Stamkos Says He Wants To Stay...But Will It Happen?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

 

From USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/lightning/2015/01/23/steven-stamkos-tampa-bay-lightning-future/22236449/

 

From the Tampa Bay Times:

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/lightning/steven-stamkos-hopes-to-sign-new-lightning-deal/2214912

 

According to these articles, Steve Stamkos has made it known he would like to stay as a big part of hockey in a state not known for it's winter sports, Tampa, FL.

After this season, Stamkos enters the final year of his current contract (Cap hit $7.5 M, but actual salary will ONLY be $5.5M due to his contract being more front loaded)....and of course, he and the team cannot officially start negotiations until July 1st of THIS season at the earliest.

 

So, with Stamkos desire to stay a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, does that mean that the long rumored 'going home' to Toronto is put on hold?

Well, from this fan's point of view, I certainly hope so.

 

But I know damned well it won't be anywhere near cheap to keep one of the best players in the league in a Bolts uniform.

Not only do I know it, but Stevie Y knows it, ownership knows it, and well, frankly, any hockey fan with even a smidge of how contracts work for megastars like Stamkos.

We've had Steven in Tampa Bay for relative bargain prices up till now........if ownership and the fanbase want him to stay on, the time has come to pony up the cash.

 

The kind of cash that was paid to two certain Chicago Blackhawks players for instance.

We are talking max contract most likely and that entails gi-normous numbers like $10M+ per year and/or 7 or 8 years.

 

Crazy numbers? Should Tampa Bay, with guys like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, and Jonathan Drouin pay Stamkos that kind of money to stay?

In a word....Hell Yes! Ok, that was two words...

 

The face of the franchise, the top mover of merchandise, the one player who most single handedly puts butts in seats, and a guy STILL in his prime, who stays relative healthy, elevates the play of his linemates, takes the heat off some of the younger still developing stars, and STILL has room to improve himself as a player?

I think the Bolts would be complete fools not to sign Stamkos to a long term deal, much the same way Chicago saw fit to keep Toews and Kane around long term.

 

Not to mention that it would make me extremely sad to see Stammer wearing another uni besides the one I've always known him to wear.

My heart was broken when guys like Chris Gratton, Roman Hamrlik, Rob Zamuner, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, and Marty St. Louis were either traded or let go to wear other uniforms...but those, in hindsight I could understand, if only grudgingly so.

 

Letting Stamkos walk, or trading him to get 'value' for him BEFORE he walks next year?

If ownership and/or Stevie Y decide to go that route, then I must say, I WON'T understand that one at all....

 

But there is hope that Stamkos will indeed be around for many more years to come.

Yzerman has slowly, and subtly, been making roster moves that seems to have been 'clearing the way' for this day.

 

And that, unfortunately, started out with the buyout of Vincent Lecavalier and the slow unloading of various other veteran talents along with investing heavily in young player development.

 

Obviously in the cap era, a team cannot keep all its stars, pay them all premium contracts, and have them all play premium minutes, but so far, Yzerman and his administration have picked and chosen the 'right guys', made the right decisions on stop gap contracts with its younger talents (including Stamkos leading up to this), and if they do have to part with some other good talents in order to keep the ones they want to keep longterm, then Yzerman would have brought their value high enough up, where another team would be willing to part with something valuable in return for them.

 

Not keeping Cory Conacher (who was highly touted for a while), raising his value, then swapping him for Ben Bishop is a shining example of this....as was accommodating Marty St. Louis, and not only getting a reasonably good draft pick, but a player whom the Bolts were able to convince to stay on with the team in Ryan Callahan, in return for the disgruntled, but still talented veteran player.

 

There have been a few other examples, and in order to keep a guy like Steve Stamkos, like a Victor Hedman, and possibly guys like Palat and Johnson when their time comes, there will probably be more.

And if the Bolts want to keep some of the guys I mentioned playing together starting with Stamkos, then TB may find it just may have to part with some good young talent, get high draft picks for them, in order to keep the current, still viable, contending core together, while those draft picks develop and start to form a new core that would be needed down the road.

 

So, HF.net....should the Bolts back up the money truck to Stammer's driveway?

Or could they afford to trade him off, continue to make due and contend without him, and sequester whatever haul they can for him?

 

Though extremely biased, I know where I stand.....

 

[brelic]

Nice post, TFG.

 

If I may, I'd like to add something not directly related to the Bolts situation with Stammer, but more about the state of the game in general.

 

I wish that exactly this kind of distraction didn't exist in hockey. It makes me sad as a fan that hockey has evolved from a proud sport where players were generally drafted and remained with the same team for their careers (always exceptions, of course) to a multi-billion dollar entertainment business where 'commodities' are groomed and moved around like chess pieces.

