Confirmed with Link: Lightning re-sign Steven Stamkos (8 years, $8.5M cap hit, $68M total)

[Sky04]

In the midst of rampant speculation of going to Toronto? Time and place for everything. The context was inappropriate. If he goes and takes some Canadian pride pictures and likes some going home to Canada statuses on Twitter I'll personally apologize for my remarks.

Please tell me if it's appropriate to crack a cancer horoscope joke to someone on their birthday today while waiting for their biopsy results on that suspicious lump on her breast.

It's a crude example but it entails the point I'm trying to make about throwing people for a loop when you know it's not going to be taken well.

You make it seem like contract stuff is on his mind 24/7, aside from the dumb retweets everything else is pretty much Stamkos being Stamkos. Seriously harping on him for going to a blue jays batting practice? Guys a huge baseball fan who's been spotted numerous times at BlueJay's games (who plays for his hometown btw) and has been at their practices multiple times before this year

As for the Canadian Tire thing, jesus people are taking this out of context, especially Americans. You do know that he's sponsored by them since 2014 right? Walk into a Sportchek or Canadian tire hockey department and you'll see a picture of Stamkos.

TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Canada's leading sports retailer, Sport Chek, today signed Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) superstar Steven Stamkos to a multi-year strategic partnership. The partnership will see Stamkos play an important role in the company's branding and advertising campaigns, which aim to inspire customers to find their 'better' and celebrate the journey of #whatittakes to become an elite Canadian athlete.

The unique partnership includes exclusive behind-the-scenes digital content of Stamkos' journey as one of the elite players in the NHL, as well as appearances at Sport Chek stores and events sponsored by the retailer.

The partnership will support the entire business group of FGL Sports, including Sport Chek, Sports Experts, National Sports and Pro Hockey Life. As part of the Canadian Tire Family of Companies, the partnership also allows for Stamkos to represent Canadian Tire throughout the term of the partnership, although the initial focus will be for Sport Chek, the Official Sports Store for Canada's Olympic Team. Stamkos will also become an Ambassador for Canadian Tire Jumpstart, a program dedicated to removing barriers so children can participate in organized sport and recreation.

People are talking about this whole Canadian Tire thing like it's some big conspiracy to court him. I don't see him losing his endorsement after signing with Tampa.

 

[The Jumping Shrimp]

In the midst of rampant speculation of going to Toronto? Time and place for everything. The context was inappropriate. If he goes and takes some Canadian pride pictures and likes some going home to Canada statuses on Twitter I'll personally apologize for my remarks.

Please tell me if it's appropriate to crack a cancer horoscope joke to someone on their birthday today (thereby making them born under the sign of the crab cancer) while knowing full and well she is nervously awaiting for their biopsy results on that suspicious lump on her breast.

It's a crude example but it entails the point I'm trying to make about throwing people for a loop when you know it's not going to be taken well. We didn't know what he was gonna do. We were left waiting a year to find out. It's a dick move to make.

Sweet Jesus.

 

[ThunderAlleyNomad]

That is just beyond FUBAR. I always felt Stamkos would re-sign but I will never forgive him or his agent for how they played it out. Coming back or not this just confirms it for me even as a rumor. I'm sorry but batting practice with the Blue Jays, taking pictures with the Canada hat on, liking tweets about going to Toronto 2 or 3 times, meeting with the damn mayor and fielding offers from Canadian Tire is like some **** my ex would pull to get my attention.

I refuse to give make excuses for a grown ass man who knew exactly what he was doing every time he did it. Maybe I'm just harsh but I have a ZERO tolerance policy for that stuff.

My daughter will look me dead in the eyes and do something I JUST told her not to (like picking up the dog who is old and starting to get frail) and then goes berserk on me after I punish her. She insists that she was just moving her because the dog was where she wanted to sit as if there weren't about 5 other places to sit within 10 feet of the dog. Or I tell her to stop eating what she's eating she'll finish the damn bite and grab another handful and stuff her face one more time and then go beserk when I say, "Did I say here have another bite or did I tell you to stop?" She's the type of person who has to ALWAYS get ONE MORE in after you tell her no.

In comparison the Stamkos antics were just as juvenile. I bet you we don't see another "accidental tweet" or Coca-Cola related Blue Jays batting practice again for the rest of his career.

