Early in his media day press conference, Steven Stamkos was asked about the turnover of the roster and he answered,
“It’s tough, you lose some really good players, not only really good players, but really good people. Guys who meant a lot to this organization on the ice and in the room, too.”
Could someone else, Victor Hedman or Brayden Point, stand before the media next year and echo those sentiments when talking about the departure of The Captain? Possibly. Even with the cap expected to go up next season, there is a chance that there just isn’t the money to bring back the face of the franchise. That’s the nature of the business.
It was a little later in the interview that the money quote was uttered by Stamkos. When asked about his own situation, he admitted that there hasn’t been much conversation with the team in regards to a new deal to replace the 8-year, $68 million deal that he signed in the summer of 2016 (aka the Stammergeddon Summer).
It does give one pause to think that general manager Julien BriseBois hasn’t reached out to his team leader to even discuss a framework of a deal, even if exact numbers weren’t discussed. Of course, this quickly went around the internet with some folks assuming the worst.
Stamkos is going to walk. BriseBois is going to kick an icon to the curb. Mass riots will overwhelm Amalie Arena if he goes anywhere, etc., etc., etc. It was not handled well by some folk.
When asked later in the day about the situation, Mr. BriseBois responded with, basically, “Hey folks, I know Stammer is super good at hockey, but I had a lot of stuff to do, and there are still a lot of things we have to figure out.” Of course, he said it in a more professional and general managerly way, but that was the gist.
Before we get to far, let’s see what was actually said by the two parties. First, here is Stamkos’ quote.
“You know. To be honest I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. It was something 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, so… [Question on if he would talk during the season] I’m ready whenever. I guess that was something that I didn’t see coming, bit it is what it is. [Do you think it has to do with the salary cap?] That’s something you have to ask Julien. I stated at the end of last year, too, I would love to extend and play here and finish off my career here, but that’s out of my hands. I can’t write a contract for myself.”
And Julien BriseBois’ lengthy response:
There are times when the “there are two sides” arguments doesn’t make much sense. This isn’t one of those cases. Both sides have valid opinions to make.
Stamkos has literally sweated, bled, and broken bones for this franchise. He’s been there through the lows and the highs, from trade rumors to Stanley Cup boat parades. He’s also produced one of the best two-year stretches of his career so it’s not like he’s washed at this point. Stamkos has played 162 games and posted 190 points (76 goals, 114 assists) over the last two years. You have to go all the way back to 2010-12 to see a similar production when he put up 188 points (105 goals, 83 assists).
He’s also watched as other core pieces of the franchise have gotten their big paychecks. It’s not likely he’s looking for a $12 million-a-year deal, but he also wants to get paid what he’s worth, and that won’t come cheap even if he will be 34-years-old.
For BriseBois, it’s not just one player that he has to worry about. His job is to keep this window open as long as possible, and there are two things that can slam a Stanley Cup window shut faster than Mike Babcock’s coaching stint in Columbus – a broken goaltender and an overpriced contract handed out for the sake of nostalgia. He was honest in his comments in regards to needing to see how this season plays out. In fact, a little more honest than most general managers would be in the situation. It would be easy for him to say that, “Stamkos is a priority. We’re going to get something done.” Instead, he left room for the worst case scenerio.
As important as Stamkos has been to the franchise, and this is tough to say, there are more important players to the future of the franchise. Over the next 8 years which player is going to put up more points for the Lightning – Brandon Hagel or Steven Stamkos? All signs point to Hagel. So it was key for Mr. BriseBois to get him under contract this summer.
Let’s say Stamkos gets a 6-year, $9 million-a-year deal. What does that mean for the future? Which players would JBB have to trade to keep under whatever the new cap ends up being? What if the wheels fall off of the franchise in the next couple of years, does Stamkos want to stick around for a rebuild if he’s locked into a long-term deal? The only thing we know about the future, is that we don’t know what’s going to happen.
That being said, once some solid information about the future of the cap is decided, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear the two sides pick up talks, even if it is during the middle of the season. Unless the team is out of it around the trade deadline, the chances that Stamkos is offered up as trade bait are pretty slim so there is a certain sense of comfort knowing that he will be spending the entire season in Tampa, unlike the last time he was a pending free agent.
Both sides want him to be a Lightning for life, but this is a cold, hard business and there is a better than zero chance this could all end badly (i.e. Stamkos playing for the Maple Leafs or Red Wings). Marty St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier left under less than auspicious terms, so it could happen with Stamkos as well.
Personally, I think we see a positive outcome somewhere in the range of the deal Evgeni Malkin signed with the Penguins last summer (4 years, $24.4 million). That will carry him through the age of 38 and, if he stays healthy, should have him over 600 goals and around 1400 points, numbers that cement him as a first-ballot hall of famer and keep him atop the the Lightning leaderboards for a long, long time.
