On July 1st, at noon Eastern, the hockey world was shocked as Lightning captain Steven Stamkos moved on from Tampa Bay to become a Nashville Predator, signing a 4-year contract worth up to $32 million and $8 million per year.

So how did it get to this point?

Let’s start in the year 2016, when Stamkos was a free agent, similar to this year. Back then, Stamkos was in the prime of his career at age 26, and many teams were interested. At that time, Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman was able to get the job done and keep him locked up on the Lightning for the foreseeable future as Stamkos signed a massive 8-year, $68 million contract. Fast forward to the start of this NHL season, where Stamkos was in the last year of his 8-year contract. Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois had no talks of a contract extension in the offseason, which led to an unhappy Stamkos starting the 2023 NHL season. 

Stamkos put the team first and the contract talks aside for the season to have no distractions from the ultimate goal of winning. Stamkos put together an impressive season at age 34, tallying up point-per-game numbers with 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games. There were no signs of slowing down in Stamkos’s game in the previous two seasons; he had 84 points, and his best season in point production was 106 points two years ago. He and Nikita Kucherov led the Lighting to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 7th consecutive year. However, they would come up short, losing to their in-state rival, the Florida Panthers, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup. After the loss, all the attention turned to Stamkos and what would happen in the off-season, as many wondered if Stamkos played his last game as a Lightning. 

The Lightning, being 3 years removed from winning their second Stanley Cup in back-to-back years, struggled to get back there after losing a Stanley Cup final in 2022 against the Colorado Avalanche and quickly exited the next two years, losing in the first round. It was clear Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois wanted to make significant changes while trying to hold onto the captain and franchise icon Steven Stamkos. 

Though at this stage, the relationship between Stamkos and Julien BriseBois could not have been positive. If BriseBois genuinely wanted to keep Stamkos, it would have been done a long time ago. BriseBois locked up many Tampa Bay players before taking care of Stamkos. In 2019, Nikita Kucherov signed an 8-year contract worth $76 million; in 2022, center Brayden Point also signed an 8-year contract worth up to $76 million; this year, Brandon Hagel signed an 8-year contract with a value of $52 million; last year, Anthony Cirelli got an 8-year $50 million contract; and in 2022, BriseBois locked up Nicholas Paul for 7 years with a total amount of $22.05 million along with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev attaching him to an 8 year $68 million dollar contract. The nail in the coffin was the low-ball offer from BriseBois in a last-ditch effort to keep Stamkos, which was reported to be an 8-year contract with $3 million being the average annual value to keep the cap hit low.

As the days and hours kept ticking away, getting closer to free agency, it was clear Stamkos was not going to be a member of the Lightning when the official start of free agency began. The Lightning had their eye on landing the biggest fish available in Jake Guentzel. To do so, the Lightning needed to free up some more cap space, so they sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club, freeing up $8.5 million in cap space. 

As Guentzel struggled to agree on a contract extension with the Carolina Hurricanes, he became available via trade for a team to acquire his negotiation rights. BriseBois traded a 2025 3rd-round draft pick to have contract negotiations with Guentzel before he would hit the open market. Soon later, Guentzel would sign an immense seven-year contract, with the Lightning being the Stamkos replacement. 

As we know, Stamkos would go on to leave after 16 years in Tampa Bay. Stamkos wanted to stay, but the Lightning and BriseBois wanted to change after another failing season. 

When the Lightning drafted Stamkos first overall in 2008, they needed a change and a player who could turn around a franchise. Stamkos exceeded all expectations, winning two Stanley Cups, getting the C on his jersey in 2014, winning two Maurice Rocket Richard Trophies, and winning the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. An ultimate Lightning legend.

Stamkos will start a new chapter in his Hall of Fame career in Nashville as the Predators look to become cup contenders with the moves made in free agency. Stamkos and the Lightning will meet on October 28th in Tampa Bay, Florida, at Amalie Arena, but this time on opposite sides.