Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois knows there are more than a few unhappy people in Tampa Bay following the departure of longtime captain Steven Stamkos.
"I know that it is disappointing that I was unable to come to terms with Steven Stamkos on a contract to keep him within the organization," he said, according to Bally Sports' Gabby Shirley. "I know the fans are disappointed, I know Steven is disappointed, and I'm disappointed."
The Bolts cleared plenty of cap space during Day 2 of the NHL draft Saturday by trading defenseman Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5-million cap hit) and forward Tanner Jeannot ($2.665-million cap hit) to Utah and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively.
However, the bulk of that money went to adding prized free-agent winger Jake Guentzel on a seven-year pact with a $9-million cap hit. Stamkos went on to join the Nashville Predators on a four-year contract worth $8 million annually after spending the first 1,000-plus games of his NHL career with the Lightning.
"Like everyone, I wanted Stammer to stay in Tampa and finish his career with the Lightning but, like for every player, there were also limits," BriseBois said. "We had limits (in what) we could allocate in terms of cap space to him.
"Obviously, Stammer is sincere in all of his statements saying that he wanted to stay in Tampa. ... At the same time, it was clear throughout our process he also had financial expectations that he expected us to meet and, ultimately, I felt ... if I agreed to the terms that he wanted in order to get a deal done, I would not be putting ourselves in the best position to chase championships going forward."
Stamkos and the Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. He was eligible to sign a new extension with the Bolts one year ago, and he said Monday that the lack of talks last summer was "the start of the writing on the wall," according to NHL.com's Robby Stanley.
"You're trying to hang on to something that doesn't want to hang on to you," he said, per the Lightning Insider's Erik Erlendsson.
Now, the veteran is looking forward to a fresh start with the Predators.
"The thing I loved and was intrigued with from Day 1 was Nashville's interest," he said, according to Stanley. "They had a plan. They wanted to execute a plan. It feels great when you're one of those players."
The Predators also signed free agents Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei on Monday.
BriseBois, meanwhile, now has to get used to being the general manager who parted ways with Stamkos in Tampa Bay.
"It comes with the job," he said, per TSN's Chris Johnston.
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