Julien BriseBois: No Steven Stamkos Extension Until After 2023-24 NHL Season

Julien BriseBois: No Steven Stamkos Extension Until After 2023-24 NHL Season

Should Tampa Bay fans start to worry that this will be the last year that Steven Stamkos dons a Lightning sweater? It sure is starting to sound like a real possibility that Stamkos is gone after this year. Don’t forget, just prior to the start of the season, Stamkos expressed his frustration with the team for not being more active in contract talks. Stamkos is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 NHL Season. To make matters worse, Julien BriseBois doesn’t seem too anxious about any of this.

“Ultimately, I made the decision that it’s in the best interest of our organization to wait until after the season to see what we have here, see how we perform, see how all these different, new pieces fit,” BriseBois told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. “Then we’ll be in a better position to make the best decision to set ourselves up for continued success.”

I genuinely don’t understand this. Was it in the best interest of your organization to get Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel extended? Why is it any different for your captain? If you value Stamkos, why hasn’t he been extended like the last two I just mentioned? Raddysh and Hagel got new contracts this Summer. Why is Stamkos of all people the one who is waiting?

BriseBois claims that he intends to keep Stamkos in Tampa for the remainder of his career.

“I’ve stated that I think it would be great for the organization for Steven to finish his career here. He wants that,” Brisebois said. “But what we want is for Steven to finish off his career in Tampa and for the club to continue to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders for the remainder of his tenure.”

Maybe this is nothing and it gets resolved but something weird is going on here. Stamkos, 33, notched 84 points in 81 games a season ago. Are you sure you want to let this guy hit the open market? Florida is a no income tax state and the cap is going up. Still, I’m not sure waiting is the right approach here. Stamkos would have plenty of suitors on the open market.

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