By Emily McLaughlin
Steven Stamkos, 34-year-old former Tampa Bay Lightning center, has decided to move to a different direction to work for the Nashville Predators. Stamkos signed the four-year, $32 million contract ($8 million average annual value) in July 2024.
Stamkos was the face of the franchise for the Lightning. He was the team’s captain since 2014 and all-time leading scorer, and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Stamkos has been with the Lightning for 16 seasons. But ahead of this upcoming season, Stamkos and the Lightning were not seeing eye-to-eye with Stamkos staying on the team.
Stamkos said on the National Hockey League (NHL) website, “When you don’t hear anything, or nothing changes, you have to be able to adapt and just make a decision. That’s the toughest part, is trying to hang on to something that maybe isn’t trying to hang on to you.”
In July 2023, Stamkos was eligible to sign an extension but was not approached by the Lightning. During that season, he came off winning the Mark Messier Leadership Award with 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists) in 81 games played.
Stamkos expressed frustration with the lack of communication during contract decisions in September 2023. After the Lightning signed unrestricted free agent forward Jake Guentzel on July 1, Stamkos felt he would have needed to make a decision the next morning. That morning, the Lightning signed Guentzel to a seven-year contract for $63 million ($9 million average annual value).
The day of Stamkos’ decision, he said on The Hockey News, “I’m not going to lie; it was difficult. I mean, when you’ve been in one organization your whole career, as lucky as I’ve been to be in Tampa for 16 years, by no means did I ever envision that a day like today would happen. But it did.”
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said that Stamkos’ age did factor a part in their decision. Just as the next season opens, Guentzel will be 29, five years younger than Stamkos.
“It was clear throughout our process that he also had financial expectations that he expected us to meet. And ultimately I felt and made the decision that if I agreed to the terms that he wanted in order to get a deal done I would not be putting ourselves in the best position to chase championships going forward,” BriseBois said regarding Stamkos’ needs on Sportsnet. “And ultimately we need to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team’s success.”
A similar experience happened to Martin St. Louis more than 10 years ago when the Lightning traded him to the New York Rangers on March 5, 2014, during his 13th season with the Lightning. At the time, St. Louis said he wanted to be traded from the Lightning to move to New York by using his no-trade clause.
St. Louis said he had talked with Stamkos after he was signed with the Predators. St. Louis explained his related experiences to Stamkos and how he felt about getting traded to the Rangers.
St. Louis said about Stamkos on the NHL website, “What was he, 16 years there? That’s a long time. I think he’s going to look back on his career and I think he’s going to be happy that he experienced something else, and he’s going to a really good situation.”
Stamkos expressed his love for Tampa Bay through The Players’ Tribune in a letter written in mid-July. Stamkos reflects on his 16-year career with the Lightning, sharing memories of his early years, challenges and overcoming them, and winning two Stanley Cup titles. Stamkos talks about his gratitude towards Tampa, his teammates, and his fans and explains his exciting future with the Predators.