Stamkos pens goodbye to Lightning: 'I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t heartbreaking'
Published
Former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos penned a goodbye letter to the organization and its fans Monday in The Players' Tribune.
Stamkos signed a four-year, $32 million deal with the Nashville Predators on July 1 after repeatedly expressing his desire to re-sign with the Lightning.
Tampa Bay, however, went a different direction in free agency, acquiring winger Jake Guentzel's rights from the Carolina Hurricanes and signing him to a seven-year, $63 million contract.
"These past few weeks have been bittersweet," Stamkos wrote in his open letter. "I never thought this day would come. I did everything I felt I could do to make it work, but sometimes things just happen. It didn’t work. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t heartbreaking. But my family and I, we’re human, you know? Tampa is home. It’s where our three kids were born … it’s where our memories are. It’s always going to mean so much to us.
"At the same time, though, it doesn’t mean we can’t be excited for the future. Because we really are — I’m fired up just thinking about the start of the season in Smashville. Preds fans, we’ll talk soon.
In his letter, Stamkos also spoke on early days with the Lightning after being drafted first overall in 2008, re-signing with the Lightning in 2016 and winning two Stanley Cups with the team. He addressed leaving the team during the 2020 playoffs in the bubble as he and his wife, Sandra, lost their child.
"It’s one of those times in my life where I was thankful for everyone we had around us," he wrote. "The support from our loved ones, our friends, the Lightning organization. It saved us.
"And when the time came to return to the Bubble, my mind was still all over the place. Trying to focus on rehabbing and hockey — it was hard. We had gotten to the finals and everybody was giving everything they had. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team. I just wanted to be a part of it."
Stamkos returned for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars, but suffered an injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the series. The Lightning won the series in Game 6, with commissioner Gary Bettman handing the Stanley Cup to Stamkos in Edmonton.
The 34-year-old forward holds the Lightning franchise records with 555 goals, 1,137 points, and 1,082 games played during his tenure with the team. He posted 40 goals and 81 points in 79 games last season, adding five goals and an assist in the first-round of the playoffs, in what proved to be his final playoff series with the team.