Some highlights from Lightning locker clean out day May 27, 2016, 10:15 PM ET [13 Comments] Erik Erlendsson

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I'll have more detailed stuff posted at some point tomorrow, but I wanted to pass along some of the highlights coming out of locker clean out day for the Lightning.



Roughly 12-plus hours after landing back home in Tampa, greeted by roughly 75-100 fans greeting the team upon landing, the Lightning returned to Amalie Arena. But instead of packing their luggage to head for San Jose to start the Stanley Cup Final, the team packed their bags to prepare and head home for the summer.



That meant meeting with the media one last time before the team parted ways.



So here are some highlights.



* Jonathan Drouin said he definitely wants to return next year. While he didn't distinctly say he was no longer seeking a trade, that's about as close to him stating he's no longer seeking a trade as we have seen throughout this whole process. In other words, he'll be back.



And one thing I found to be very interesting regarding Drouin, I specifically asked him if he sees himself as part of the core of this team moving forward, his answer - and I'm paraphrasing - was basically not yet. He said he feels there are still many aspects he needs to improve upon before he feels he's ready for that responsibility.



Sounds like the young man has matured quite a bit in the past five months.



*Steven Stamkos discussed what it meant for him to be able to get back in the lineup for Game 7 after missing so much time due to recovery from a blood clot issue. Though he downplayed the fact it might have been his final game in a Lightning jersey, his postmortem on the season sounded in some ways like a funeral for his run as Lightning captain.



There have been no talks between Stamkos and the Lightning since before the trade deadline, which in some ways was by design after general manager Steve Yzerman mentioned talks would bre put on hold until after the season. But that still seems like a long gap if there was any hope in finding a deal before Stamkos hits the free agent market on July 1.



Stamkos wants to stay, of this I have no doubt, but perhaps he's come to a realization he might not be back and this felt evident at one point when his voice went soft and quiet when discussing his future.



* Ben Biishop said he suffered a ligament strain around his ankle during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. When he heard a pop, he was fearful that he broke something, and with the thought of what happened to Stamkos back in 2013 when he broke his leg, tried to get up and made it worse, he did not want to get up on his skates and that's why he left on a stretcher.



Though he had show steady improvement, he was not quite ready to return and may not have been ready for Game 1 of the Final if Tampa Bay advanced, though Game 2 might have been a possibility. Bishop said if he was a skater, he would have been able to play, but because he still had issues getting up and down out of the butterfly position, he was hindered more than a skater.



* World Cup of Hockey rosters were finalized on Friday and two more Tampa Bay players were added to the tournament.



Ryan Callahan was named to Team USA where he will be reunited with John Tortorella, who was head coach for the New York Rangers when Callahan was named captain of the Rangers.



Drouin was named to the roster for Team North America - which is made up of 23-and-under players from Canada and the U.S. - where he will play for Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who will serve as an assistant coach for the team.



That brings the number of players from the current Lightning team that will participate in the tournament to 12, second most of any other team in the league behind only Chicago, which has 13 current players participating. The next closest team has eight players.



One notable omission from the Lightning is center Tyler Johnson, whom many figured might serve as one of the top two centers on the team. But injuries slowed him down during the regular season, which limited his production. His postseason play, however, seemed as if it might have clinched a spot, but the management staff for USA went in a different direction.