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Steven Stamkos

Lightning Notes: Stamkos, McDonagh, Sergachev

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The Lightning are still confident they have enough cap space to re-sign pending UFA captain Steven Stamkos, even after adding Ryan McDonagh via trade from the Predators today, general manager Julien BriseBois said (via the team’s Chris Krenn).

With McDonagh’s $6.75MM cap hit now on the books, the Lightning are down to roughly $5MM in projected cap space for next season, per CapFriendly. There could always be a cap-clearing move coming, although BriseBois didn’t hint at one in his media availability today.

That implies Stamkos taking a serious discount to remain in Tampa. With a bare-minimum roster of 18 skaters, the Lightning still have two open forward spots next season – one for Stamkos, one for someone else. If they add a forward making the $775K league minimum against the cap to fill one open spot, the most they could offer Stamkos for an average annual value would be $4.25MM. Evolving Hockey’s contract projections indicate his market value could inch up toward the $8.5MM range if he hits the open market, so he would be taking a 50% discount to stay in Tampa for that number – albeit likely for more term on his contract as a trade-off.

Other notes from the Bolts today:

  • Adding a top-four defenseman was BriseBois’ top priority this summer, he told Krenn, and McDonagh ended up being the most desirable because of his familiarity with the roster and his two-year term. He indicated that he was unwilling to dish out the contract length required to land one of the marquee defensemen on the free agent market, even if he was willing to spend the upward of $6MM annually it takes to get McDonagh back on the team. Back in Nashville, Predators GM Barry Trotz told reporters, including the Tennessean’s Alex Daugherty, that McDonagh asked the Nashville front office to explore a trade back to Tampa this summer. McDonagh has a full no-trade clause.
  • With McDonagh back in the fold, don’t expect Lightning head coach Jon Cooper to bump Mikhail Sergachev back to a third-pairing role like he served during the team’s Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. Instead, BriseBois indicated the team is likely to explore loading up their top two pairings with McDonagh, Sergachev, Erik Černák and Victor Hedman, with the lefty Sergachev moving to his off-side to accommodate (via Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley). That would leave a third pairing (for now) of Nick Perbix and Darren Raddysh, both right-shot defenders, although they could easily add a depth left-shot blue liner for league minimum to rotate in on the third pair.

Lightning Have Started Extension Talks With Steven Stamkos And Victor Hedman

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There has been plenty of speculation regarding the future of Steven Stamkos in Tampa Bay after it was announced in training camp that there wouldn’t be any extension discussions during the season.  However, now that their year has come to an end, GM Julien BriseBois told reporters including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times that he has already reached out to Stamkos’ agent to discuss a new deal before his current one expires on July 1st.  Additionally, he indicated that he has also spoken with the agent for defenseman Victor Hedman to begin extension discussions for him.

Stamkos has been a franchise fixture for the Lightning since they selected him first overall back in 2008.  Since then, he has been one of the top scorers in the NHL, notching 555 goals and 582 assists in 1,082 regular season games along with 50 goals and 51 helpers in 128 playoff contests, helping lead the team to a pair of Stanley Cup titles.

While Stamkos’ prime years are now behind him, he is still a very productive player.  The 34-year-old is coming off another season of more than a point per game, picking up 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games this season.  His 81 points are good for second among all pending unrestricted free agents, behind only Florida’s Sam Reinhart.

Accordingly, there’s a strong case to be made that Stamkos should be in line for a raise on his current $8.5MM AAV.  However, with Tampa Bay already having over $75MM in commitments to 16 players for next season per CapFriendly, fitting in a raise for Stamkos would make it that they couldn’t afford to fill out the rest of their roster.  As a result, BriseBois will either have to get his captain to agree to a below-market contract or he will have to move a player or two out to open up the cap room to re-sign him.

As for Hedman, he has also been a Lightning lifer thus far, having been with the franchise since picking him second overall in 2009.  For most of that time, he has been their undisputed top blueliner and surpassed the 1,000 games played mark this season.  He’s coming off one of the best years offensively of his career, collecting 13 goals and 63 assists in 78 games.  With Mikhail Sergachev missing more than half of this season due to injuries, Hedman certainly was able to pick up the slack.

