Steven Stamkos could Possibly Leave The Tampa Bay Lightning After This Season
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been synonymous with Steven Stamkos for the past 15 seasons, but now, it appears there's a major possibility that the captain plays elsewhere.
Steven Stamkos could leave Tampa Bay as a free agent
This past summer, a shocking report revealed that Steven Stamkos could be leaving Tampa Bay, as the team didn't offer him a contract despite being an Unrestricted Free Agent this coming summer.
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This led to speculation that the long-time captain of the team could be on the way out, and now, without any contract talks, it appears that speculation is growing louder and louder.
A 15-year run could be coming to an end
Beyond Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar and a few others, it's rare to see a player play for just one team throughout their career now, and according to Sportsnet's Erik Erlendsson, it's a real possibility that he ends up elsewhere.
«Well, until he signs a new contract that chance is certainly always there. And I think that's what has a lot of fans here a little skittish about because the longer this goes on and Julian Brisebois, the GM comes out that he's going to wait until the end of the season when he has more information. We assume salary cap, you know, what's that going to look like and where can Steven fit in?
But it is very hard for me to fathom a guy who has meant as much to this community, to this franchise, the face of the franchise since before he was drafted with that whole �Seen Stamkos' marketing campaign, you know, ahead of the draft in June of 2008. It is hard for me to fathom him wearing another jersey.
It's very rare in today's game that one player stays with the same organization for their entire career. Just not a whole lot of Steve Yzerman�s and Joe Sakic�s still out there, especially with the salary cap era.
I would like to think the optimist in me thinks that this will get done at some point and Steven Stamkos will remain here, but until he signs a new contract, that possibility is going to kind of hang over, you know, the team up until the moment he either re-signs or ends up somewhere else."
But it is very hard for me to fathom a guy who has meant as much to this community, to this franchise, the face of the franchise since before he was drafted with that whole �Seen Stamkos' marketing campaign, you know, ahead of the draft in June of 2008. It is hard for me to fathom him wearing another jersey.
It's very rare in today's game that one player stays with the same organization for their entire career. Just not a whole lot of Steve Yzerman�s and Joe Sakic�s still out there, especially with the salary cap era.
I would like to think the optimist in me thinks that this will get done at some point and Steven Stamkos will remain here, but until he signs a new contract, that possibility is going to kind of hang over, you know, the team up until the moment he either re-signs or ends up somewhere else."
With the likes of Kucherov, Vasilevsky, Point, Hedman, Sergachev and others all locked in, the Lightning are in a salary cap pinch, so this will be an interesting story to keep an eye on as this season rolls on.
As Read on NHL Rumors - NHL Rumors: Could Steven Stamkos end up somewhere other than Tampa next year?
| POLL | ||
16 NOVEMBRE | 365 ANSWERS Steven Stamkos could Possibly Leave The Tampa Bay Lightning After This Season Will Stamkos leave the Lightning as a free agent? | ||
| Yes | 185 | 50.7 % |
| No | 180 | 49.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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