Stamkos speaks: Lightning captain discusses leaving money on the table, loyalty and sleepless nights considering Toronto homecoming

Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning centreman Steve Stamkos addressed the media on Thursday following his decision on Wednesday to prematurely end any speculation and re-sign with the club that drafted and developed him for eight years.

Stamkos, the NHL’s single best sniper, declined to discuss specifics about his meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs or any other teams. He told the media that he realizes he left money on the table, but felt it was worth it to “follow his heart” and remain with a club that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup (or two) with the group that Steve Yzerman assembled. Stamkos also admitted that the thought of a hero’s welcome in the six was a tantalizing prospect that kept him up at night.

Before we get into the key tidbits from Stamkos’ conference call, let’s note that PIerre LeBrun reported on Wednesday evening that Stamkos did, in fact, meet with the Maple Leafs. He also heard pitches from the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens and a mystery fourth team, before deciding to re-sign with Tampa Bay and cancel a scheduled meeting with the Detroit Red Wings. 

In his latest 30 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman makes an educated guess that the San Jose Sharks were the mystery team scheduled to pitch Stamkos. Can you imagine that power-play with Joe Thornton working the right-side half wall and passing the puck to Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Stamkos (all right-handed shots)? That would’ve been ridiculous…

Anyway back to Stamkos, who addressed the near certainty that he left a substantial sum of total money on the table – at least in terms of raw contract value – so as to stay with the Lightning. His answers were admirable in the extreme:

We wrote at length about the Maple Leafs could learn from Tampa Bay’s crisis management masterclass yesterday, but neglected to mention a key point that Friedman touched on in his 30 Thoughts column and that Stamkos obliquely brought up himself on Thursday. Not only did the Lightning hold firm and get Stamkos signed at a reasonable amount, but they’ve effectively set an internal cap structure and now employ an enormously influential spokesman who has walked the walk and taken less to keep the club together. 

That’s a useful internal role model to have, particularly with Nikita Kucherov requiring a new contract this summer and Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat up after this coming season. 

And Stamkos wasn’t shy about stepping into that role during his re-signing availability on Thursday:

As for the Leafs, as you might expect, a variety of Toronto-based reporters were on the conference call and did their best to get Stamkos to discuss his meeting with the club. The superstar forward didn’t bite. 

He did, however, discuss the lure of Toronto as a city – the city of his birth (well Markham, but same difference) – and whether or not the prospect of returning to the 6ix as an unrestricted free agent was a tantalizing one. Stamkos admitted that he thought about it, but honestly, from the tweets shared on this subject, it sort of seems like it stressed him out:

Indeed, Stamkos suggested the whole process wasn’t necessarily a pleasant one, which perhaps partially explains why he cut the courting period short and instructed his representatives to get a deal done with the Lightning:

Even as Stamkos wasn’t sharing details about his meeting with the Maple Leafs, mayor John Tory was a bit more specific. He suggested that the bulk of his pitch was chapeau based, which, come on man.

While Yzerman was offering a chance to win a Stanley Cup (or two) with an elite young core, the mayor of Toronto was countering with a flat brim?