Steven Stamkos was the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise. Until, suddenly, he wasn't. The 34-year-old forward played all 16 years of his NHL career with the team that drafted him first overall in 2008. He was their captain, all-time leading scorer and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. But for more than a year, the sides couldn't see eye to eye on dollars. “When I didn't get approached to sign an extension last summer, that caught me by surprise and it was something that I expressed at training camp," Stamkos said. "Certainly that was probably the start of it, the start of the writing on the wall." The Lightning had reportedly offered Stamkos an eight-year contract with an AAV of $3-3.5 million before free agency opened on Monday, while Stamkos was looking for north of $4.5 million per year. He was willing to take a pay cut to stay in Tampa, but he knew his worth and would not accept an offer that he felt disrespected his years of service and accomplishments with the organization. “If you ask Tampa, maybe the door was closed a little sooner than if you asked me," Stamkos said. "When you're going through a situation like that, and I've never been through a situation like that.. You always think that something's going to work out." But something didn't work out, forcing Stamkos to make the bittersweet decision to walk away from the only NHL home he's ever known. "I’m not going to lie; it was difficult. I mean, when you’ve been in one organization your whole career, as lucky as I’ve been to be in Tampa for 16 years, by no means did I ever envision that a day like today would happen. But it did." Stamkos didn't feel that the Lightning were as committed to keeping him as he was to staying. Still, he says, there's no bad blood; it's a business, after all. "The toughest part is trying to hang on to something that maybe isn't trying to hang on to you," he said. "But the memories of Tampa will trump whatever ill will or feelings I’ve had throughout this process, because those are temporary; those are emotional decisions. As time passes, those usually go away." Fortunately, when Stamkos hit the free-agent market, general manager Barry Trotz and the Nashville Predators were there waiting for him with open arms – and a four-year, $32 million contract. “I don’t want to take away from the excitement that we have for coming to Nashville, but it was certainly a tough kind of pill to swallow when it really started to materialize that it wasn’t going to work in Tampa," Stamkos said. "You’re sad it didn’t work out maybe the way you wanted to, but a new chapter is opening up in my family’s life, and that’s something we’re excited about... I couldn't be more excited to join the Predators. It's truly been a whirlwind over the last few days." Stamkos scored 40 goals for the Lightning last season and is one of the top power-play forwards in the NHL. In 1,082 career games, he has 555 goals, which is third-most among active players. Stamkos won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy — given annually to the league's top goal scorer — in 2010 and 2012. He has scored 30 or more goals in nine seasons, and 40 or more goals in seven seasons. Steven Stamkos speaks to the media after agreeing to a four-year, $32 million contract with the Nashville Predators. "I've been on championship winning teams in the past," Stamkos said. "There's always a mix of really good goaltending, elite defensemen and then some elite forwards. Nashville checked those boxes, so naturally I saw a fit here." Now, Stamkos brings his leadership and scoring prowess to Nashville, where he will help the Predators chase their first-ever Stanley Cup. "We want to be as competitive as we can and we want guys that want to win," Trotz said of the signing. "And we got that here."
