Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the Tampa Bay Lightning “wouldn’t be crushed” if Steven Stamkos didn’t sign an extension with the team. This comes in the wake of a surprising lack of discussion around Stamkos’ next contract, with the veteran center saying he was disappointed the team didn’t reach out this summer.
While the front office might not mind a Stamkos departure, Lightning fans may have a different stance. Stamkos has played all of his 1003 career NHL games with Tampa, netting 515 goals and 1056 points along the way. His performances have led him to two Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies and a spot on the Hart Trophy ballot seven times, including being the runner-up to Evgeni Malkin’s Hart win in 2012. Stamkos even won the Mark Messier Leadership Award just last year. All of these accolades sit beside two Stanley Cup wins in Stamkos’ theoretical hardware cabinet, making it clear why his departure would be harder to stomach than these reports describe. Still capable of scoring over 30 goals and 80 points, Stamkos will be a luxury addition to any team in the league, if his time with the Lightning really is counting down.
Other notes from around the league:
- Elliotte Friedman also spoke to Mikael Backlund’s contract situation on the 32 Thoughts podcast, sharing that talks may be tied to the idea that Backlund is Calgary’s natural leader. Friedman said, “I think the players believe that Backlund is the true captain of the team, and I’m sure the organization is not blind to it.” This could be the spark that ignites talks between Backlund and the Flames, two sides that haven’t come together yet.
- ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski spoke to the NHL’s hope (article behind paywall) to build on the momentum brought on by the Australian pre-season games. More specifically, the league is considering holding an outdoor game in Mexico City. There have been, or are scheduled to be, 42 regular-season NHL games played outside of North America. Playing a game in Mexico would bring the total number of countries the NHL has played in up to 10 (USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Great Britain, Mexico*).
No one should be surprised by the Lightning not extending Stamkos, At least not yet, When a team has the lion’s share of the cap tied up in 4 or 5 players the depth suffers mightily, Stamkos is a first ballot HOFer for sure but he’s not getting any younger and he has over a 1,000 games played, Nothing lasts forever and think about the adds Tampa can make next season by not extending Stamkos and with the projected cap increase next season.
It might be a better & a safer move for the Lightning to reallocate Stamkos & his cap hit to other players on the roster/UFAs.
Stammer’s been the heart and soul of this franchise for almost a decade and a half now. His name is synonymous with the Lightning, and he’s still a fantastic forward.
BUT…he’s almost 34, the Lightning need to get younger and add more depth in coming years, and there’s no way they can afford to keep paying him $8.5 million a year. I hate to say it, but BriseBois is playing it smart-wait until the season is over, see how Stammer does, and then decide how much you’re willing to spend to keep him a Bolt for life. It’s the sensible course of (non-)action.
“…the league is considering holding an outdoor game in Mexico City.” Like next to El Popo, aka Popocatépetl? Never mind that sulphur-y stink and the bad ice, boys, they also said Vesuvius was just a minor annoyance.
I get that Stammer would prefer to have his extension done before training camp but he even mentioned in the media day interview how hard the stagnant salary cap has made things. Bottom line, it’s tough for JBB to “get it done” when he does not know how much $ he has to work with. All he has are projections ($83.5 to $87.5, maybe more or less?) and guesses as to how much the cap will go up, nothing definite. Should JBB have extended Stammer before Hagel? Curious what folks think on that one. No disrespect to Stammer but I’m glad Hagel was locked in long-term. And what should Stammer’s next deal look like, 3-4 year term, $7-8m per? Or does his agent Meehan want 8-9.5m per, if that’s the case then it would make sense to wait and hope the cap increase is even more than projected. Regardless, it seems that Stammer’s “disappointed” comment is already making media and fans go into complete “freak” mode which is unfortunate. It’s not even training camp yet, ticks me off. If the whole season ends up being some type of Stammer/Captain watch with endless media speculation/distraction it’s gonna suck. Really hope Stammer (and his agent Donald Meehan/Newport Sports Management) and JBB have an honest discussion, set an extension/communication plan, and nip this distraction in the bud. GO BOLTS!
Too much to read. Sorry
@notmyoverlord
What’s the matter, son, a little reading material intimidate you? I read his entire post, but I was taught to read well. It’s a shame not everyone got the education I did.
One sign of an aging player is a reduced effort to play defense. Stamkos was a -5 last year, down from a +24 the year before. So when the choice had to be made between keeping one of Stamkos and Hagel, it was a no-brainer. Hagel was a +23 and at 25 has plenty of upside of which Stammer has none.
Keeping Stamkos would make Tampa just another Pittsburgh – a team that can’t win because it’s still paying for past Stanley Cups.