After the Tampa Bay Lightning were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by losing to the Florida Panthers, the attention quickly turned to whether or not Steven Stamkos will re-sign with the team this offseason as he heads into free agency, and general manager Julien BriseBois said he was “very hopeful” to get him signed, saying “We want him part of this” and that he briefly talked with Stamkos’ agent after the season.
“I briefly met with Stammer when we landed after Game 5,” Julien BriseBois said, via Joe Smith of The Athletic. “I spoke with his agent yesterday … it is obviously a priority to see if we can get this done.”
Steven Stamkos was still a valuable player for the Lightning this season, he put up 40 goals with 41 assists for 81 points in 79 games in the 2023-2024 season, according to Hockey Reference. He has been with the Lightning for 16 years, and although he did hit free agency before, and was heavily linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs before returning. It would still be weird to see Stamkos take the ice for any other team. This was always going to be an interesting situation for the Lightning, and now we are here and it has to be addressed.
It seems like there is mutual interest between Stamkos and the Lightning to figure out a way to stay. But that does not mean that there are not other tasks for BriseBois and the Lightning front office this offseason.
What else do the Lightning need to do this offseason?
Another interesting situation is defenseman Victor Hedman, who is heading into a contract year next season as well. He is in the back half of his career, but still a valued member of the Lightning. It would likely be wise for BriseBois to figure out an extension this offseason, and he commented on that possibility.
“I talked to his agent yesterday, just very preliminary,” BriseBois said, via Chris Krenn. “We’re going to circle back once we have time to debrief here. But, obviously, we’d love to keep Victor going forward. He’s an elite defenseman. He’s one of those special, all-time players and all-time great Tampa Bay Lightning and Bolt. He’s still super productive and I have no reason to believe that’s not going to be the case going forward. We have a better understanding of where the cap is, at least now and next year. There is a new CBS that’s going to come in at some point. There are rumors of expansion drafts. We’re trying to factor all that in, but the plan would be to keep Victor going forward, obviously.”
It will certainly be an interesting summer for the Lightning as they try to keep their core of veterans intact.
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