TAMPA, Fla. — All over the place Steven Stamkos appeared, there was one other reminiscence.
The Tampa waterfront the place he and his teammates celebrated two Stanley Cup championships on jet skis and celebration boats. The world ice the place he tallied so lots of his objectives (555) and factors (1,137) in 1,082 video games, all of them probably the most in Tampa Bay Lightning historical past. The lengthy concourse he’d stroll down on numerous gamedays, previous a slender concrete rink the place his son Carter would observe slapshots like his dad’s. The Zamboni entrance the place Carter would gleefully obsess over the ice resurfacing machines in his father’s arms.
“Most of my life has been right here,” Stamkos stated, glancing round a lounge inside Amalie Area. “That is the place all of it started as an 18-year-old child. The place I grew up from a boy to a person to a Stanley Cup champion. The place I grew to become a husband and a father.”
It nonetheless felt like house, however now he was a customer. Stamkos stepped on the ice for warmups on Monday in a No. 91 Nashville Predators jersey: His new crew, the one which handed him a four-year free agent contract after a really public, very contentious negotiation with the Lightning failed to supply a brand new deal.
After 16 seasons, Steven Stamkos is not a member of the Lightning; and for the primary time in 16 seasons, the Lightning did not have Steven Stamkos as their star on and off the ice.
“Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be synonymous with one another till the tip of time. He did every thing we requested of him for a lot of, a few years,” coach Jon Cooper stated.
That’s, till the Lightning requested one thing of Stamkos that he refused to do: signal a considerably discounted contract extension to present them salary-cap flexibility.
Coming into the ultimate yr of an eight-year, $68 million contract in 2023-24, Stamkos indicated he wished to increase that deal and end his profession with the Lightning. However at coaching camp final yr, Stamkos advised the media he was “upset” to not have engaged in significant contract talks with GM Julien BriseBois.
On the time, BriseBois stated he additionally wished Stamkos to retire with the Lightning and that they shared a mutual objective of profitable one other Stanley Cup. However he stated there would not be a clean verify for this star captain when the crew had different roster issues. “To ensure that us to [contend] in future years, we’ll have to spend our cap {dollars} as properly as potential,” the GM stated.
Stamkos had 40 objectives — his seventh season with 40-plus — and 81 factors in 79 video games final season, a powerful remaining argument to maintain him round. What he did not have was a contract provide to his liking, with a number of studies stating that Tampa Bay had provided simply $3 million yearly to the 34-year-old
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Even after BriseBois traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million common annual worth) to Utah and ahead Tanner Jeannot ($2.665 million AAV) to the Los Angeles Kings within the offseason, their provide to Stamkos did not enhance forward of free company.
“You did not actually know what is going on on. Stammer wasn’t speaking about it. Clearly, the crew’s not speaking about it,” Lightning ahead Nick Paul stated. “So we had been watching like everybody else and simply type of like, ‘Is it going to occur? Are they going to do it?’ After which issues went the way in which they went.”
BriseBois advised Stamkos’ agent they had been letting him discover the free-agent market. “We now have to see what’s greatest for the Lightning group and Steven has to do what’s greatest for him, his profession and his household,” he stated.
What was greatest for the Lightning: signing free agent winger Jake Guentzel, 4 years youthful than their captain, to a seven-year, $63 million contract to take Stamkos’ spot on the crew’s prime line alongside Brayden Level and Nikita Kucherov.
What Stamkos needed to do for him and his household: inking a four-year cope with the Predators, ending his time with the one NHL crew he’d recognized.
“It is not for a scarcity of effort on my facet to make issues work out in Tampa, but it surely’s not truthful to Nashville for me to sit down right here and say I actually wished to be in Tampa,” Stamkos advised TSN on the time. “Everybody is aware of I did. It did not work out, and I am simply as thrilled to be becoming a member of the Nashville Predators, for a mess of causes.”