I really think you are blowing all of this completely out of proportion. All any of the above means is that he wanted to see what other offers were out there and he contemplated the idea of possibly going back home to play for maybe more money. Once he found out what the deal was he said ok and made his choice.

And it really trips me out that you were upset about the Blue Jays batting practice thing. His hometown team has an outstanding season and he gets to hang out and take batting practice. And you want to throw him under the bus for enjoying himself? You're just as bad as Leafs fans, reading layers and levels of meaning into everything, often with no cause. It's a young man who enjoys baseball celebrating the team he grew up with. Holy ****, what an immature little *******, am I right?

 

[These Are The Days]

Forget it. I'm not beating this to death any longer. My thoughts on the matter aren't going to change.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

Again, time and place for everything. I'm not saying a guy like Stamkos can't have fun or find edorsements. I'm saying it's BS that a professional athlete never once thought, "Maybe this would give a wrong impression to about 4 million people" for all the things that he did.

If you can find me a different, "I'm going to home to team x" status by an athlete that he liked on Twitter not within June 2015 to July 2016 or a different instance in which he took batting practice with the Blue Jays not within June 2015 to July 2016 I will personally say that I was overreacting and apologize. I know he took batting practice with the Rays once along with Bishop and a few other guys.

If these are isolated incidents that occurred only when he was negotiating his contract then you've discovered why I think it's a dick move to do that when he did.

I don't use Twitter nor know if all that is regular for him. If it is then again I will personally apologize.

have to look and understand whole picture yes hes went to blue jay games yearly more than once honestly yep did other things. The problem is that anything he did gets blown up in toronto got to remember hes sooo big in canada he goes to gary roberts camp and has paparazzi or wanna be spies following him shooting pictures at any opportunity than you got media blowing it up and out whether is true or not.

He has the right to like tweets maybe he found it funny he pulled them though cause of the media going nutts. He is like princess diana to toronto lol so you got to just grin and bear it and still my belief was always he stays one he has told everyone who would listen for 5 years he didnt want anything to do with that market because that market is insane nutty and too much on day to day lifestyle of an athlete he saw all the bad with legit superstars

to me that has as much to do with his decision as anything. closer it got nuttier they became imho they did us a favor

 

[CupsOverCash]

I do believe that he has always wanted to be here. I just think that he did want more money to stay here. Which is why this played out longer than we wanted it to. I don't blame him either. He is fully entitled to looking in FA for more money. He's fully entitled to use FA to get a better contract from TB.

I think when the dust settled he realized TB wasn't going to budge and that he had to take the contract SY thought would work here if he wanted to stay in TB. I do applaud him for realizing that it had to be this way. Because there isn't a way that the team could function properly with a guy making over 10 mil on a team. This team is bigger than one guy. It's proven that time and time again. Stamkos goes down the whole team has to step up. Bishop goes down the whole team has to step up. This team had the upper hand with Steven Stamkos and it was only up to him to realize this.

SY is a great GM. He will make this team work with Stamkos or without. Or any player for that matter. It's only a matter of time before this team goes to where it wants to. Stamkos realized this and decided to be a part of it.

 

[These Are The Days]

have to look and understand whole picture yes hes went to blue jay games yearly more than once honestly yep did other things. The problem is that anything he did gets blown up in toronto got to remember hes sooo big in canada he goes to gary roberts camp and has paparazzi or wanna be spies following him shooting pictures at any opportunity than you got media blowing it up and out whether is true or not.

He has the right to like tweets maybe he found it funny he pulled them though cause of the media going nutts. He is like princess diana to toronto lol so you got to just grin and bear it and still my belief was always he stays one he has told everyone who would listen for 5 years he didnt want anything to do with that market because that market is insane nutty and too much on day to day lifestyle of an athlete he saw all the bad with legit superstars

to me that has as much to do with his decision as anything. closer it got nuttier they became imho they did us a favor

Truth be told I'm just gonna delete the post. I honestly don't care what he does in his spare time. Seriously if I go on any more I'm gonna start looking like one of those super fans who follows what Stamkos eats for breakfast and freaks out if he has a slice of bacon and I'm scared it'll make him fat.

For me it boils down to the best player in franchise history REPEATEDLY raising a false flag involving the city we were afraid to lose him to one way or the other in the midst of the biggest contract negotiation in franchise history. If you want to test free agency go and do it. You CAN do it without taking to the Twittersphere and accidentally liking another status about you going to that same city for the third time.

