Did Steven Stamkos just play his last game in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform?
It is a real possibility as the team was knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night after being defeated by the Florida Panthers in five games.
Drafted by the Lightning in 2008 as the first overall pick, Stamkos has since spent 16 seasons with the team. But now, the 34-year-old captain is expected to potentially test free agency this off-season as his eight-year, $64 million contract has come to its expiry.
What Stamkos and the Lightning could do moving forward has been a talking point all season. Back in September during training camp, Stamkos had voiced his displeasure that he didn’t have a contract extension heading into the 2023-24 season.
“To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,” Stamkos said at the time. “It was something that I expressed at the end of last year — that I wanted to get something done before training camp started. There haven’t been any conversations. I’m ready whenever, so I guess that was something that I didn’t see coming.”
Months later, general manager Julien BriseBois addressed whether the Lightning were looking to keep Stamkos as part of their future and what next steps could look like.
“After the season, we’re going to sit down and we’re going to evaluate where we are as a team and where Steven is and we’ll see how we can make all the parts work together,” said BriseBois in January. “My job is to try to build the team that has the greatest odds of winning a Stanley Cup. So it’s never (about) one thing, it’s always about the collective.”
Stamkos, a native of Markham, Ont., has 555 goals and 582 assists over 1,082 career NHL games.
Across this five-game series against the Lightning’s longtime rivals, Stamkos recorded five goals and one assist. In 127 career playoff games, the two-time Stanley Cup champion has 50 goals and 51 assists.
On Monday, following the Lightning’s 6-1 loss in Game 5, Stamkos remained on the bench as he waited for the last of his teammates to leave the ice. Was it merely a display of leadership or was he soaking in his final appearance with the team?
According to the forward, it was not something he was thinking about during the final minutes of the game.
“Never crossed my mind,” said Stamkos. “I’m out there battling to try and help our team win, regardless. At the end of the game, we’re trying to score. There’s some pride on the line for our group.”
Meanwhile, head coach Jon Cooper expressed his own hopes that the face of the franchise is back next season.
“He belongs here; we know it, he knows it,” said Cooper. “… He and I have grown up together, and he’s a heck of a player. … I don’t know what’s going to happen, but he feels like a Bolt for life.”
