ESTERO, Fla. Life at the top in the NHL can be a precarious dance. A star forever tries to move forward, to shake the fingers eager to drag him down.
His existence is a swift, high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Grow and evolve, and he has claws. Become complacent and stagnate, and he scurries to adapt.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, the leagues reigning goal-scoring champion, knows a career on the ice exists within this cliffhanger. Breakout seasons, in time, lead to curiosity about what will follow. Theres always another chapter to be written. Theres always another plot twist with each puck drop, with each test of a players evolution.
Questions facing Stamkos are simple, yet fascinating in this uncommon winter. The answers will go far in determining the Lightnings success after their stars career year: Will his sequel satisfy? Or will the Second Act fall flat?
Youre always looking to improve, said Stamkos on Thursday, shortly after the Lightning closed their final trai...