The timeline for a new deal for Hedman isn’t as tight as Stamkos’ is.  The 33-year-old isn’t even eligible to sign a contract until the final year of his current contract begins on July 1st.  With that in mind, any discussions in the next couple of months will likely be of the preliminary variety.

Hedman currently carries a $7.875MM cap charge, one that is certainly well below market value for a proven top-pairing defender like he is.  Like Stamkos, there’s a very strong case to be made that he’s worthy of a raise on his next agreement which is easier said than done given their salary structure.  Having said that, BriseBois has been aggressive when it comes to trying to sign his core players to early extensions so it wouldn’t be surprising if one gets done in July when he becomes eligible to sign.

Poll: Should The Lightning Re-Sign Steven Stamkos?

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In case you’ve missed the discourse after the Lightning’s first-round elimination last night (or haven’t read our preview of this summer’s top UFA left wings), Steven Stamkos is on an expiring contract. The future Hall-of-Famer has now wrapped up the eight-year, $68MM extension he signed in 2016 and will go to market on July 1 if not signed to an extension.

Over the course of his extension, the now 34-year-old Stamkos has overseen the greatest sustained period of success in franchise history. The club only missed the postseason once – the first season of his deal, 2016-17, in which a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee ended his campaign in November. Back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, a third straight Finals appearance in 2022, and an additional Eastern Conference Final showing in 2018 have cemented the Lightning as arguably the most successful squad over the past 10 years, notwithstanding the three other ECF/SCF appearances Stamkos made with the team before his extension (2011, 2015, 2016).

Overall, injuries limited him to 513 of 618 possible regular-season games (83.8%) during his last contract, but he’s remained a capable top-of-the-lineup scorer and is money in the bank for over a point per game. He had 81 in 79 this season, including 40 goals – his seventh time hitting the milestone.

Stamkos has transitioned into a less-taxing role on the wing at even strength in his later years with the emergence of Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point, as well as the extremely well-advised Nick Paul pickup, making his slightly negative possession impacts over the last two seasons easier to swallow. He was never a beacon of defensive excellence, but he did at least routinely post Corsi shares at even strength above the team’s overall share without him on the ice. That hasn’t been the case since 2021-22.

He’s still an extremely effective player, and given the precedent of other Lightning stars like Point and Nikita Kucherov taking slight discounts on their market value, it likely wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive to re-sign him. But Tampa’s lack of bottom-six scoring and poor defensive depth – especially without a fully healthy Mikhail Sergachev – was exposed in their rather decisive series loss to the Panthers.

The club has $10MM in projected cap space next season, with extensions/replacements also needed for Anthony Duclair, their best secondary scorer since his trade deadline pickup from the Sharks, and blue-liner Mathew Dumba. They’re also losing the $6.875MM of long-term injured reserve flexibility they’ve had from retired defenseman Brent Seabrook’s contract over the past couple of seasons.

Point is still 28. Kucherov is 30. Cirelli is 26. Hedman is 33. Sergachev is 25. Vasilevskiy is 29. Even without Stamkos, it’s a playoff-caliber core for at least two to three more seasons with the right moves. Will that make general manager Julien BriseBois seriously consider prioritizing better depth adds over re-signing the best player in franchise history?

Stamkos said before the 2023-24 season started that he was disappointed in the lack of extension conversations with BriseBois. The six-year GM said in January that he still envisioned Stamkos as part of the roster moving forward but would wait until the offseason to evaluate where the roster stood. The results are as follows: Tampa scored just 36.9% of 5-on-5 goals in the series, a worse share than even the Capitals, who were swept at the hands of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. Nine players, including most of their bottom six forwards, failed to score a point. Given they got everything they could ask for from their stars – seven points from Hedman, seven assists from Kucherov and five goals from Stamkos, that may very well swing the balance.

So, PHR readers, we now ask you: Are the Lightning better off keeping Stamkos or using offseason cap space to prioritize rebuilding their depth scoring and defense? Have your say in the poll below:

(poll link for app users)

Morning Notes: Couturier, Stamkos, Wild Goalies

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Flyers captain Sean Couturier has made a rare early-offseason agent switch. He’s now repped by CAA Sports’ Pat Brisson, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports.

