Right at the beginning of the season, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos made noise about his contract and how there were no discussions over the season.
“To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,” he told reporters. “It was something that I had expressed at the end of the year, that I wanted to get something done before training camp started. There haven’t been any conversations.”
NHL Rumors: Could Steven Stamkos end up somewhere other than Tampa next year?
Stamkos continues to be a major piece for the Lightning this season. He is the third leading scorer on the Lightning with 35 points (15 goals and 20 assists) in 31 games this season including his first career four-goal game against the Edmonton Oilers a little over a week ago.
And the Lightning still view Stamkos as a significant piece but as Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois stated at the beginning of the season, the team is going to see what the team does in the terms of results before discussing a contract with Stamkos.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun re-emphasized this last week on Insider Trading.
“The answer is no, it’s status quo, and I get it. Sometimes with the New Year approaching, you wonder if teams will revisit that type of situation,” LeBrun said recently on “Insider Trading.” “Julien BriseBois was very clear before the season. He’s on record. They’re not going to talk contract with their captain until after the season.”
Is There Any Friction Between Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning?
And it appears both parties remain on track to keep Steven Stamkos as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning after some miscommunication in the summer as Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period told the Full Press NHL Podcast.
“I think they hold the fort and eventually get Stamkos locked into an extension in the summer. Because I think there was a little bit of miscommunication going into camp, which led to some of Stamkos his comments. I think they rectified that and we’re a little more open about their situation. I think that gets done in the summer again, unless they lose like 10 in a row and you know what hits the fan? I think they hold fort and I think they make the playoffs. I think he stays.”
The waiting game continues for Stamkos, who continues to produce for the Lightning — and fuels trade speculation as well. Which is unlikely unless the bottom totally falls off, but Stamkos holds all the cards with the no move clause in his contract.
The most likely outcome is Stamkos gets a new contract but it does not take as long as last time.