 

The 'sport' part of it has really, IMO, receded into the background, overshadowed by all the mindless distractions that surround it (pre-game, post-game, cardboard interviews, trades, holdouts, lockouts, arbitration, expansion, realignment, winter classic).

 

I just want to watch great hockey. Period. That's becoming increasingly difficult to find, it seems.

 

So, in summary, Stammer going to another team for money reasons or, I don't know, to 'test the market' as their agents put it, would be just another glaring example of a 'sport' in decline, even if the 'business' is booming.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Thanks, @brelic , and I hear ya loud n clear.

 

But whether we like it or not, that is the game now.

It IS about the money, it is about where a player is best positioned to be successful, and not so much about any loyalties to any given organizations.....and that works both ways: players not being particularly loyal to an organization, or the organization not being particularly loyal to a player.

 

That is not to say that there aren't players who do show loyalty, or at least want to stay as loyal as possible (hell, Shane Doan is a great example of that), but those are most definitely few and far between, and many times that blind loyalty is overshadowed by not only financial concerns, but family and other concerns as well.

 

Sometimes you can blame a player for being greedy, sometimes you can blame an organization for wanting relative 'slave labor' given a certain players talents....sometimes those players and organizations are justified.

It can get real muddied in many areas, and fans such as you and I who just want to watch OUR teams compete with OUR stars onboard, can sometimes have a hard time dealing with it.

But it is what it is.

 

In Stammer's defense, he at least noted that his particular situation is still a way's away....and he is focused on his team here and now, as the Bolts have a real chance to not only make the playoffs, but do some damage, and **gasp** dare I dream, make a Cup run THIS year!

None of the article links indicate who brought up the subject of Stammer's contract (was it the media, was it Stamkos himself, or was it his agent leaking stuff out, etc), but if he was asked, you know he had to give the most correct answer possible, but he and his agent will do what is best for his future long term.

 

Glad to know that he is happy playing for the Bolts and even if he were looking at it from the standpoint of 'best chance for success', again, looking at the current team, and the organization as a whole, he'd be hard pressed to find a better situation.

 

I am pretty sure the Stamkos contract will be one of the bigger stories to follow for this summer....as that not only will impact Stamkos and the team now, but some of his contemporaries on the team, and younger players on the team or in the minors down the road.

 

Hopefully, the summer stories about any contract talks will be following a reasonably successful post season run, even if it doesn't turn out to be a Stanley Cup winning one.

[brelic]

But whether we like it or not, that is the game now.
It IS about the money, it is about where a player is best positioned to be successful, and not so much about any loyalties to any given organizations.....and that works both ways: players not being particularly loyal to an organization, or the organization not being particularly loyal to a player.

 

Completely agree. I just find that the 'game' or, better yet the 'industry', doesn't appeal to me very much anymore. I can barely tolerate regular season games.

 

What does it mean to be a Flyer or a Lightining these days? I dunno.... I can't really come up with a real answer. It's just another city many players pass through, collecting large paychecks, looking forward to their next big payday as their agents tell them.

 

In Stammer's defense, he at least noted that his particular situation is still a way's away....and he is focused on his team here and now, as the Bolts have a real chance to not only make the playoffs, but do some damage, and **gasp** dare I dream, make a Cup run THIS year!
None of the article links indicate who brought up the subject of Stammer's contract (was it the media, was it Stamkos himself, or was it his agent leaking stuff out, etc), but if he was asked, you know he had to give the most correct answer possible, but he and his agent will do what is best for his future long term.
 
Glad to know that he is happy playing for the Bolts and even if he were looking at it from the standpoint of 'best chance for success', again, looking at the current team, and the organization as a whole, he'd be hard pressed to find a better situation.
 
I am pretty sure the Stamkos contract will be one of the bigger stories to follow for this summer....as that not only will impact Stamkos and the team now, but some of his contemporaries on the team, and younger players on the team or in the minors down the road.
 
Hopefully, the summer stories about any contract talks will be following a reasonably successful post season run, even if it doesn't turn out to be a Stanley Cup winning one.

 

I hope Stamkos stays in TB. It would be great for the team and the city - and, honestly, it's hard to imagine where Stamkos would find a better situation. I mean, there is a ton of young talent on that Bolts team and they could be contenders for many years. Why wouldn't Stamkos want to stay there? Would a few million bucks really be worth moving to Toronto? 

 

I know what my choice would be - and it wouldn't even really be a 'choice', more like a no-brainer.