Steven Stamkos’ agent: “He will be a free agent on July 1”
It looks like Steven Stamkos will finally be hitting the open market.
Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan informed Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic on Friday that the Tampa Bay Lightning center will be a free agent on July 1st, unless something changes from the Lightning and general manager Julien BriseBois’ position.
From Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan, who tells me regarding his client:
“He will be a free agent on July 1.”
So would appear Stamkos is going to market Monday unless something changes in Tampa’s position. Will have more in a piece today in @TheAthletic https://t.co/J7jeTeRFOf
BriseBois then confirmed on Saturday after the draft that the two sides weren’t able to reach an agreement on an extension, and Stamkos will be a free agent on Monday.
Julien BriseBois confirmed Steven Stamkos and the @TBLightning weren’t able to agreed on an extension and he’ll hit the market on Monday.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 29, 2024Stamkos is a pending unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his eight-year contract with an $8.5 million contract. While it seemed like an obvious decision to re-sign the Lightning captain, both Stamkos and the Bolts had struggled to come to an agreement all season. Even after Tampa had traded away defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and winger Tanner Jeannot to clear cap space, it appears that the effort was not to get Stamkos re-signed.
“As we stand here right now, we haven’t been able to reach an agreement yet,” said BriseBois on a Zoom call on Friday morning ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft. “I don’t know if we will be able to reach an agreement but we met with Steven’s agent again yesterday and both sides are still interested in getting a deal done but we have not been able to agree to terms that are satisfactory for both sides. I think, at this time, it’s probably best if I leave my comments to that for the time being.”
Stamkos has come close to hitting the UFA market in his career before, nearly walking to free agency in the 2016 offseason. He had notably talked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres during the interview before re-signing with the Lightning to his current eight-year deal just two days before free agency.
Stamkos had another excellent season with the Lightning in 2023-24, with 40 goals and 41 assists for 81 points in 79 games. It was on par with how he’s produced over the course of his career, but at 34, any concerns the Lightning likely had were due to when that production would start to decline from age.
Stamkos was the Lightning’s first-overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft, making his debut the following season before spending 16 seasons with Tampa Bay, including 10 as the captain of the team. Over the course of his career with the Lightning, he won two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, and captured two Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies in 2010 and 2012. Should this be the end to Stamkos’ time with the Lightning, he leaves the team as the franchise leader in games played with 1,082, goals with 555, and points with 1,137 among many others.