Couturier, 31, was previously represented by Sports Prospects’ Erik Lupien, whose only active NHL client is now Lightning forward Gabriel Fortier, per PuckPedia. Brisson won’t have any say in Couturier’s compensation anytime soon – he just finished the second season of an eight-year, $62MM extension that carries him through 2030. However, the change did come in short order after a season that ended poorly for the 12-year veteran, who was unexpectedly scratched by head coach John Tortorella for a pair of games in March as the Flyers were beginning to fall out of the playoff race.

Lupien did find his name in the news cycle around the time of Couturier’s scratch. He went on record to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz ahead of Couturier’s first scratch on March 19, saying there had been minimal communication between Couturier and Tortorella about the captain’s diminishing role in the lineup heading into the game. “Sean won’t learn anything by being in the bleachers tonight,” he added. “If there’s no communication of why between the two, in 2024, from my perspective, it ain’t always good to coach and establish regimental fear.”

Couturier had 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points in 74 games this season with a career-worst -10 rating. It was the most he’s played in a single season since before the COVID-19 pandemic, as he missed most of 2021-22 and all of 2022-23 while recovering from back surgery.

Before landing Couturier as a client, Brisson already managed the highest cumulative cap hit of active contracts ($231.5MM) of any NHL agent, according to PuckPedia. Among Couturier’s Flyers teammates, he also represents defensemen Erik Johnson, Nick Seeler and Cameron York, as well as forward prospects Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo.

Other NHL news and notes to start your Tuesday:

  • Until Lightning captain Steven Stamkos puts pen to paper on an extension, the possibility remains that last night’s Game 5 loss to the Panthers was his last in a Tampa uniform. Speaking to reporters after their first-round elimination, head coach Jon Cooper spoke briefly about his future, saying he hopes there won’t be much conversation about it. “He belongs here. We know it, he knows it… I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but he feels like a Bolt for life. Only he and Julien [BriseBois] can answer that one,” he said. Stamkos, one of the top pending UFAs, said last night that the thought of playing in his final game in Tampa “never crossed my mind” as Florida increased their lead late in a 6-1 win. During training camp, Stamkos said he was disappointed in the lack of early extension talks between him and general manager BriseBois, which still haven’t occurred.
  • The Wild crease will be crowded next season with veteran Marc-André Fleury back for his final NHL season and rookie Jesper Wallstedt primed for more major-league time. That’s left many wondering where this leaves 25-year-old Filip Gustavsson, whose numbers were mediocre this season after finishing seventh in year-end positional All-Star voting in 2023. Speaking to The Athletic’s Joe Smith, GM Bill Guerin confirmed that Wallstedt “needs to get more than he got this year,” and they don’t yet have a plan in place for how they want to operate between the pipes. Carrying three goalies on the active roster isn’t an active proposition for a team with $14.7MM in dead cap space from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts next season, so if the organization decides Wallstedt is ready for a full-time tandem role with Fleury instead of just increased call-up opportunities, Gustavsson could find himself on the trade market. He has a $3.75MM cap hit through 2025-26, an attractive number for a netminder who’s still cumulatively saved 26.3 goals above average in 84 games with the Wild since 2022.

Atlantic Notes: Stamkos, Monahan, Kane

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Before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, rather publicly voiced his frustration with the Lightning organization, primarily over the fact that the team had not yet approached him about a contract extension beyond this season. Although Stamkos had not found his name in any trade speculation up to this point, if Tampa Bay were to fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, it would be a reasonable conclusion given the events that took place over training camp.

However, even after succinctly explaining that the Lightning organization would wait until after this season to address the future of Stamkos with the organization, the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien BriseBois, states that the team has no interest in moving Stamkos in a trade. This morning, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Lightning would not be moving Stamkos for any reason and that the team envisions Stamkos in Tampa Bay beyond this season.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Lightning to retain Stamkos, as it is more than likely he will earn a decrease to his current $8.5MM salary. However, if Tampa Bay believes they are due for a transitionary period as an organization, they may view the available cap space as more prudent than bringing back their long-time captain on another contract.

