TAMPA, Fla. — After Monday’s first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Florida Panthers, Steven Stamkos lingered on the ice longer than any other Tampa Bay Lightning player.
“I wouldn’t read anything me doing that for any other reason than just to wait for all of our players to leave the ice," Stamkos said Wednesday.
Would that be the final time we see Stamkos in a Lightning sweater?
He expressed frustration in September by the lack of contract extension talks last offseason. Now, he will be a restricted free agent on July 1. General manager Julien BriseBois spoke with Stamkos’ agent on Monday.
“Very preliminary just to see everyone’s schedules and see how quickly we can get to this,” BriseBois said. “It’s obviously a priority to see if we can get this done...I'm very hopeful."
“I told Julien at the beginning of the year when we said there will be no contact talks, you won’t have to worry about that effecting how I prepare, how I play, or that coming into the locker room,” Stamkos said.
At 34 years old, Stamkos finished with 40 goals and 81 points in his 16th season. The Lightning picked him number one overall in 2008, and he’s been the team captain since 2014.
“It will be tough to look at this team without him,” defenseman Victor Hedman said. “Obviously the way he’s handled the whole situation, the way he’s played, it’s just been phenomenal.”
Stamkos will one day have his No. 91 lifted to the rafters at Amalie Arena. Speaking of numbers, in Tampa Bay history, he ranks first in goals (555), points (1,137), power-play goals (214), power-play points (422), and games played (1,082).
"I'm hopeful something works out here because I do love it here and I still think we have a chance to win with the group we have here,” Stamkos said.
“The aim is for him to continue to play on a contending Tampa Bay Lightning team going forward,” BriseBois added.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
