Steven Stamkos signing an eight-year, $68 million contract to remain with the Tampa Bay Lightning was a bit surprising. Stamkos was the top free agent on the market and several teams were willing to pay top dollar in order to secure his services. The star forward decided to stick with the Lightning, but one of the biggest reasons he chose to stay had nothing to do with money.
As seen in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, Stamkos outlined that one of the biggest selling points about remaining with the Lightning was his close friendship with defenseman Victor Hedman.
“Victor and I are extremely close friends,” Stamkos said. “We came up in this organization as 18-year-old kids. To say that we’re going to be together for the long run, and on one team, that’s something special. We have talked a lot throughout this process. I joke with him that sometimes I forget the time difference [with Sweden] and I’m calling him at 4 in the morning. But he’s always getting back to me as quick as he can. It was extremely exciting to see him sign. A big reason why both of us stuck around is because of the relationship that we have as teammates and as friends as well.”
While the close bond with Hedman wasn’t the only thing behind Stamkos choosing Tampa Bay, it probably was one of the main reasons he decided to pass up larger contracts in favor of the Lightning. Can you really put a price on a supportive environment and teammates you truly enjoy skating with who also happened to be extremely talented?
The Lightning are expected to be Cup favorites in 2016-17 and the bond between Stamkos and Hedman as well as the team’s ability to keep Jonathan Drouin in the mix are two big reasons why.