Other notes:

  • One player who has found himself in trade speculation for yet another season is a veteran forward for the Montreal Canadiens, Sean Monahan. However, the General Manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, still believes everything is on the table in regards to Monahan’s future with the club, and the team may even opt to extend him rather than trade him (X Link). Playing on a one-year, $1.985MM contract for Montreal, Monahan has returned nicely from an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 43 games for the Canadiens this year.
  • After leaving the team’s game on Sunday night, Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press reports that forward Patrick Kane will miss the next two games for the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury. Although the head coach of the team, Derek Lalonde, has assured the media that the organization is not concerned with it being related to Kane’s previous hip issues, there still will be some caution from Detroit moving forward.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Tampa Bay Lightning

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Who are the Lightning thankful for?

Nikita Kucherov.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are having a modest season by their standards but that hasn’t meant anything for their star winger, who currently leads the NHL with a comical 67 points in 40 games. That includes 28 goals, a mark that’s ranked second in the league. The 30-year-old Kucherov is on pace for a staggering 57 goals and 137 points which would both be career-highs. While the Lightning are working on extending their reign over the playoffs, Kucherov is working on solidifying his spot as a franchise legend, now in his sixth consecutive season of either scoring, or being on pace for, 100-or-more points. He confidently ranks fourth in all-time Lightning scoring but has the highest point-per-game pace (1.16) in the club’s history. Kucherov also leads all Russian players in points-per-game and broke into the Top 10 in career scoring among Russian NHLers this season.

Kucherov is chasing yet another Hart Trophy, four seasons after his 2019 win, and will undeniably be one of the biggest pieces of Tampa’s push for the playoffs in the second half of the year.

What are the Lightning thankful for?

Plenty of offense.

Tampa’s .524 winning percentage is the lowest the team has had since the 2012-13 season but their defining trait remains the same – their undeniable star talent. Every Lightning leader is performing as expected, with Kucherov’s league-leading season being matched by Brayden Point’s 42 points in 41 games, Victor Hedman’s 39 points in 39 games, and Steven Stamkos’ 38 points in 38 games. Even Brandon Hagel has joined in on the fun, recording 32 points in 41 games of his own. The team’s top-six is certainly fueling each other, helping boost up some scoring totals, but the reliability offered by such consistent top-end scoring has willed Tampa through a shaky start to the year.

The quartet has helped Tampa score the seventh-most goals in the NHL this season, keeping the league’s most notorious offense alive despite a year of lesser success. They’re also pulling forward what is a top-heavy forward group, with Tampa boasting four forwards with 30-or-more, and four with 10-or-fewer, points on the season. While depth scoring has been a key piece of many recent Stanley Cup wins, the Lightning’s top brass is showing that scoring will never be too much of a concern.

What would the Lightning be even more thankful for?

Prime Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is the only star with question marks surrounding him. The netminder returned from an early-season injury in late-November. He struggled in his first four games, allowing 14 goals on 99 shots, but bounced back to form with a 25-shot shutout in his fifth game back. He finished December and started January strong, recording a .914 save percentage across his next 13 games, but recently allowed the Boston Bruins six goals on 26 shots, bringing his season totals to a meager 9-9-0 record and .895 save percentage. The 29-year-old has only made 18 appearances this season, and found a strong streak through December, hopefully suggesting that his season struggles are more a result of a contested start to the season than anything else.

Tampa has allowed the fourth-most goals this season, and the sixth-most on a per-game basis, despite facing a league-average 30.5 shots-against per-game. While they certainly didn’t start the year with the ideal goaltending situation, they’ll need to see Vasilevskiy truly snap back to form if they want to continue their reign of dominance.

What should be on the Lightning holiday wish list?

Good health.

In a year where plenty of teams are hoping for a new top-six forward, star defenseman, or starting goalie in their giftbox, Tampa can calmly hope for good health above all else. Injuries have not been the team’s friend this season, with Vasilevskiy, Stamkos, Hedman, and Kucherov missing at least one game earlier in the year and Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Tanner Jeannot all currently out of the lineup. The team is even without one of their few NHL signings this summer, as Logan Brown has been out the whole season with an undisclosed injury. Vasilevskiy’s up-and-down season has underlined just how important being consistently in the lineup is for Tampa’s chemistry.