Monday was the awkward, heartfelt and considerably cathartic reunion between a homegrown celebrity going to his former house. It was an opportunity to have a good time a singular legacy in Tampa sports activities historical past. It was a second for Steven Stamkos to show the web page on his previous, as he struggles to forge a brand new legacy in Nashville.
“Breakups are exhausting. It is the cleaning soap opera of sports activities. It is why we watch it,” Cooper stated. “It is for moments like this. To see how the drama of life goes to unfold.”
AMID THE SEA of No. 91 jerseys milling round Amalie Area on Monday was a person in a classic T-shirt that learn, “Seen Stamkos?”
That was the crew’s advertising and marketing marketing campaign main as much as his choice as first total choose within the 2008 draft. There have been shirts and bumper stickers and a lo-fi web site that chronicled his accomplishments with the OHL Sarnia Sting and Canada’s junior nationwide crew.
The Lightning had been in a bizarre place in 2008. They had been 4 years faraway from their first and solely Stanley Cup win. They’d franchise icons Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis highlighting an in any other case underwhelming roster. Oren Koules, most well-known for producing the “Noticed” movies, and former NHL participant Len Barrie bought the crew for what can be a tumultuous possession run till Jeff Vinik bought the Lightning in 2010.
After a 46-point rookie season as an 18-year-old middle, Stamkos put collectively three straight 90-point seasons, scoring 51, 45 and 60 objectives throughout that run. Step by step, reinforcements arrived: Defenseman Victor Hedman was the No. 2 total choose in 2009; star winger Nikita Kucherov was a second-round choose in 2011; goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was taken nineteenth total in 2012; and Brayden Level was a third-round choose in 2014. Cooper moved up from the AHL to turn into head coach in 2013.
“The primary time I addressed the crew, I keep in mind seeing what I knew was going to be a number of Corridor of Famers in that room — together with our common supervisor on the time,” Cooper stated, referencing former Lightning architect Steve Yzerman.
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There are numerous the explanation why the Lightning grew to become maybe the NHL’s best “non-traditional market” success story during the last 20 years. There was Vinik’s unbelievable funding within the crew and the world surrounding their downtown enviornment. There was a run of 10 playoff appearances in 11 seasons, together with six journeys to the convention finals, 4 journeys to the Stanley Cup Ultimate and two Cup wins.
“I understand how wonderful the fan base is right here. To have the ability to develop up with them, and to see the transition of this complete market into such a hockey-crazed place … it wasn’t at all times that method,” Stamkos stated. “However with the success the group has had, it is a fairly, fairly particular place.”
Stamkos was the franchise participant — the third greatest goal-scorer of his era behind Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, and an plain draw.
“If folks sit right here and say, ‘What was the best factor about Steven Stamkos?’ it is like, ‘You understand what? You may take his objectives and all these issues he did on the ice, however he was an unbelievable ambassador for our crew and for our league,'” Cooper stated. “These are the issues that you just simply sit there and also you marvel about.”
He wasn’t simply the face on a billboard or the title on the again of a best-selling jersey. Stamkos was part of the group. He partnered with Ronald McDonald Home Charities of Tampa Bay early in his profession, elevating funds and consciousness for the non-profit group that helps households with sick kids. When he married his spouse Sandra, they requested for donations to Ronald McDonald Home of Tampa and Canada in lieu of items.
On the ice, Stamkos had a quantifiable affect on the Lightning’s success. However behind the scenes, the Tampa Bay captain — taking the C from St. Louis in 2014 — was a frontrunner and a exceptional affect on his teammates.
“He is at all times one of many hardest working guys in observe. He units the instance,” stated Hedman, who took over as captain when Stamkos left. “He is aware of when to speak and when to get on guys and get on us as a crew. He was simply actually good at discovering methods to push guys’ buttons to extend our possibilities of profitable video games. However he is a genuinely good man that makes everybody really feel welcome to the crew that was new.”
When the Lightning acquired Paul from Ottawa in 2022, he additionally noticed that facet of Stamkos.