 

[These Are The Days]

I do believe that he has always wanted to be here. I just think that he did want more money to stay here. Which is why this played out longer than we wanted it to. I don't blame him either. He is fully entitled to looking in FA for more money. He's fully entitled to use FA to get a better contract from TB.

I think when the dust settled he realized TB wasn't going to budge and that he had to take the contract SY thought would work here if he wanted to stay in TB. I do applaud him for realizing that it had to be this way. Because there isn't a way that the team could function properly with a guy making over 10 mil on a team. This team is bigger than one guy. It's proven that time and time again. Stamkos goes down the whole team has to step up. Bishop goes down the whole team has to step up. This team had the upper hand with Steven Stamkos and it was only up to him to realize this.

SY is a great GM. He will make this team work with Stamkos or without. Or any player for that matter. It's only a matter of time before this team goes to where it wants to. Stamkos realized this and decided to be a part of it.

Well I agree with that entirely. Every team needs that ONE stone cold SOB who is not afraid to make a hard choice and Yzerman is most certainly that person. None of this happens without him or the support of Jeff Vinik.

I tell Lady Sunny every day, "We're lucky to be Lightning fans"

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

Truth be told I'm just gonna delete the post. I honestly don't care what he does in his spare time. Seriously if I go on any more I'm gonna start looking like one of those super fans who follows what Stamkos eats for breakfast and freaks out if he has a slice of bacon and I'm scared it'll make him fat.

For me it boils down to the best player in franchise history REPEATEDLY raising a false flag involving the city we were afraid to lose him to one way or the other in the midst of the biggest contract negotiation in franchise history. If you want to test free agency go and do it. You CAN do it without talking out of both sides of your mouth while you take to the Twittersphere and accidentally like another status about you going to another city.

aint got to delete it but look at it is this news lol if isnt stamkos and isnt leafs lol

i take it all with a smile and he did delete the tweets maybe yzerman maybe himself lol

who knows its all good he said enough times to friends and other players etc.. that he didnt want to go there

my take on that is he is truly a honest man so good for us I also think was money issue wanted more and even bigger he has plans after he plays he wanted to understand all he can on the system of business in the nhl.

Good for him whatever makes him happy honestly. Seems to have the respect for yzerman did us fans a real favor on setting the bar on the salary cap so low

Its hard being a pro getting to free agency etc... IMHO I dont blame guys if he had left id have supported him.

Todd said msl leaving was a big deal and stamkos would be same. To me they are night and day msl was timing period and secondary becoming captain to a young group. I still have hate 10 years from now I wont Yet still angry today on msl if stamkos had went to toronto or anywhere else I would have been fine with it honestly.

It would suck but wouldnt be a traitoress act

vinny going to flyers? I was happy for him even with hate of them laughed about it knew heed get another buy out so on them lol but still a vinny fan 100%

 

[DFC]

Truth be told I'm just gonna delete the post. I honestly don't care what he does in his spare time. Seriously if I go on any more I'm gonna start looking like one of those super fans who follows what Stamkos eats for breakfast and freaks out if he has a slice of bacon and I'm scared it'll make him fat.

For me it boils down to the best player in franchise history REPEATEDLY raising a false flag involving the city we were afraid to lose him to one way or the other in the midst of the biggest contract negotiation in franchise history. If you want to test free agency go and do it. You CAN do it without taking to the Twittersphere and accidentally liking another status about you going to that same city for the third time.

He's a human being who's still fairly young and in touch with his hometown community. Being a Jays fan is a lot like being a fan of Team Canada in the Olympics, for Canadians. It's not something you grow out of because you move somewhere else. There's actually a national loyalty to the team. It was probably a big thrill to Stamkos to hang out with those guys. I don't think he should have to stuff all that in the closet until after his hockey career because Torontonians might take it as some kind of covert signal to them that he's going to sign with their team.

The twitter thing, I don't know. But, I mean, even if he was just messing with people (I don't think that's the case, but even if it was), if that's the worst illustration we have of a guy's character, he's probably a pretty good guy.

Let go of the irrational rage. There's just nothing to be angry about.