Tampa is currently well outside of a playoff spot, ranked behind four teams for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card. What’s worse – the Bolts have played in the most games of any NHL team. Time is not on their side but Tampa has shown their stars can do enough to will the team forward… when they’re all healthy. They will need to maintain that health for the rest of the season if they want to pull themselves up the standings in the second half of the year.

East Notes: Anderson, Stamkos, Guhle, Samuelsson, Bonino

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The Ottawa Senators are expected to sign free agent netminder Craig Anderson to a one-day contract to officially retire as a Sen, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Thursday morning. It will likely come Tuesday, October 24, when the Senators host the Sabres, Anderson’s most recent team.

Anderson is arguably the best netminder in Senators history and certainly the longest-serving starter. After coming over via trade from the Avalanche in 2011, Anderson would go on to record a 202-168-46 record, a .914 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 422 starts and 13 relief appearances. He’s most remembered from the team’s storybook 2016-17 campaign when Anderson returned from a lengthy leave of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was battling cancer. He recorded a sparkling .922 save percentage in the postseason as he guided the Sens to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime in Game 7.

He departed the Sens in free agency in 2020, serving as the Capitals’ taxi squad netminder for the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign before heading to the Sabres for the final two seasons of his 20-year, 709-game career. While there was never an official announcement, it became clear at the end of last season that Anderson would not return for a 21st year. PHR wishes him and his family the best in his post-playing career and looks forward to providing more coverage of Anderson’s career when an official announcement is made.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference today:

  • Lightning captain Steven Stamkos told reporters today he expects to make his return to the lineup Thursday night against the Canucks (via the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina). Stamkos missed the last two games with a lower-body injury after a hot start to the season, already potting two goals and two assists in two contests. His return couldn’t come at a better time for the struggling Lightning, who begin a crucial five-game homestand tonight after going 0-2-1 on an early road trip against key divisional rivals.
  • The Canadiens announced Thursday that defenseman Kaiden Guhle is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, likely a wrist ailment. Guhle left Tuesday’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the Wild with the injury and has not practiced since. There was some concern in Habs circles that Guhle’s absence would be longer-term, but he appears to have avoided the worst. It’s the second injury to a core Habs player in a matter of days after a dual ACL-MCL injury costed center Kirby Dach the remainder of his 2023-24 season. Guhle, 21, had notched an assist and a +4 rating in three contests, the latter being the second-highest on the team behind Johnathan Kovacevic. Another 21-year-old defender, Justin Barron, is expected to make his season debut Saturday against the Capitals with Guhle out of commission.
  • In more positive news, Sabres head coach Don Granato said today that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson has avoided any further absence after leaving Tuesday’s win over the Lightning in the third period and will dress Thursday against the Flames. Samuelsson left the game with an upper-body injury but participated in morning skate today and seems no worse for wear. The 23-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $30MM extension signed just over a year ago and leads Sabres defenders with a +2 rating through three contests, adding one assist while averaging over 20 minutes per game.
  • After being listed as day-to-day yesterday morning, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says center Nick Bonino will be a game-time decision for tonight’s tilt against the Predators. Bonino, who’s still looking for his first point as a Ranger, is dealing with a lower-body injury. The 35-year-old joined the Rangers on a one-year, $800K deal during free agency and has anchored their fourth line alongside a mixture of Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey to begin the season.

East Notes: Stamkos, Olofsson, Mayfield

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will likely miss his second straight game Tuesday with a lower-body injury as he did not take line rushes with the team at morning skate, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relays. It’s another significant injury blow for the Lightning, who remain without star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and depth forward Tyler Motte with longer-term injuries.

