Rut roh. Trouble in paradise after Steven Stamkos went public with his disappointment over contract negotiations (or lack thereof) with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He went on to say he’d love to finish his career in Tampa, but it’s out of his hands, and he can’t write a contract himself. Woah.
Tell Us How You Really Feel, Stammer
I’m no expert in body language but watching that clip makes me feel like I have a PhD in behavioral psychology. His words are calculated and deliberate, his cadence and delivery is matter-of-fact, and he’s clearly given a lot of thought to this. A couple of voice cracks sprinkled in might suggest how much emotion is lurking underneath the surface. How about that shrug? There must be an alternate universe where he lets loose a barrage of expletives directly afterwards. That shrug was filled to the brim with venom. He may have smiled afterwards, but I can’t be fooled. All of this to say, Stamkos is incensed (as he should be).
The fact he’s even talking about this publicly is pretty telling, in and of itself. This is Tampa’s captain after all, drafted 1st overall by the organization in 2008 and has since spent the last 15 years compounding upon a rock solid reputation of being “team first” by keeping everything in house. Stamkos never runs to the media with anything, other than admission of blame on his own behalf. He’s rightfully upset and using the media to officially declare war on the front office.
This whole situation is pretty preposterous to me. I respect Stamkos, not necessarily my favorite player, and certainly don’t have any real affinity for the Lightning. Even still, I’m finding myself angry and confused with what’s going on here. I understand the NHL is a business, but this just feels like bad business from general manager Julien BriseBois. I don’t have the slightest clue what he’s playing at or what sort of negotiation tactic he’s following. Also, not for nothing, “BriseBois” sounds more like a dingy wine bar in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side than a hockey executive.
Stamkos’ comments lead you to believe there’s been no dialogue about a contract extension. How has there been zero communication whatsoever? I mean, come on. That’s just crazy disrespectful when you consider the type of player Stamkos is and all that he’s been through.
A Hockey Legend Doesn’t Deserve This
Stamkos’ career got off to a rocky start, as he found himself in the middle of Barry Melrose’s turbulent and short stint as the Lightning head coach in 2008. Once Rick Tocchet took over, things started to improve for the Ontario kid. He notched 51 goals in his sophomore season and led the Lightning to the Conference Final in the season that followed, with 13 points in 18 playoff games. He exploded in the 2011-2012 season, scoring 60 goals, 12 of which were the game winner.
Disaster struck in November of 2013, when Stamkos broke his leg on the goal post at TD Garden in a game against the Boston Bruins. A stretcher was required to get him off the ice and I remember being frozen in fear watching that whole scene unfold. What’s worse, the injury robbed him of the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Awful all the way around.
Shortly after, his buddy Marty St. Louis was suddenly dealt to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan, leaving a void in the locker room and the captaincy to him.
With Stamkos leading the way, the Lightning morphed into a perennial playoff team. Unfortunately, disaster struck yet again, just before the 2016 postseason kicked off. A blood clot was discovered in his arm and he needed vascular surgery right away. Another terrifying injury in the same calendar year. The following season, Stamkos was sidelined for most of the season with a lateral meniscus tear and Tampa missed the playoffs. The dude just couldn’t catch a break. At this point, there were serious questions about the status of his career and Lightning fans were clamoring to move on from him. Dark times.
Stamkos stayed the course, kept working on his game and continued to post impressive numbers when healthy. In the 2018-2019 regular season, Tampa set the NHL record of 62 wins, only to be swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs. Utter embarrassment. Once again, doubts were cast on Stamkos and his leadership abilities.
The rest is history. The Lightning finally got over the hump to win the Stanley Cup in 2020, but because life can be cruel, Stamkos only played 2 minutes and 47 seconds of that postseason due to injury. Somehow, he still managed to score an iconic goal that helped the team take a decisive series lead. What an all-time moment.
Of course, Stamkos struggled to stay on the ice the following year with a knee injury. He returned for the 2021 playoffs and the Lightning won their second Cup in consecutive seasons, thanks in large part to Stamkos, who registered 18 points in the 23 games. The naysayers climbed back into their hole and were never heard from again.
In 2022, Tampa fell short of a 3-peat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in the Finals. Stamkos posted yet another strong playoff performance, with 19 points in 23 games. In the regular season, he was able to eclipse 100 points for the first time in his career, with 42 goals and 64 assists. It was an otherworldly type season from a guy most people assumed would start to fade.
I’ve been a little long winded in outlining his time with the Lightning, but the context matters. If his career ended today, Steven Stamkos is a sure fire Hall of Famer. He’s collected 1,056 points in a Bolts sweater, good for #1 in franchise history. He’s one of the most respected captains in the league, a pillar of excellence and professionalism for others to follow. He’s reinvented himself time and time again and his numbers indicate he still has plenty left in the tank at 33-years-old. You could make the argument he’s changed the way we think about older players coming off injuries and their ability to produce.
BriseBois The BoneHead
I understand if the injury history might give BriseBois pause, but to leave Stamkos completely in the dark is asinine. One way or the other, there should be some sort of rationale or update provided to Stamkos. You owe him that much, after he’s gone through hell and back for the organization.
Worth noting, BriseBois isn’t actually a bonehead. Steve Yzerman brought in BriseBois as the assistant GM, who had worked his way up from being an in-house lawyer with the Montreal Canadiens to an executive vice president of hockey operations. Interestingly, he’s known to have a solid understanding of the collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap, from prior experience running the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate. He’s also known to be a guy that “sticks to his guns”, evident by the fact he doubled down on the Lightning team he had constructed, after they got humiliated by that first round sweep in 2019 after a historic regular season. You wonder though, if he’s overplaying his hand with Stamkos and his ego is clouding his better judgement.
Not to mention, what kind of message does this send to the rest of the locker room and the guys down at the AHL level? If Steven Stamkos is chopped liver, then what are you? Again, I’m well aware the NHL is a business, but you’d like to think loyal, accomplished veterans deserve a little bit of honesty.
And what’s up with Brandon Hagel’s 8 year/$52 million contract? Can’t imagine there was much of any consultation with Stamkos before that deal was inked, otherwise there would probably be more money set aside for the captain at this juncture. Woof.
If I’m Stamkos, I’m mentally moving on from the Lightning. It’s the principle of being disrespected by a club I sacrificed and grinded so much for. I’m still putting in the work and saying all the right things to the media, but absolutely doing my due diligence on teams that might be a fit, either now or at the trade deadline.
On that point, it was reported just today that Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent successful back surgery and is expected to miss the first two months of the regular season. Who knows if Tampa can stay competitive without their world class goaltender between the pipes. Seems to me like the odds just went up of Stamkos wearing another sweater at some point this season…
Thinking out loud here, there are obviously a million variables at play with the Rangers, but how cool would it be to see a disgruntled Stamkos come to New York to chase a Cup? It would be 10 years removed that his disgruntled mentor, Marty St. Louis, attempted the same. Sign me up for that villain arc worthy of a Marvel movie.
Either way, I hope Stamkos finds another club that welcomes him with open arms or miraculously mends relations with Tampa. I hate this part of the story – where an organization plays a game of chicken with a veteran, all in the name of the big, bad salary cap. Justice for Stammer!
geryblogs 
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