 

[These Are The Days]

He's a human being who's still fairly young and in touch with his hometown community. Being a Jays fan is a lot like being a fan of Team Canada in the Olympics, for Canadians. It's not something you grow out of because you move somewhere else. There's actually a national loyalty to the team. It was probably a big thrill to Stamkos to hang out with those guys. I don't think he should have to stuff all that in the closet until after his hockey career because Torontonians might take it as some kind of covert signal to them that he's going to sign with their team.

The twitter thing, I don't know. But, I mean, even if he was just messing with people (I don't think that's the case, but even if it was), if that's the worst illustration we have of a guy's character, he's probably a pretty good guy.

Let go of the irrational rage. There's just nothing to be angry about.

I've got NO problems with this. My problem is that all this happened when 4 million people between Tampa and Toronto were wondering what the heck Stamkos was doing. Flip flop it for a guy like me whose hometown is Tampa. Heck let me put myself in Stamkos' spot for a second.

I'm a Maple Leaf superstar about 60 days into negotiations with people asking "what's taking so long?" out loud to the point where you've got a Sunnygeddon thread on HF boards. But at the time of August 28th I'm taking batting practice with the Rays because they're having a good season. Then during a season when I'm playing poorly on many nights as if I'm distracted I'm liking statuses on Twitter about me playing for the Lightning and going home to Tampa and this has been more than one occasion. Then in January I adamantly deny that the Leafs fielded me a contract and say, "I don't know where people get this from" and create even more suspense out of the denial. I reiterate that I want to remain a Maple Leaf but then just before I sign I'm out with Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and fielding sponsorships from Firestone.

I know Toronto is a FAR bigger market than Tampa but can you even imagine the meltdown that would've caused?

As an American I never saw anything as "Canada" I only ever saw "Toronto" because I'm not the person in another country like Stamkos is. Canadians may get it but I do not. If you wanna have fun in your childhood home then go for it! If he does all this now then who cares? Have fun! Hell break a record for the longest hit ball in Rogers Centre for all I care. Your contract is signed! There's nothing to worry about for anyone anymore! But don't have your personal life seemingly contradict everything you are saying in the midst of a contract negotiation where NONE of your supporters have ANY idea what the heck you're actually thinking.

The famous last words of every UFA that ever left their team was, "Oh I definitely want to stay here" and the whole thing appears nothing more than petty manipulation

 

[DFC]

I've got NO problems with this. My problem is that all this happened when 4 million people between Tampa and Toronto were wondering what the heck Stamkos was doing. Flip flop it for a guy like me whose hometown is Tampa. Heck let me put myself in Stamkos' spot for a second.

I'm a Maple Leaf superstar about 60 days into negotiations with people asking "what's taking so long?" out loud to the point where you've got a Sunnygeddon thread on HF boards. But at the time of August 28th I'm taking batting practice with the Rays because they're having a good season. Then during a season when I'm playing poorly on many nights as if I'm distracted I'm liking statuses on Twitter about me playing for the Lightning and going home to Tampa and this has been more than one occasion. Then in January I adamantly deny that the Leafs fielded me a contract and say, "I don't know where people get this from" and create even more suspense out of the denial. I reiterate that I want to remain a Maple Leaf but then just before I sign I'm out with Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and fielding sponsorships from Firestone.

I know Toronto is a FAR bigger market than Tampa but can you even imagine the meltdown that would've caused?

As an American I never saw anything as "Canada" I only ever saw "Toronto" because I'm not the person in another country like Stamkos is. Canadians may get it but I do not. If you wanna have fun in your childhood home then go for it! If he does all this now then who cares? Have fun! Hell break a record for the longest hit ball in Rogers Centre for all I care. Your contract is signed! There's nothing to worry about for anyone anymore! But don't have your personal life seemingly contradict everything you are saying in the midst of a contract negotiation where NONE of your supporters have ANY idea what the heck you're actually thinking.

The famous last words of every UFA that ever left their team was, "Oh I definitely want to stay here" and the whole thing appears nothing more than petty manipulation

You're being emotional about an issue that shouldn't be emotional. This was a business thing all the way around. Nobody got screwed over in any way here. Anything people were reading into Stamkos's actions is on them, not him.