The Bolts have dropped back-to-back games against key divisional opponents and have struggled to keep the puck out of their net, although their patchwork goaltending tandem of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins isn’t entirely to blame. The team has controlled just 41.7% of scoring chances at five-on-five play thus far and has conceded 80 shots over its last two defeats at the hands of the Red Wings and Senators. Missing Stamkos, who has two goals and two assists through two games, makes it harder for the team to outscore their problems. He’s in the final season of an eight-year, $68MM extension signed in 2016 and is one of the best pending free agents available, notably without any extension conversations to date.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this morning:

  • Sabres winger Victor Olofsson will serve as a healthy scratch tonight against the Lightning, head coach Don Granato confirmed Tuesday morning. Tyson Jost, who’s served as a healthy scratch for their first two games of the season, will make his 2023-24 season debut. Olofsson, set to become a free agent next summer, was featured in trade talks this offseason. However, the team held onto him for scoring depth after youngster Jack Quinn sustained an Achilles injury that will keep him out until December. Olofsson is a skilled shooter who’s notched 20 goals in three out of the last four seasons, but his defensive impacts are poor, and his possession numbers are average at best, leading him to become viewed as a power-play specialist. He’s been held off the scoresheet through two contests this season and has a -2 rating, averaging 14:07 per game. 22-year-old Peyton Krebs is projected to fill Olofsson’s vacated spot in the top six, while Jost will slide in at fourth-line center to fill Krebs’ previous role.
  • Islanders head coach Lane Lambert told reporters that defenseman Scott Mayfield is officially out for Tuesday’s contest against the Coyotes. The veteran shutdown man is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot late in last Saturday’s win against the Sabres and did not practice yesterday due to swelling in his leg. Lambert confirmed Samuel Bolduc would replace Mayfield in the lineup and make his season debut. The 2019 second-round pick skated in 17 contests with the Islanders last season, recording two goals and an assist.

East Notes: Stamkos, Lindgren, Shea

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Lightning center Steven Stamkos was a late scratch before their game tonight against Ottawa.  The team announced (Twitter link) that the captain is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.  Stamkos is off to a nice start to his 16th NHL season, notching two goals and two assists in his first two appearances.  However, he was banged up in last night’s game against Detroit.  Stamkos is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has already expressed some frustration with the fact an extension isn’t yet in place.  One won’t be coming anytime soon though with GM Julien BriseBois telling Stamkos that discussions about a new deal won’t come until after the season comes to an end.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Rangers blueliner Ryan Lindgren was a surprising scratch for last night’s game against Columbus. Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays that Lindgren sat with what the team called an upper-body injury.  The defenseman took a shot off the hand in New York’s season opener back on Thursday but was a full participant in practice Friday and in the morning skate Saturday.  The fact he was fine to participate in those two suggests that the Rangers are primarily being precautionary with Lindgren and that he shouldn’t be out for too long.
  • Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea acknowledged to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Pittsburgh was the runner-up when NHL teams were pursuing him out of college back in 2020. The 26-year-old ultimately signed with Dallas at the time but never suited up for the Stars despite being recalled for a handful of days here and there.  Shea somewhat surprisingly cracked Pittsburgh’s opening roster after signing with them this past summer with a good showing in training camp and could get a chance to make his NHL debut in the coming days.

Update On Steven Stamkos Contract Negotiations

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Back in mid-September, Sportsnet aired a brief interview segment with the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, expressing his disappointment in the lack of extension conversations the Lightning have been willing to have over the course of the summer. A few days later, Elliotte Friedman, also of Sportsnet, reported that the going notion at the moment is that Tampa Bay ’wouldn’t be crushed’ to see Stamkos leave next summer.

In a minor update to the drama surrounding a potential contract extension for the Lightning’s captain, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien Brisebois, had already indicated to Stamkos that they would be waiting until the end of next season to address the future between the two parties, but would ultimately like to see Stamkos retire as a member of the Lightning.

Although it is generally unsurprising for most teams to want to wait until after the season to negotiate a new contract, this instance is more peculiar for the Lightning specifically. Throughout the last two offseasons, Tampa Bay has quickly given out sizeable extensions to all of Nick Paul, Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Brandon Hagel. All of these players have been important pieces to the juggernaut the Lightning have become over the last several years, but they certainly do not have the pedigree of Stamkos in that organization.

At 33 years of age, and with over 1000 games played in a Lightning uniform, Stamkos is potentially staring down his last contract as a professional hockey player. Over the course of his career, having spent the last decade as the captain of the organization, Stamkos has been a part of four Tampa Bay teams to reach the Stanley Cup Final, winning two of them.

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