Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois wants to put an end to any chatter about the notion that he'd deal away his longtime franchise cornerstone.
"The one thing I would say just to get it out there because I know as we get closer to the deadline, it's a popular and interesting and frequent topic: 'Who's going to get traded? Who won't get traded?'" BriseBois said Tuesday, according to team reporter Chris Krenn.
"Steven Stamkos isn't getting traded. You can all write that ... so we can put that one to bed if anyone was speculating on that," the GM continued. "That's not going to change between now and the deadline under any circumstances."
BriseBois said they'll sit down after the season to evaluate where both the team and Stamkos are and try to "make all the parts work together." The GM noted that the fact that Stamkos has been the face of the Lightning franchise for so long "obviously factors" into the decision.
Stamkos is a pending unrestricted free agent who was eligible to sign an extension as of July 1, 2023. Tampa Bay isn't as much of a lock to make the 2023-24 postseason as it has been in recent years; the Bolts occupy fifth place in the Atlantic Division in points percentage through 44 games.
Stamkos has captained the perennially competitive squad since 2013-14 and has been the sole holder of the "C" since 2014-15. The veteran forward, who'll turn 34 on Feb. 7, has played all 16 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay and is the club's all-time leader in games played, goals, and points while ranking second in assists.
The two-time "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner and one-time Hart runner-up helped the Bolts win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 (though he was injured for all but one postseason game during the first one) and was a part of four Cup Final appearances (2015 and 2022 being the others). Tampa drafted him first overall in 2008.
He's still producing at an impressive clip, having notched a point per game over 41 contests - including 18 goals - while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time.
The Lightning have about $65 million committed to players' cap hits next season with only depth players left to sign after Stamkos. His current deal carries an average annual value of $8.5 million, per CapFriendly.
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