-
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper stared up at the jumbotron as an emotional tribute video highlighted Steven Stamkos‘s 16 years with the franchise.
Near the opposing bench stood Stamkos, now a member of the Nashville Predators, returning to Tampa for the first time in another uniform.
“I was thinking about how soft I’ve gone in my elder years. I just start welling up,” Cooper said Monday night after his team’s 3-2 overtime win. “How do you fit 16 years into a two-minute video? It almost doesn’t feel right. It was extremely well done. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how well you do it. You’ll never do it justice.”
Stamkos is the Lightnings’ all-time leader in games (1,082), goals (555) and points (1,137). He’s a superstar who grew the sport in Tampa and was a fixture in the community.
But Stamkos, 34, and the Lightning parted ways after last season when they couldn’t come to terms on a new contract, an impasse that was both public and contentious. The Tampa Bay captain signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Predators. The Lightning replaced Stamkos on their top line with free agent winger Jake Guentzel, who is four years his junior.
Monday offered Stamkos his first chance to reconnect with Lightning fans since leaving for Nashville.
“I don’t think it’s goodbye. I think it’s more of a ‘thank you, see you later’ type of thing,” he said after the game. “It was pretty emotional. You see where it all began as an 18-year-old kid. Where I grew up from a boy to a man and a Stanley Cup champion. A husband, a father, a son. Most of my life has been here.”
Fans roared as Stamkos skated out for warmups, as signs in support of the former Lightning star papered the glass. A few fans had messages critical of Tampa Bay management for not getting a deal done with Stamkos. But most took the moment to celebrate his accomplishments with the team.
Stamkos said there was a comfort being back at Amalie Arena, albeit in a different locker room. But it was surreal to have longtime friends become his on-ice enemies.
“It’s weird. I have dinner with some of the guys last night and it’s like I never left, right? That’s just the bond that you have. And then you get on the ice, there’s the competitive nature in both sides that comes out, so there’s not much chitchat. Then you see each other right after the game and it’s like we were just back to last night,” he said. “So that’s the life of an athlete. It’s cliché that there’s no friends on the ice, and you’re obviously not looking to kill anyone out there, but you want to win just as bad as they want to win.”
Around seven minutes into the first period, the scoreboard lit up with photos of a young Stamkos in his hockey gear. Lightning fans rose to their feet as the tribute began: a two-minute montage of Stamkos’s journey from No. 1 draft pick in 2008 through Tampa Bay’s four conference titles and two Stanley Cup championships with Stamkos as their captain.
The electronic scoreboards around the rink lit up with his career stats, awards and accomplishments, along with the slogan “Forever 91” and thank you messages. At the conclusion of the video, the spotlights hit Stamkos, who skated from the Predators bench — where Nashville players were engrossed by the video tribute — to the middle of the rink, raising his stick to the fans as the arena projected his No. 91 on the ice, as has become tradition when former Lightning stars return to Tampa on new teams.
When play began again, Lightning fans loudly chanted “Steven Stamkos” in honor of their former captain.
“It was pretty cool when the crowd started chanting his name,” said defenseman Victor Hedman, one of Stamkos’ closest friends on the Lightning. “And then they cheered when he got those two [assists].”
Stamkos helped the Predators finally hit the scoreboard in the second period after the Lightning built a 2-0 lead on goals by Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee in the first period. Ryan O’Reilly scored a power-play goal with Stamkos getting the secondary assist — just his second point in nine games with the Predators. The Tampa fans went from booing the announcement of the goal to cheering Stamkos’ name for having helped create it.
The cheers were a little more muted when Stamkos set up the tying goal by Gustav Nyquist just over eight minutes later for his third point on the season, although many Lightning fans still cheered loudly when his name was announced. The only boos Stamkos received during the game came in overtime, when the Predators patiently controlled the puck rather than attacking offensively.
Tampa Bay won the game on Nick Paul’s OT winner.
“Obviously a pretty weird, pretty emotional night. But once the tribute happened, you kind of settle into the game and then you focus on what you need to do to help your team win,” said Stamkos. “And it just came up a little short tonight.”
The night provided the fans a chance to show their appreciation for Stamkos. But the Predators forward admitted he can’t quite move past his time in Tampa and his departure from the Lightning.
“I don’t know when that moment comes. If it comes. If it doesn’t come. When you’re in this place for so long and have the memories, I mean, I don’t think you can ever really completely turn the page. That’s probably the reality,” he said. “I don’t know. We’ll see. I’ll let you know if that day comes, but I don’t think you completely turn the page.”