule of thumb is that, if you hear it through word-of-mouth or read it in some small corner of the internet, but don’t see it on any of the major sources, there is a very high probability that it is simply made up.

There will always be exceptions to that, so I wouldn’t say that outright dismissal of any rumor is the way to go, but sometimes simply spreading it can be harmful.

I’d give up Holmstrom without blinking an eye if meant getting Stamkos

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I could see some merit in that. But only if Stamkos begins to speak in such a heavy Swedish accent that we can only understand every 5th word.