Blows keep coming to Steven Stamkos in Tampa despite 4-goal game last night!

The 2023-24 season started off on the wrong foot for Steven Stamkos and it does not look to be getting any better. Ever since the captain expressed his disappointment in the Tampa Bay Lightning not negotiating a contract extension with him this summer, there has been no sign that the situation will get resolve any time soon.

Weeks ago, GM Julien BriseBois pointed out how he would not negotiate a contract with Stamkos during the season, abd it was even mentioned that the team wouldn’t be devastated to lose its captain as Stammer could be a free agent comes July 2024.

Fans have been wanting to see if both sides could come to an agreement, but the update provided by Pierre LeBrun on last night’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN was not encouraging:

“It’s status quo, and I get it. Sometimes with the New Year approaching you wonder if teams will revisit that type of situation. Julien BriseBois was very clear before the season, he’s on-record, they’re not going to talk contract with their captain until after the season. They were clear about that with Steven Stamkos, and there is no reason to believe that that will change.”

Stamkos is currently in the final season of his eight-year contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $8.5 million as well as a full no-movement clause. He has spent his entire career in a Lightning’s uniform and it just feels so brutal from the team to treat him this way.

It’s been well-known across the league that Stamkos would love to retire a Lightning, but BriseBois’s wait-to-reward approach might push him out, even onto the trade market closer to the deadline. In the past, rumours have linked the Bolts’ captain to different clubs that could come calling, including the Boston Bruins. Let’s not also forget how the Toronto Maple Leafs were heavily involved in trying to acquire Stamkos once he became a free agent in the summer of 2016.

BriseBois is willing to wait this out until the offseason, however Tampa already has committed more than $75 million to 2024-25’s salary cap. All these blows are adding up for the poor Stamkos.

In 28 games this season, Stamkos, who recorded four tallies in the Bolts’ 7-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers last night, has put up 14 goals and 30 points and would be a great boost up front to any contender out there.

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