 

[More 2004]

Some insight into his signing from his own mouth. http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/1...tain-steven-stamkos-stayed-tampa-bay-lighting

 

[Todd1a]

aint got to delete it but look at it is this news lol if isnt stamkos and isnt leafs lol

i take it all with a smile and he did delete the tweets maybe yzerman maybe himself lol

who knows its all good he said enough times to friends and other players etc.. that he didnt want to go there

my take on that is he is truly a honest man so good for us I also think was money issue wanted more and even bigger he has plans after he plays he wanted to understand all he can on the system of business in the nhl.

Good for him whatever makes him happy honestly. Seems to have the respect for yzerman did us fans a real favor on setting the bar on the salary cap so low

Its hard being a pro getting to free agency etc... IMHO I dont blame guys if he had left id have supported him.

Todd said msl leaving was a big deal and stamkos would be same. To me they are night and day msl was timing period and secondary becoming captain to a young group. I still have hate 10 years from now I wont Yet still angry today on msl if stamkos had went to toronto or anywhere else I would have been fine with it honestly.

It would suck but wouldnt be a traitoress act

vinny going to flyers? I was happy for him even with hate of them laughed about it knew heed get another buy out so on them lol but still a vinny fan 100%

was funny espo said he would not be surprised if his agent told stammer to do the toronto twitter thing lol and stamkos and his agent were smart to use toronto as leverage lol but stevie yzerman didn't break from 8.5 per year so it all worked out fine.

 

[The Gongshow]

Captain Standclose for 8 years

 

[Werewolf]

Wish I had read this analysis ( http://www.taxpayer.com/media/MajorPenalty-October2015.pdf ) when all the TML fans were *****in and complaining about their "disadvantage" when it comes to taxes. Seems California teams have it worse and have no problems making the playoffs and being contenders and Montreal is the worst team of all when it comes to tax disadvantages and they have no problems fielding competitive teams.

Its an interesting read - here is a relevant excerpt:

Which Team Had the Biggest High Tax Disadvantage?

In Canada and the United States the more income you make, the higher tax rate you pay. This means that the tax rate for a team will change depending on the salaries it pays. Players making the league maximum of $13.8 million pay a higher tax rate than those making the league minimum $550,000. Some teams have a lot of players on the high end of the pay scale, others have players’ pay clustering in the middle. The rate for teams is affected by this since different teams pay different salaries. We created a hypothetical team to compare tax rates and show the tax rate an identical team would pay in each
jurisdiction. (Calculation of the 2015 tax rates for the team’s true rosters is in the appendix.)

This hypothetical team has 23 players making a wide variety of salaries, from a superstar making the maximum salary of $13.8 million down to a rookie making the league minimum of $550,000. The total team salary is $69 million, which was the salary cap for the 2014-15 season. With this comparison the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Tampa Bay Lightning are tied for the lowest tax rate at 40.6%.
These teams are in states with no state income tax. The small increase in the tax rate from 2014 to 2015 is not because of a tax hike, it’s because of the increased salary cap.

Calgary and Edmonton are tied for fifth this year with a tax rate of 43.5%. Last year they were on top with a considerably better tax rate of 38.5%. The change is due to an income tax increase by the provincial government. Alberta previously had a flat tax of 10% on income, but starting in October a “progressive rate” income tax is being introduced with a top rate of 15% on income over $300,000. The California teams are tied for the highest tax rate at 53.1%. The Montreal Canadians have the highest tax rate of all Canadian team at 49.5%.

 

[tjs*]

Captain Standclose for 8 years

Hopefully he'll be Captain Standclose - for $8.5M I don't want to see the perimeter player we've seen for the past couple years.

 

[Todd1a]

Hopefully he'll be Captain Standclose - for $8.5M I don't want to see the perimeter player we've seen for the past couple years.

He got better in January I'm hoping now next year will be better as he does not have to worry about his contract anymore! I think we see a better stamkos next year.

 

[The Gongshow]

He got better in January I'm hoping now next year will be better as he does not have to worry about his contract anymore! I think we see a better stamkos next year.

I do as well. Plus I think we'll see him with Drouin or Kuch which should make his numbers go up.

I wonder how much his contract would be worth had the Lightning won the cup in 2015...?

 

[xteesy]

I do as well. Plus I think we'll see him with Drouin or Kuch which should make his numbers go up.

I wonder how much his contract would be worth had the Lightning won the cup in 2015...?

Ask? $11.5

Offer? $9.0

Take? $9.8