Lightning captain Steven Stamkos headed towards free agency

Time is running out and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will likely test out free agency on July 1st. On Friday morning GM Julien BriseBois said he had discussions with Stamkos’ agent on Thursday while in Las Vegas for the NHL Draft. He expressed his uncertainty on whether a deal can get done that would allow Stamkos to finish his career in Tampa.

On Saturday morning, he reconvened with Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan after making a trade. The two parties were not able to come to an agreement and Meehan confirmed to BriseBois that Stamkos would be testing out free agency.

“The plan is for Steven to test the free agent market. Our respective positions haven't changed following today's trades,” said BriseBois. “I understand that when you get this close to free agency it can be tempting to see what the market has to offer to you.”

Asked if his offer to Stamkos increased after clearing cap space by making a trade, BriseBois confirmed he did not increase his offer to the long term captain and face of the franchise. Which explains why Stamkos has no option but to test free agency.

“That was a risk I was taking when I didn't go to Steven a year earlier to try to lock him up and get a contract done, and to be fair I did tell Donnie today that I think it's in the best interest of our organization to explore all options in the coming days,” said BriseBois. “Whether it be trades or by getting to free agency and seeing how we can use this cap space to improve the makeup of our team."

When you think of the Tampa Bay Lightning, you think of Steven Stamkos. At 18-years old he was the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NHL draft, 16 years later he’s the face of the Lightning franchise. Stamkos has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay in Tampa.

“This city means a lot to me. I love coming to the rink every day and I love interacting with our fans. Everything that is hockey in this city is amazing and I love it,” Stamkos told reporters at exit interviews. He was arguably the best player in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In May, following their first round elimination, BriseBois opened exit interviews expressing his desire to sign Stamkos before he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“You all saw how, from the trade deadline on, Stammer elevated his level of play, which was incredible to see. For someone who has already earned his Hall of Fame plaque, has accomplished so much already, and has been accomplishing so much for so long, for him to play arguably the best two months of hockey of his career — it started around the trade deadline, and he carried it all the way through that series against the Panthers — for him to do that, at the time when our team needed it most, was incredible.”

“We strive for excellence with humility. Steven Stamkos has always represented excellence with humility & never more so than these past few months. The aim is for him to continue to play on a contending Tampa Bay Lightning team going forward.”

So what went wrong?

Although not confirmed, there are reports circulating that the Lightning offered the captain around $3 million or so over eight years. The reporting also states that Newport Sports, the agency that represents Stamkos, would likely be looking for something closer to $4 million to $5 million per year depending on how long the term is.

Stamkos has proven his ability to continue playing at a high level, recording his seventh 40-goal season in 2023-24. He was undoubtably the Lightning’s best player in the first round of the playoffs, scoring five goals. He's the third player in franchise history to reach 100 postseason points.

Cap Friendly is now projecting that as of today, the Lightning have $16.5 million in available cap space. There was assumtption that the increased cap space was there to carve out a new contract for the long term captain, but that wasn't the case.

Stamkos remains the Lightning’s career leader in points (1,137) and goals (555), a seven-time All-Star and a two-time winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.