“The whole lot he did, he at all times did with the individual in thoughts first,” he stated. “It was clearly in regards to the crew, but it surely was how he managed the folks and the way he managed personalities and the way he made you’re feeling like he was at all times there for you first over every thing.
“That is an enormous deal when you’ve gotten a captain that cares about everybody within the room, whether or not you are a rookie or 10 years in, and you are going by way of one thing, he is there for you and he is aware of the way to carry everybody collectively and play at their greatest.”
Analyst Brian Engblom, who has been part of Lightning broadcasts since 2015, sees Stamkos as a towering presence in crew historical past.
“I do not know that there is been anyone larger than him. He is been Mr. The whole lot right here,” Engblom stated. “The 2 Cups. Management. Impression in large conditions on and off the ice. Character within the room. He is as large because it will get right here on the town.”
That established, Engblom wasn’t shocked to see Stamkos find yourself enjoying for a crew apart from the Lightning.
“I gave up eager about stuff like that after Gretz bought traded,” he stated, in reference to the 1988 blockbuster that noticed the Edmonton Oilers commerce icon Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. “Gordie Howe left Detroit. Bryan Trottier left the Islanders. And now this.”
THE MEMORIES REMAINED for Steven Stamkos when he walked by way of the sector on Monday.
The whole lot else was totally different. “It is a bit bizarre getting in by way of the opposite door,” he stated of the guests’ dressing room.
Engblom, a former NHL defenseman, stated it may be disorienting for a participant returning to his longtime house on one other crew.
“You are on the improper facet of the ice. You are happening the improper hallway. The whole lot is backwards,” he stated. “You do not really feel good. You understand you are in a well-known place but it surely’s like someone turned all of it the other way up.”
It is also disorienting to have mates impulsively turn into foes.
“It is powerful. Not only for the participant coming again, however for the gamers that performed with him,” Engblom stated. “Victor Hedman and Stammer are blood brothers. It is a powerful sport for him to exit and play.”
Hedman and Stamkos frolicked final weekend at Hedman’s home, the place Stamkos’ spouse Sandra stayed for the sport in a visitor bed room. (Their two sons remained again in Nashville for varsity.)
“We have been collectively for a really very long time. We will nonetheless get on one another and attempt to push one another to be higher,” Hedman stated.
Does Hedman have a wholesome textual content relationship with Stamkos?
“Wholesome?” he responded, grinning.
OK, what a few frequent textual content relationship?
“Yeah, I imply, we’re nonetheless mates and that is by no means gonna change,” he stated. “It has been bizarre not having him round, however we all know we’re only a telephone name away or a textual content away. We’re there for one another at any time when it is wanted.”
Stamkos had dinner with numerous former teammates on Sunday evening.
“It is bizarre. I’ve dinner with a few of the guys final evening and it is like I by no means left, proper? That is simply the bond that you’ve got. And then you definitely get on the ice, there’s the aggressive nature in either side that comes out, so there’s not a lot chit-chat. Then you definitely see one another proper after the sport and it is like we had been simply again to final evening,” he stated. “So that is the lifetime of an athlete. It is cliché that there is not any mates on the ice, and also you’re clearly not seeking to kill anybody on the market, however you need to win simply as unhealthy as they need to win.”
When Stamkos skated out for warmups, Lightning followers had crowded the decrease bowl across the guests’ tunnel. They cheered him loudly. Many had indicators in assist of their former captain. Some protested administration about not bringing him again, together with one girl close to the glass who prominently displayed a “My GM Sucks” shirt.
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Stamkos was within the beginning lineup for Nashville on Monday evening towards the Lightning.
“It was bizarre to see him standing on the blue line, not in our jersey, for the anthem and that opening faceoff,” Cooper stated. “However then impulsively it turns right into a hockey sport.”
