Steven Stamkos doesn't like what he sees upon perusing the NHL standings.

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain, who helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Final last season, sees his team sitting outside the playoff picture with only game to go before hitting the halfway point of the season.

After practice Thursday in Edmonton, Stamkos spoke to the media, deflecting attention from his contract status and a trade request made by Jonathan Drouin, and putting the onus squarely on the team's performance as a whole.

"The off-ice stuff really hasn't really crept into the room so I'd say that's a non-issue. It's just been our on-ice performance that's been troubling," he said to the assembled scrum of reporters. "The consistency's not there. We've got to look ourselves in the mirror and realize the position that we're in at the halfway point of the season, how unacceptable it is for this particular group."

Stamkos added that he hopes the group of assembled talent in Tampa Bay can demonstrate to general manager Steve Yzerman that they're capable of challenging for the Cup once again.

"We have no control over (trades), other than the fact that we want to be buyers at the deadline," he said. "I think every team wants that. You want to add a piece because you want to be in the mix, which we were able to do last year and previous years when we were in the playoffs.

"You don't think about that stuff obviously until it gets a little closer, but you want to be in a position where management can say, 'Hey, we got a chance this year if maybe we add a piece.' So we want to be in that position."

Stamkos is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.