We are not even one day into training camps opening and shock waves were felt through the NHL. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos threw down the first big hammer when he spoke with the media on Wednesday.
Stamkos came out and stated he was disappointed in the lack of contract talks with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the offseason as NHLRumors.com reported.
NHL Rumors: Steven Stamkos Disappointed No Extension Talks, and GM Julien BriseBois Explains Why
Diandra Loux posted a video of Steven Stamkos on the lack of contract extension talks with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Stamkos: “To be honest I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. So, 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 so…”
Reporter: “Are you willing to talk during the season or wait till after the season?”
Stamkos: “I’m ready whenever. So, I guess that was something I didn’t see coming. It is what it is.
Reporter: “Do you think it has to do with the salary cap situation?”
Stamkos: “That’s something you’re going to have to ask…”
- Erik Erlendsson: Stamkos: “Like I stated at the end of last year, too. I would love to extend and play here and finish up my career here but that’s out of my hands. I can’t write a contract for myself.”
Now if we go back to the summer of 2016 when Steven Stamkos was a UFA and did not win two Stanley Cups, there was a lot being made then of him potentially going to market. Ultimately he signed his current eight-year $68 million extension on June 26, 2016. What a day that was.
NHL Rumors: Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs
Not only did Stamkos sign, but Taylor Hall was traded for Adam Larsson and P.K. Subban was traded to Nashville for Shea Weber.
And as the Lightning start the season they are hit with this storyline. The captain of the Lightning, who wants to stay in Tampa, isn’t happy that his contract extension is not done.
General manager Julien BriseBois not only has to balance what Stamkos wants but also the common goal of the team as he told the media.
- Erik Erlendsson: BriseBois: “Steven and I share the common goal of bringing a cup back to Tampa Bay. That’s our objective. In order for us to do that in future years, we’re gonna need to spend our cap dollars as wisely as possible.”
From the sounds of the way BriseBois was talking, he wants to see how the season plays out before making any decisions going forward. It all comes down to how the team performs this year.
The Lightning have a belief they still have a Stanley Cup contender, however, over the last couple of years, many of their role players have left including Alex Killorn Ryan McDonagh, Ondrej Palat, Pat Maroon, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, and others because the salary cap continues to win and affect what the Lightning can do.
- Erik Erlendsson: BriseBois: “I need to see how the team performs and after the season I will have gathered that information and I’ll be in a better position to have a clearer picture of what our puzzle looks like going forward, what roster needs we might have and then how to allocate our cap space in order to build the best roster possible not only for Steven to remain with the Lightning but for us to stay Stanley Cup contenders year in year out for the remainder of his tenure with us and hopefully bring the cup back to Tampa.”
Speaking of the salary cap the Lightning are right up against it again this year. The salary cap is at $83.5 million this season and the Lightning are at $90,448,333. They need to clear close to $6 million without using LTIR space. If they use LTIR space, they need to clear $74,000 to get cap-compliant.
That’s this year. For the 2024-25 season, when the cap is expected a jump between $3 million to $6 million, the Lightning already have $75 million in salary committed to 15 players. That leaves Lightning GM Julien BriseBois roughly $13 million to play with next season.
One of those players the Lightning have committed the next eight years to is Brandon Hagel. Hagel goes from $1.5 million this season to $6.5 million in 2024-25 when his contract kicks in.
Outside of Hagel’s contract according to Puck Pedia, there are no other major raises for next season. After this season including Stamkos, the Lightning have six other UFAs including Tyler Motte, Brent Seabrook, Philippe Myers, Zach Bogosian, Calvin de Haan, and Hayden Fleury. The only RFA is Logan Brown.
As far as no-movement and no-trade clauses go, Stamkos, Bogosian, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Nick Paul, Victor Hedman, and Conor Sheary are the ones that ones that have them going forward. Again Stamkos and Bogosian are UFAs at the end of the year.
This was going to be a possibility. The day Ryan McDonagh was traded there was talk, albeit small talk, but there was talk that Stamkos might be the next one to go if the Lightning did not do something about their cap problems.
Last season, Stamkos recorded 84 points (34 goals and 50 assists) in 81 games with the Lightning. During the 2021-22 season, he had 106 points. If Stamkos has another 100-point season or close to it, he could get over $10 million a season.
.@TBLightning captain Steven Stamkos had a milestone year in 2022-23, reaching 1,000 games, 1,000 points and recording his 500th career goal on January 18th as part of a hat trick ?
He’s #34 on the Top 50 list!#NHLTopPlayers | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/EyXLYuqtdI
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) September 17, 2023
That means Stamkos could be the highest-paid player on the team. Kucherov, Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy carry $9.5 million AAVs.
Remember this is a business and even if a player wants to be loyal to the club that drafted him, it comes down to dollars and cents. The fact that it isn’t done is shocking, but BriseBois is doing this his way.
You know this will be something to watch moving forward especially if Steven Stamkos gets off to a hot start.
But the summer of Stamkos 2.0 could be on folks.