Early within the sport, Stamkos and Hedman skated again to chase a free puck, awkwardly bumping into one another, neither actually trying all that comfy with their new roles as rivals. There was rigidity for the primary couple of minutes of the sport, as everybody anticipated the tribute video that loomed within the first interval.
Round seven minutes into the sport, the scoreboard lit up with photographs of a younger Stamkos in his hockey gear. Lightning followers rose to their toes because the tribute started: a two-minute montage of Stamkos’ journey, crammed with highlights, clutch moments, his brotherhood with teammates and relationship with followers.
The digital scoreboards across the rink lit up along with his profession stats, awards and accomplishments, together with the slogan “Endlessly 91” and thanks messages.
“I used to be eager about how mushy I’ve gone in my elder years. I simply began welling up,” Cooper stated as he watched the video. “How do you match 16 years right into a two-minute video? It virtually does not really feel proper. It was extraordinarily nicely performed. However in the long run, it does not matter how nicely you do it. You will by no means do it justice.”
On the conclusion of the video, the spotlights hit Stamkos, who skated from the Predators bench — the place Nashville gamers had been engrossed by the video tribute — to the center of the rink, elevating his follow the followers as the sector projected his No. 91 on the ice, as has turn into custom when former Lightning stars return to Tampa on new groups.
When play started once more, Lightning followers loudly chanted “Ste-ven Stamkos” in honor of their former captain.
“I do not assume it is goodbye. I believe it is extra of a ‘thanks, so long’ sort of factor,” Stamkos stated.
Stamkos helped the Predators hit the scoreboard within the second interval after the Lightning constructed a 2-0 lead on objectives by Brayden Level and Mitchell Chaffee within the first. The Tampa followers went from booing the announcement of the objective to cheering Stamkos’ title for having helped create it.
The cheers had been a bit extra muted when Stamkos arrange the tying objective by Gustav Nyquist simply over eight minutes later, though many Lightning followers nonetheless cheered loudly when his title was introduced. The one boos Stamkos obtained throughout the sport got here in additional time, when the Predators patiently managed the puck moderately than attacking offensively.
Extra time ended on a objective by Paul that was assisted by Guentzel, who matched Stamkos’ output with two assists of his personal within the sport. It was an emotional evening for everybody. That undoubtedly included the participant who ostensibly changed Stamkos, too.
“At any time when a captain goes, it is a large shock,” Paul stated. “However clearly these are modifications that administration is making as a result of they assume it is the most effective factor for us to go and win the Stanley Cup. So we have to belief in that.”
Each Cooper and Hedman stated they had been assured Guentzel understood the dynamics on Stamkos Night time — and was OK with them.
“The one factor that I attempt to impart to him and everyone else is that’s he is not changing Stamkos, as a result of Stamkos created his personal legacy right here and Guentzel’s bought seven years to create his personal legacy,” Cooper stated. “We weren’t essentially on the lookout for a right-handed shooter on the ability play. We bought a playmaking lefty winger that brings totally different attributes to the sport. “So yeah, the subsequent seven years are Jake Guentzel nights. Tonight is Steven Stamkos’ evening.”
For the subsequent 4 seasons, it is Nashville that can witness Steven Stamkos nights, as he tries to forge a brand new legacy with a brand new crew.
It hasn’t been straightforward for him or the Predators up to now.
THE MOST SURPRISING ASPECT of Stamkos’ transfer to Nashville? His household has dealt with it a lot better than he has.
“I most likely thought that the household transition was going to be tougher than the hockey one, and it is type of been the alternative,” he stated. “However I would moderately have it that method, the place my spouse and youngsters are making the transition after which I can determine it out myself.”
Youngsters are adaptable. Stamkos stated the “new regular” for Carter and Chase Stamkos is being a part of the Nashville Predators household, regardless of their Tampa roots.
“The mascot came visiting to our new place the second day we had been there they usually flipped fairly rapidly,” he stated. “It is humorous how that works.”
