This day will live in infamy in Tampa Sports history, July 1, 2024. One of the saddest and darkest days in Tampa sports history.
The day that Julien BriseBois let Steven Stamkos walk after 16 years as a member of the Lightning organization.
Earlier Monday, Stamkos signed a four-year deal with the Nashville Predators, worth eight million dollars a year.
The Steven Stamkos Era Ends In Tampa
The captain ends his Lightning career with 1,137 points, 555 goals, and 582 assists in 1.082 games over 16 seasons.
Stamkos ranks first in points, goals, games, power-play goals (214), game-winning goals (85), and overtime goals (13) in franchise history.
He also leaves Tampa as a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, played in four Stanley Cup Finals, was a two-time all-star, and a two-time winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy.
After BriseBois traded Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot over the weekend to free up approximately $16.5 million in cap space, many thought that money would be put aside to sign Stamkos,
But it was not to be. The captain is moving on.
Stamkos Was Disrespected By The Lightning Organization
From the beginning of training camp for the 2023-24 season, when BriseBois said he would have no more negotiations with Stamkos until after the season, something didn’t seem right.
That isn’t how you treat a valued member of the organization who has given so much of himself to the organization and the community.
When the Bolts signed Jake Guentzal to an eight-year deal worth nine million per year, the writing appeared on the wall, and the Steven Stamkos era ended in Tampa.
None of us were privy to the negotiation process, but what has upset the fans the most is not the fact that Stamkos was not offered a new deal; it’s the fact that they felt Brisbois disrespected Stamkos throughout the whole process.
This is not how you treat the franchise captain and the face of your organization for sixteen seasons. Although BrisBois and the representatives for Stamkos did have some talks over the last month, I feel that BriseBois never intended to resign Steven Stamkos, despite what he said at his press conference.
Remember Marty St. Louis And Vincent Lecavalier?
This is not the first time in Tampa Sports history that a popular player has not resigned or been traded.
Marty St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, the two offensive leaders from the first Stanley Cup team in 2003-04, were also sent packing by the Lightning on the back end of their careers, and the Lightning seemed to recover from those trades quite well.
Lecavalier had his contract bought out in the summer of 2013 and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers. Marty St. Louis was traded to the New York Rangers less than a year later, in March 2014.
With the signing of Jake Guentzal, the Lightning have gambled that the production they get from the 29-year-old Guentzal will be better than that of the 34-year-old Stamkos.
Guentzal has averaged 30 goals and 40 assists over the last eight seasons. Guentzal split time with Pittsburgh and Carolina this past season, scoring 30 goals and finishing the season with 77 points.
Guentzal also finished the season a plus 25, while Stamkos was a -21.
With the emphasis on improving goals against, I’m sure this stat was discussed when deciding between Guentzal and Stamkos.
Stamkos is still one of the best on the power play; no one can argue that, as nineteen of his forty goals were scored on the power play.
But his five-on-five play has suffered a bit over the last few seasons, and he is not the player he once was five-on-five.
So now there is a new big three in Tampa: Nikita Kucherov and Braydon Point are the holdovers, while Jake Guentzal will join those two elite players on the number one line.
As heartbreaking as today was, we have to trust that Julien BriseBois did what he felt was best to keep the Lightning contenders for the foreseeable future.
It will feel different at Amalie Arena this fall, but I will continue to root for the crest on the front of the jersey. I also wish Steven Stamkos the best in Nashville.
Thank you Tampa ❤️❤️
I don’t have the words yet ….. I will soon .It’s still too early to process. Just wanted everyone to know how thankful we are for 16 years as a bolt.
My family and I are excited for the next chapter….
— Steven Stamkos (@RealStamkos91) July 1, 2024
—Steven Stamkos will return to Amalie Arena with his new team the Nashville Predators on Monday October 28th.