Tampa Bay Lightning Setting Limit In Contract Talks With Steven Stamkos
In 77 games played last season, Stamkos recorded 36 goals, 28 assists with a plus minus of plus 3. Stamkos played a huge role in the Lighting success last season; producing good numbers and helping out on the power play before he suffered a broken tibia making him miss a handful of games.
Despite missing a good amount of games in the regular season, Stamkos came back in the playoffs playing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals only to lose 2-1 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
This could be good and bad for the Lightning; the good part about this is that the team is not going to break the bank with Stamkos in an attempt to resign him to a multi-year contract. The bad part about this is, with the team not wanting to give Stamkos the money he wants there is a good chance that he will be getting this type of money in the free agency market and not resigning with the team.
The team does have players that can replace Stamkos in the lineup like Nikita Kucherov and Jonathan Drouin, so the team will still have a solid core in place if Stamkos does decide to sign somewhere else.
On the Stamkos side of things, both sides are having a hard time getting a deal done so it is just a waiting game for him. He will be getting the big money deal either it is from a team in free agency or the Lightning. With him wanting a lot of money, he will have to produce like he deserves to get paid like a superstar. Stamkos has the talent to get a big contract; it is just a matter of time before he gets the deal that he has been wanting.
