Steven Stamkos to Become NHL Free Agent amid Lightning Contract Talks, Agent Says | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Steven Stamkos will enter free agency Monday after 16 seasons and two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, his agent told TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Pierre LeBrun @PierreVLeBrunFrom Stamkos' agent Don Meehan, who tells me regarding his client: <br>"He will be a free agent on July 1."<br>So would appear Stamkos is going to market Monday unless something changes in Tampa's position. Will have more in a piece today in <a href="">@TheAthletic</a> <a href="">
Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois told reporters Friday that the Lightning had not been able to reach an agreement with Stamkos, although "both sides are still interested in getting a deal done," per team reporter Gabby Shirley.
Stamkos scored 40 goals in during the final year of his previous eight-year, $8.5 million-AAV contract last season. He leads all Lightning players with 555 career goals, 1,137 assists and 1,082 games played.
Stamkos, the No. 1 pick of the 2008 NHL Draft, was named captain of the Lightning at the end of the 2013-14 season.
He played an integral role in the Lightning's 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup wins, as well as the team's trips to the Finals in 2015 and 2022.
His slap shot has made one of the NHL's most potent shooters for over a decade while allowing the Lightning to consistently ice one of the most effective power plays in the league.
Stamkos is one of 81 NHL players in history to play more than 1,000 games with the same franchise, so his leaving the Lightning in free agency would come as a surprise.
But the Lightning captain's public frustration with his extension negotiations date back to before the 2023-24 season, when he said in September that Tampa Bay had yet to speak with him about his new contract.
"To be honest, I've been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard," Stamkos said during Lightning training camp in September, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "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."
At the time, BrisBoise said he needed "to see how this season plays out" before making a decision on Stamkos' contract, per Gulitti.
Stamkos said BriseBois first breached the topic with "a short conversation" after the Lightning was eliminated from the first round in five games by the eventual champion Florida Panthers in May, NHL.com's Corey Long reported.
The Lightning and Stamkos haven't been able to settle on a number since then, likely due to Tampa Bay's cap situation.
After re-acquiring defenseman Ryan McDonagh in May, the Lightning have just over $5.3 million in available cap space for the 2024-25 season, per CapFriendly.
Tampa Bay's cap will be further strained by the upcoming extension for blueliner Victor Hedman, which BriseBois said Friday would be announced "in the coming days," per Shirley.
If BriseBois is hoping Stamkos will ink a team-friendly deal in order to return to Tampa Bay, it looks like he's going to risk losing the long-tenured captain to another club willing to out-bid him for one of the most consistent scorers in the NHL.
