Steven Stamkos was the recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award Monday night in Nashville for his role with the Lightning both on and off the ice.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was the 2022-23 the recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award last night in Nashville ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft. The award is presented “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Stamkos has been the face of the Lightning franchise since arriving in Tampa after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. Since 2009, he’s led his team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships, made four total appearances in the Stanley Cup Final and has a League-best 97 playoff wins.
He credits his leadership style to being a part of who he is but says it's also evolved over his years with the team. He's intentional about how he carries himself.
"You've got to have that personality I think, or that want or need to be someone that people can look up to in any type of situation really, it doesn't have to be adversity. Just whether it's at the rink talking about life in general or hockey, but certainly I've had some amazing teammates over the past," said Stamkos.
"I got to Tampa as an 18-year old kid and had Marty and Vinny there to show me the ropes and then played with a plethora of captains and assistant captains over the past 15 years who have rubbed off on me in certain situations. As you mature as a player and as a person, you know, you notice things that you've done well and things that you can improve on in leadership categories. And I've just tried to improve on that as I've gone on."
For Stamkos, it’s never just been about what happens on the ice. The Lightning captain takes his role as a community leader seriously. He can be seen throughout the city of Tampa on any given day.
When presenting the award, Mark Messier credited Stamkos' unwavering support for the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMCH) of Tampa Bay for more than a decade. Over the years, he's donated hundreds of thousands of dollars via the Lightning’s player ticket initiative to enable families to attend Lightning home games at Amalie Arena.
He generated an additional $185,500 for RMCH through the Kane’s goals and assists program, which awards money based on on-ice production.
“I've seen the list of past winners to be included and I’m just very proud of everything we've been able to accomplish in Tampa,” said Stamkos.
Stamkos and his wife, Sandra asked guests at their wedding to donate to the Ronald McDonald Houses in both Tampa and Toronto in lieu of giving them gifts. The pair also spearheaded the Lightning’s “Barks and Bolts” pet calendar, which raised $50,000 for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
“I've been keeping it under wraps for a little bit,” Stamkos said of when he found out he'd be receiving the award.
“Mark, I know he spends a lot of time, trying to do the rounds to see who's going to be selected for this award. So that means a lot to me that he chose me. I’m very honored to have that.”