The transition has been a lot rockier for Stamkos. His two assists towards Tampa Bay tripled his level complete on the season after 9 video games, having gone scoreless in his first 4 video games of the season earlier than a objective towards Detroit on Oct. 19. His lack of manufacturing got here throughout a tough begin for the Predators, who had been 3-5-1 of their first 9 video games — a .389 factors share that ranked twenty eighth within the NHL — regardless of heavy preseason hype.
Stamkos was certainly one of three high-profile free agent signings for GM Barry Trotz. The Predators additionally added ahead Jonathan Marchessault, a Conn Smythe winner for the Vegas Golden Knights, and Brady Skjei, a standout defenseman from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Predators middle Ryan O’Reilly was of their skates two years in the past when he was the big-ticket free agent signing in Nashville. Though the Predators made the playoffs in his first season, O’Reilly stated discovering chemistry between the imports and people already on the roster is hard.
“It is at all times a problem, particularly bringing three unbelievable gamers which are vital free brokers,” he stated. “It is not simply plugging them into some small roles. They’ve large roles right here and it takes time to get used to the system and what we’re doing right here.”
That is been very true for Skjei, who went from a man-on-man defensive system below Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour to a extra zone-oriented construction below Andrew Brunette in Nashville.
“Generally you catch your self like, ‘Oh, we’re not doing man-on-man anymore,'” he stated. “I imply, at the beginning, it is undoubtedly only a totally different system and you have got little habits from the previous system that you have to attempt to break rapidly.”
Marchessault had six factors in his first 9 video games in Nashville, and feels that adjustment time is over.
“New setting, new crew, new linemates … there is a interval of adjustment. However we’re 10 video games into the season, and it is time for me to step up,” Marchessault stated. “I got here right here to not change a complete lot. There is a good base right here. I wished to leap into their boat and assist them win.”
Stamkos stated he is placing vital stress on himself to carry out higher. That is one thing Hedman remembers seeing throughout their days collectively in Tampa.
“He was very exhausting on himself at instances as nicely. Perhaps too exhausting,” the defenseman stated. “However he desires to be the most effective each single evening, so he places numerous that stress on himself.”
However greater than what’s on the stat sheet, Stamkos is struggling along with his second act. He was a 16-year veteran in Tampa, surrounded by shut mates and carrying the captain’s C on his chest. Now he is hit the reset button for all of that.
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“It is not solely a brand new group, however a brand new group of men and you need to discover your method a bit bit. There’s some good days and a few days the place you are still figuring issues out,” Stamkos stated. “I used to be [in Tampa] for therefore lengthy. I used to be the man everybody was coming as much as with questions and issues, and I would have all of the solutions. Now I am the man asking the questions.”
Brunette acknowledged that it is nonetheless fairly early for everybody concerned.
“We’re nonetheless within the interval of attending to know him,” he stated. “He works extraordinarily exhausting in his craft. I am actually impressed along with his work ethic and observe and what he is introduced day by day. You may inform the management expertise he has by simply being there.”
Stamkos admits the transition from Bolt to Pred has been taxing on him mentally.
“There’s a transitional interval. I am actually working by way of that proper now. Controlling the psychological side is not one thing I’ve actually ever needed to fear about by way of simply being in that consolation zone — it was virtually identical to [feeling] that Zen on a regular basis due to the chemistry you construct with guys over quite a few years,” Stamkos defined. “Now you begin from scratch.”
New metropolis, new challenges and a brand new legacy for Stamos to create. This week helped him transfer on from the feelings tied to Tampa — from the chums and reminiscences he left behind to the lingering bitterness about his departure. However as a lot as Stamkos has his eyes on the longer term in Nashville, he admits he hasn’t turned the web page on the Lightning.
“I do not know when that second comes. If it comes, if it does not come,” he stated. “Once you’re on this place for therefore lengthy and have these reminiscences, I imply … I do not assume you’ll be able to ever actually fully flip the web page. That is most likely the fact.
“I dunno. We’ll see. I will let you already know if that day comes.”
