Steven Stamkos is upset with Lightning!

Training camps are here and it allowed media to get in touch with star players ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. When Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos faced reporters, many questions were asked about his feeling to be heading into the season with an expiring contract.

The 33-year-old star forward is set to play out the last of an eight-year, $68 million deal with a cap hit of $8.5 million. He could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2024. And he is upset about the lack of negotiations…

“To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,” Stamkos said. “It was something that I expressed at the end of last year, that I wanted to get something done before training camp started.

“There haven’t been any conversations.”

The Lightning was however busy with contract additions this summer, signing forward Brandon Hagel to an eight-year, $52 million extension in the off-season, raising Tampa Bay’s committed salary total for the 2024-25 season to just over $75 million with 16 players signed.

Stamkos has played his entire career in a Bolts’ uniform, signing his current deal just ahead of hitting free agency in 2016. He had been highly coveted as a potential free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs, among other teams, showing interest in the superstar.

The good news when it comes to hashing out a new deal is that Stamkos claims he is willing to negotiate a new contract during the season.

“I’m ready whenever. I guess that was something that I didn’t see coming, but it is what it is.”

“I would love to extend and play here and finish up my career here but that’s out of my hands,” he added. “I can’t write a contract for myself.”

In 2022-23, Stamkos put up 34 goals and 84 points in 81 games, adding two goals and four points during the Lightning’s six-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the postseason. He’s recorded a total of 515 goals and 1,056 points in his 1,003-game career, all in Tampa and is clearly hoping to retire on that same team.

But for that, he needs a new contract.

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