With the Tampa Bay season being cut short in the Eastern Conference Finals the Lightning now must answer the questions of who will be returning to the team. The storylines have been apparent for months now.

Jonathan Drouin

Before the trade deadline Jonathan Drouin was sent back down to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. He failed to report for the games and was suspended without pay indefinitely until further notice. Following his stunts in the AHL his agent, Allan Walsh, released a statement saying that Drouin would like to be traded from the team. Drouin was drafted by the Lightning with the 3rd pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In his three day conditioning stint with the Syracuse Crunch before being called up, Drouin record a goal and two assists, with a +4 rating. In his NHL debut Drouin recorded the game winning assist to Valtteri Filppula in a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. His first goal would be on October 24th 2014 against the Winnipeg Jets. It would be Drouin’s first multiple point NHL game as well as his first NHL goal and it only took him three games to complete.

Drouin was apart of the Stanley Cup run last year but only played in six games. In those six games he recorded six shots and tallied two penalty minutes. In 2016 he was more of a threat, filling the absence of Steven Stamkos who had surgery for a blood clot in his shoulder. Drouin recorded five goals and nine assists, with one of his goals coming on the Power Play and one being a Game Winner.

Drouin spoke about his future with the Lightning in his exit interview saying, “I definitely want to be in Tampa.” His postseason accolades did not go unnoticed as Jon Cooper said, “His journey to the playoffs this year has been well-documented. You can’t ask much more than he’s given us.”

General Manager Steve Yzerman as spoke on Drouin stating, “He’s obviously skilled. He played hard, he competed hard [in the playoffs]. He makes us a better team.” With the summer upcoming there will have to be a sit down with Drouin about staying in Tampa. He has proved to the fans, teammates, coaches, and upper management that he is willing to be apart of something great.

Steven Stamkos

The 26 year old Steven Stamkos has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2008 when he was drafted number one overall. Stamkos was apart of the 2008 Canadian World Junior Championships where he took home Gold. In 2009, he won Silver in the World Championships with Team Canada.

On October 12th 2015 against the Boston Bruins, Stamkos recorded his 500th NHL point joining Martin St. Louis (953) and Vincent Lecavalier (874) as the only other Lightning players to do so. On February 20th 2016 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Stamkos scored his 300th NHL goal joining the same two players Vincent Lecavalier (383) and Martin St. Louis (365).

Stamkos has expressed his interest to stay with Tampa Bay. Discussions have been kept private and Stamkos and the franchise would like to keep it that way for now. He also expressed that he understands that in the Salary Cap Era it is hard to keep a key group of players like Tampa has together for a long time.

Stamkos has played in 569 NHL games in his career, scoring 312 goals, and accumulating 250 assists during the regular season. In the postseason Stammer has played 49 games, scoring 15 goals, and accounting for 20 assists.

We want to see what you think about these players. Do you think they will stay? Comment below and tell us.

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