Lightning believe Steven Stamkos will be ready for 2020-21 season

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 10/1/20

Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos missed 24 of 25 playoff games during the team's Stanley Cup title run, but general manager Julien BriseBois told reporters on Wednesday that the 30-year-old center should be good to go whenever the 2020-21 season starts.

Per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, Stamkos suffered a compensatory injury while rehabilitating from the sports hernia surgery he underwent on March 2.

"As it happens sometimes with injuries, and particularly with this injury, sometimes your body compensates," BriseBois explained. "It eventually triggered what we believe is a compensation injury that has developed into — or turned out to be — related to this injury."

"We fully expect him to be ready for next season," BriseBois added.

Stamkos played in only 2 minutes and 47 seconds of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars and scored on his lone shot of the postseason. He left the game because of what was described as a lower-body injury and didn't play again.

Despite his absences, Stamkos was the first Tampa Bay player to receive the Stanley Cup following the team's Game 6 win.

The NHL announced last week that clubs can open in-market training facilities on Oct. 15 for voluntary workouts. There's no set date for the start of the new campaign, but it's believed games might not begin until January.

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