The Start Of The NHL Season Looms, Steven Stamkos Still Waiting For A Contract Extension

By Jordan Long

The Tampa Bay Lightning start the regular season on October 10th when they host Nashville. Tampa Bay is looking to earn a playoff spot for the 7th time in a row.  They want to go past the first round this year.  There is one player still looking for a contract extension, Steven Stamkos.

            Stamkos has been with Tampa Bay his whole career which goes back to the 2008-2009 season.  Since then, he has become one of their best scorers.  In 13 of his 15 seasons, Stamkos broke the 20-goal mark.  His top season was in 2012 when he scored 60 goals.

            Heading into this season, Stamkos scored 515 goals and added 541 assists for a career total of 1,056 points.  All of these stats are the most in Tampa Bay’s franchise history.  Stamkos will also surpass Vincent Lecavalier’s mark for most games played this season.  Lecavalier played in a total of 1,037 games for Tampa Bay.  Stamkos’ total is 1,003, meaning he needs to play 34 games to tie the mark and 35 to break it.  Assuming Stamkos is healthy, he will become the franchise leader in games played on December 23rd when Tampa Bay travels to Washington.

            Stamkos is also in the last year of his contract.  He is scheduled to hit free agency next summer.  Stamkos wants to stay with Tampa Bay but is frustrated they have yet to talk about a new deal.  According to ESPN.com Stamkos said, “To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. 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. I’m ready whenever. I guess that was something that I didn’t see coming. But it is what it is.”

            Stamkos is 33 years old and will turn 34 on February 7^th.  There are still a few years left for him to play.  Tampa Bay is waiting for some reason to talk to him.  It could be they are waiting to see what kind of season he will have.  Last year Stamkos scored 34 goals while adding 50 assists for 84 points.  If he has that same production, then he should get a new deal.  A new contract could also be negotiated before free agency.  There is still time to work something out. Stamkos should focus on being the best player possible and not his contract situation.