TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois knows that not being able to keep Steven Stamkos makes him unpopular with Bolts fans.
“It comes with the job,” BriseBois said. “If I agreed to the terms that he (Stamkos) wanted in order to get a deal done, I would not be putting ourselves in the best position to chase championships going forward.”
Stamkos, who BriseBois called a first-ballot Hall of Famer, was reportedly asking for quite a bit more than the Lightning were willing to give. Stamkos ended up signing a four-year, 32-million-dollar contract with the Nashville Predators, which averages out to about $8 million a year.
Read: Lightning Strike: Tampa Bay Bolts’ Steven Stamkos Departs for Nashville
Stamkos mentioned in an interview with TSN that he and his family love Tampa, and he really likes playing for the Bolts, but maybe those in the Lightning organization felt differently. “I understand him (Stamkos) signing with the Nashville Predators is going to overshadow any of the changes that are taking place in the last few weeks and in the last few days,” BriseBois said.
BriseBois understands that many Lightning fans are hurting at this time and said he isn’t asking any of them to feel differently. However, he insists the Bolts are better now and set up for winning in the future.
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Stamkos ended up with 81 points (40 goals, 41 assists) in 79 regular season games and led the Bolts with five goals in its first-round series loss to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
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