If it was possible to pull off a happy homecoming without actually ever leaving, Steven Stamkos did just that.
Even when it appeared Stamkos had one foot out the door with the trailing foot holding just a toe inside the doorway just as the door was inches away from closing, he never took that step outside.
It only felt like it was going that direction.
But at the 10th hour and after meeting with a few teams during the window to speak to free agents, Stamkos took it all in and stood true to his word that no matter what decision he was going to make, he wasn’t chasing a contract.
Instead he’s chasing a legacy.
“I grew up a kid there and this team is on the verge of hopefully competing for Stanley Cups for years to come,’’ Stamkos said during a conference call. “Staying here in Tampa and being the leader of that team, I felt in my heart that was always the place that I wanted to stay.’’
Stamkos wants to win. He wants to lead his team to a championship. After listening to the pitch of less than a half-dozen teams – Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo among them – Stamkos knew his best chance at building that legacy was going to come at home – no, not that home – in Tampa Bay where he’s grown from an 18-year-old kid in to a 26-year-old leader.
He committed to the Lightning for eight years at a team salary cap figure of $8.5 million per year, about $1.5-3 million less per year than he might have received in the open market.
“If I didn’t want to be in Tampa, I wouldn’t be in Tampa,’’ Stamkos said. “The only reason why I re-signed there is because I love it there. The organization has been nothing but first class to my family and I over the first eight years of my career and the potential to win is there. Those are things that for me make the difference in wanting to be here, so I’m really excited about the decision that I made.’’
Needless to say it’s a banner day for the franchise.
Being able to convince one of the most popular players in franchise history, one of the biggest superstars in the game, that taking less to stay sends a strong message all around – to the fans, to the franchise, to the city, to management and more importantly to his teammates, even if that was not what he set out to accomplish in accepting this deal.
“I can’t sit here and say that my intention was to send a message,’’ Stamkos said. “I just felt in my eyes that this was something that worked for both parties involved. If that is going to help us keep some guys around, that’s great. I truly believe that we have nucleus of guys here in Tampa that can ultimately win the Stanley Cup.”
“I can’t sit here and judge someone on the fact that they took more money to be happy. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, is that you are happy with your decision and you can go to work and work hard and enjoy it. But at the same time guys on our team and in our organization realize the potential we have and that’s all you can really hope for is that they realize it, make their decision based on that.’’
When general manager Steve Yzerman addressed the media after the contract became official, even he was somewhat surprised to get the call from Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan saying that Stamkos wanted to come back.
“I wasn’t necessarily expecting the call. I was like OK, let’s make this work and my first thought, was I’ve got to get to work now,’’ Yzerman said.
Give credit to both sides in this whole process.
First of all, there was absolutely no negotiating through the media. Everything was kept close to the vest and almost nothing leaked outside the inner circle.
But more importantly for both sides being up front and honest with each other throughout the whole process. Stamkos said all along that he wanted to stay, how he enjoyed it in Tampa and wants to win with the Lightning and he proved that wasn’t just media lip service.
Yzerman, meanwhile, kept firm on the offer that was on the table all along at a cap value contract that was not going to handcuff the team too much.
“The contract has to make sense for both parties. It has to work for them it has to work for us. This could work for us,’’ Yzerman said. “We’ve got cap issues. We’re dealing with the salary cap, most teams are and we have to make decisions based on that and it can somewhat limit what we can offer players. In this situation, this is what we could do to make it work and again, we’re trying to surround Stammer with the best possible team that we can and he understood that.’’
Yzerman can appreciate what that decision must have been like for Stamkos, to sacrifice more financial security for the betterment of the team moving forward.
“He is an independent thinker and he can make a very difficult decision and mostly to me, (it shows) he really wants to win that’s his No. 1 priority,’’ Yzerman said “The fact that he wanted to stay with us, he believes in the organization, he loves the city. I was never in that position as a player but I have to think that’s a very difficult decision for a player to make.
“I don’t know what else was out there for him but I have no doubt there were very many good options for him and as he said all along, ‘I’d like to make it work in Tampa’ and when he left at the end of the season that’s what he told me and everyone in the media, that he’d like to make it work and win a Stanley Cup here.”
“He’s true to his word and we all know Stammer is a really good guy, a man of character and he made a very difficult decision and obviously we’re thrilled with the decision.’’
Stamkos expressed that many times during his nearly 30-minute conference call with the media, how pleased he was with his decision, which he came to through educating himself throughout the entire process.
“For me to realize the situation, I understood that I might have left some money out there, but that’s not what it’s all about,’’ Stamkos said. “It’s about going to an organization that I was most comfortable with and that gave me the best chance to win in my mind. It was a very tough decision. I can’t sit here and say that this past week has been fun. I’m sure everyone experiences different things when they go through free agency, but it was pretty stressful. So I’m glad it’s over with and I’m very happy with my decision and I’m looking forward to winning a lot in Tampa.’’
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