

Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning centreman Steve Stamkos addressed the media on Thursday following his decision on Wednesday to prematurely end any speculation and re-sign with the club that drafted and developed him for eight years.

Stamkos, the NHL’s single best sniper, declined to discuss specifics about his meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs or any other teams. He told the media that he realizes he left money on the table, but felt it was worth it to “follow his heart” and remain with a club that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup (or two) with the group that Steve Yzerman assembled. Stamkos also admitted that the thought of a hero’s welcome in the six was a tantalizing prospect that kept him up at night.

Before we get into the key tidbits from Stamkos’ conference call, let’s note that PIerre LeBrun reported on Wednesday evening that Stamkos did, in fact, meet with the Maple Leafs. He also heard pitches from the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens and a mystery fourth team, before deciding to re-sign with Tampa Bay and cancel a scheduled meeting with the Detroit Red Wings.

In his latest 30 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman makes an educated guess that the San Jose Sharks were the mystery team scheduled to pitch Stamkos. Can you imagine that power-play with Joe Thornton working the right-side half wall and passing the puck to Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Stamkos (all right-handed shots)? That would’ve been ridiculous…

Anyway back to Stamkos, who addressed the near certainty that he left a substantial sum of total money on the table – at least in terms of raw contract value – so as to stay with the Lightning. His answers were admirable in the extreme:

I asked Stamkos on the media call about leaving more money on the table from other teams: “For me that’s not what it’s all about.” — Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) June 30, 2016

#tblightning Stamkos: “It was just following your heart and being loyal to the organization that brought me up.” — Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 30, 2016

We wrote at length about the Maple Leafs could learn from Tampa Bay’s crisis management masterclass yesterday, but neglected to mention a key point that Friedman touched on in his 30 Thoughts column and that Stamkos obliquely brought up himself on Thursday. Not only did the Lightning hold firm and get Stamkos signed at a reasonable amount, but they’ve effectively set an internal cap structure and now employ an enormously influential spokesman who has walked the walk and taken less to keep the club together.

That’s a useful internal role model to have, particularly with Nikita Kucherov requiring a new contract this summer and Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat up after this coming season.

And Stamkos wasn’t shy about stepping into that role during his re-signing availability on Thursday:

Stamkos: “If we want to stay to together, there’s going to be sacrifices for both sides. I believe the core we have understands that.” — Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 30, 2016

As for the Leafs, as you might expect, a variety of Toronto-based reporters were on the conference call and did their best to get Stamkos to discuss his meeting with the club. The superstar forward didn’t bite.

Stamkos not going into details of negotiations with Lightning or how talks w/Toronto went with respect to parties involved #TBLightning — Brooks Roland (@BrooksRoland82) June 30, 2016

He did, however, discuss the lure of Toronto as a city – the city of his birth (well Markham, but same difference) – and whether or not the prospect of returning to the 6ix as an unrestricted free agent was a tantalizing one. Stamkos admitted that he thought about it, but honestly, from the tweets shared on this subject, it sort of seems like it stressed him out:

Stamkos asked by Toronto Sun reporter if he thought about being a Hometown Hero: “That thought floats through your head” — **620 WDAE** (@620wdae) June 30, 2016

Stamkos chuckles when asked if he ever imagined what it would be like to be a “hometown hero” in Toronto. Says there was sleepless nights. — Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 30, 2016

Indeed, Stamkos suggested the whole process wasn’t necessarily a pleasant one, which perhaps partially explains why he cut the courting period short and instructed his representatives to get a deal done with the Lightning:

Stamkos: “It was a very tough decision, it truly was. I can’t say this past week has been fun. It was pretty stressful to be honest.” — Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 30, 2016

Even as Stamkos wasn’t sharing details about his meeting with the Maple Leafs, mayor John Tory was a bit more specific. He suggested that the bulk of his pitch was chapeau based, which, come on man.

I also chatted with mayor about mtg with Stamkos. Says he gave him a “Home is Toronto” hat, told him city would be happy if he came. — Jeff Gray (@jeffreybgray) June 30, 2016

While Yzerman was offering a chance to win a Stanley Cup (or two) with an elite young core, the mayor of Toronto was countering with a flat brim?





