When the final buzzer rang out on the Game 5 loss that brought a quick end to Tampa Bay’s 2024 post-season, all focus shifted immediately to Steven Stamkos, the captain waiting by the team’s bench, surveying the ice after what could’ve been his last game in a Lightning sweater. But despite a tense training-camp exchange over his contract status, and a season played under a cloud of uncertainty, it appears the long-time member of the Lightning is on track to stick with the only big-league club he’s ever known.
Back in September, on the cusp of the 2023-24 campaign — the final year of the eight-year deal Stamkos signed back in 2016 — the captain publicly expressed his disappointment at the lack of discussions on a new deal with the team. At the time, GM Julien BriseBois said he needed to “gather more information” before committing to bringing the two-time Cup champ and two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner back.
On Wednesday, BriseBois suggested he saw what he needed to see, and said discussions on a new contract have begun.
“Obviously Steven Stamkos needs a contract and we want him [to be] part of that group,” the GM told gathered media Wednesday. “You all saw how, from the trade deadline on, Stammer elevated his level of play, which was incredible to see. For someone who has already earned his Hall of Fame plaque, has accomplished so much already, and has been accomplishing so much for so long, for him to play arguably the best two months of hockey of his career — it started around the trade deadline, and he carried it all the way through that series against the Panthers — for him to do that, at the time when our team needed it most, was incredible
“The aim is for him to continue to play on a contending Tampa Bay Lightning team going forward.”
BriseBois said he and Stamkos met to discuss his future with the club after the team landed back home following their Game 5 loss, and the GM has had preliminary discussions with the centreman’s agent to begin the negotiation process.
“It’s obviously a priority to see if we can get this done,” BriseBois said of hammering out a new deal for his captain. Added the GM when asked how confident he is that they will be able to put pen to paper in the end: “I’m very hopeful.”
As for the captain himself, asked about his own confidence that he and the team will come to an agreement, Stamkos suggested Wednesday that there’s still much work to be done.
“It’s tough to answer when we haven’t even had a discussion yet,” the captain said. “We’ll have to have those discussions, but I’m certainly excited that we’re going to have those, hopefully soon, and then we can go from there. … I had a short conversation with [BriseBois] after the game, he reached out to my agent, so that’s all that we have right now. But hopefully there are some discussions — you’ve got to start somewhere, so looking forward to that.”
Still, while there are sure to be plenty of suitors for the veteran sniper — who posted 40 goals and 81 points in 2023-24, and scored in each of Tampa’s five post-season tilts — the long-time Bolt said his mindset is the same as it was last time he hit free agency.
“At the end of the day, winning is still what fuels me. Being a big part of that culture fuels me,” he said of what goes into his decision-making regarding his next deal. “Obviously, certain things have changed now — I have an amazing young family that has put roots down in this city, and really enjoy living here and playing here. So, from that perspective, the decision is more than just me now. … There are different factors than there were last time, but nothing’s really changed in terms of my mindset and where I wanted to be and play, and that was here. That certainly hasn’t changed.
“I’m hopeful that something works out here, because I do love it here, and I still think that we have a chance to win with the group of guys that we have here. So, we’ll see what’s in store in the next couple weeks.”
The feeling certainly appears to be mutual, given the praised heaped on Stamkos by BriseBois on Wednesday. The rest of the club’s leadership core echoed the sentiment, too.
“It would be tough to look at this team without him here,” defender Victor Hedman said of Stamkos Wednesday. “The way he’s handled the whole situation, the way he’s played, he’s just been phenomenal. He’s led this team, especially in the playoffs — five goals, some big-time plays, the physicality, the speed that he plays with. It was fun to watch.
“I just hope everything gets done, and we can move forward.”
HEDMAN, COOPER STILL KEY PIECES OF BOLTS’ FUTURE ,TOO
The veteran rearguard has some uncertainty in his own future as well, with Hedman’s own eight-year deal set to expire after next season. On Wednesday, BriseBois made clear that re-signing the six-time Norris Trophy nominee is a priority, too.
“I talked to his agent yesterday, just very preliminary, we’re going to circle back once we’ve had time to debrief here. But obviously we’d love to keep Victor going forward,” the Lightning GM said. “He’s an elite, elite defenceman. He’s one of those special all-time players, an all-time great Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt, who’s still super productive. I have no reason to believe that’s not going to be the case moving forward. We have a better understanding of where the cap is, at least now and next year.
“The plan would be to keep Victor going forward, obviously.”
Drafted second-overall by the Lightning back in 2009, a year after the club tabbed Stamkos at No. 1, Hedman said the two long-time teammates have their eye on finishing their careers together, in Tampa Bay colours.
“This is all we know. We’ve been here from Day 1. I’ve been here for almost half my life, and I couldn’t picture anything else,” Hedman said of his future beyond 2024-25. “But it’s a process, it’s a business — moving forward here, my thought process is on next season. Hopefully I won’t be in the same position as Steven, but you never know. But hopefully we can get something done in the summer.
“My plan is to retire as a Bolt. Hopefully that will come true.”
While there was some question of whether the club would look to extend head coach Jon Cooper as well — the bench boss was rumoured to be nearing the end of his current deal — BriseBois quashed that notion Wednesday, suggesting the team and its coach have already come to an agreement.
“He’s got term,” the GM said simply when asked about Cooper’s future, before praising the job done by the coach in 2023-24.
STAMKOS ON LIGHTNING CORE’S CHAMPIONSHIP MINDSET
Though BriseBois set the record straight on his desire to continue on with key veterans Stamkos and Hedman, the question of what exactly their next deals will look like remains up in the air.
Amid a run that saw the Lightning reach three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning two, while reigning as one of the league’s premier contenders, the Bolts management group has made plenty a shrewd salary-cap decision to keep its elite core together.
But the other half of that equation, Stamkos said Wednesday, was the commitment from the team’s leaders to take less in the name of keeping their group competitive. The captain suggested that will continue with the next deals signed by him and Hedman.
“I think that’s been a part of everyone’s thought process in the core group of guys that we’ve had here, in terms of what guys have taken over the years, to stay here,” Stamkos said Wednesday. “You know, I understand the tax advantage and that type of thing, but [Nikita] Kucherov is making $9.5 million — that’s probably grossly underpaid in terms of what guys are getting now. [Andrei] Vasilevskiy, [Brayden] Point. Forty, 50 goals every year. You look at [Auston] Matthews, what did he sign for, $13-and-a-half-million or something? [Victor] Hedman’s making under $8 million — that’s grossly underpaid if you look at what he’s done.
“That’s what everyone’s done here, and that’s why we’ve had success. That’s just been the way it’s been for this organization, and I think that in itself is a testament to management and how they want to build a team. And, first and foremost, the players for wanting to do that, and accept that, and allow management to go out there and build a roster to compete for the Stanley Cup.”
