Insider reveals that Stamkos may very well be headed towards a messy split
On the first day of training camp, Steven Stamkos raised some eyebrows when he went public with his frustrations about his lack of contract talks. Stamkos is entering the final year of his currently deal and was eligible to sign an extension on July 1st, like Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
"To be honest, I'm disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. It was something that I expressed at the end of last year that I wanted to get something done before training camp started," stated a visibly frustrated Stamkos during his media availability on Wednesday.
Today, on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed Stamkos' comments and the overall situation with Tampa. During the discussion, Marek pointed to the Florida Panthers as a potential landing spot for Stamkos if he went to market.
Not only can Florida offer the same financial incentives, but it would also allow Stamkos to remain close to his family without having to move them. Logisitically, the move to Florida would make sense for Stamkos and according to Friedman, he may have to make it, or a more drastic move based on the information he has received from players.
That's a major update from Friedman. For any other team, losing the face of the franchise would be crushing, especially one that had the opportunity to go elsewhere previously, but chose to stay. Stamkos led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and made three straight Cup Final appearances. That doesn't seem like a good way to thank your captain for his years of dedicated service.
Stamkos was drafted first overall in the 2008 draft and has played all 1,003 of his career games in a Lightning uniform, but unless they can smooth things over and find a resolution, this could very well be his last season in a blue and white uniform... unless... homecoming?
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 245 ANSWERS Insider reveals that Stamkos may very well be headed towards a messy split Are the Tampa Bay Lightning doing Steven Stamkos dirty? | ||
| Absolutely they are | 138 | 56.3 % |
| No, I don't think so | 33 | 13.5 % |
| It all depends on what his salary ask is | 74 | 30.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
