One of the highlights of this opening day of the free agent market is undoubtedly the signing of Steven Stamkos with the Predators.
CEO Julien Brisebois quickly tackled the subject in the introduction to his press briefing early Monday evening.
“I know it’s disappointing that I wasn’t able to reach an agreement with Steven Stamkos on a contract to keep him with the organization. The fans are disappointed, Steven is disappointed and I’m disappointed. Like everyone else, we wanted him to finish his career with the Lightning,” he began, speaking of the first overall pick in the 2008 draft who spent 16 seasons in Tampa, where he won two Stanley Cups.
“I’m going to repeat today what I said to Steven yesterday. I wish him all the success in the world in Nashville, happiness to him and his family. I thank him for all his years of service, he was a great professional and captain. He leaves a great mark on this organization and the community, I know he will one day be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He will be missed.”
The Quebec GM explained the reasons that led to the departure of his star winger for Nashville by talking about the limits he faced based on the salary mass, which put the overall state of the organization at risk.
“Steven said he wanted to stay in Tampa, and that’s true. However, he had certain financial expectations that we couldn’t meet. In my decision, I felt that by accepting his demands, we would not be able to have the winning conditions to lead a team to championships in the future. We made our decision for the good of the team.”
Also today, Stamkos said he was surprised he wasn’t approached about an extension last summer and that he had actually brought it up at training camp. BriseBois explained that in the current reality across the NHL where the cap has barely budged, star players who are in their mid-30s and are on about a fourth contract generally sign once their contract expires, citing examples like Patrice Bergeron, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Claude Giroux and co. Exceptions are rare, like Anze Kopitar in Los Angeles.
BriseBois is, however, convinced that the many other acquisitions and signings he has worked on in recent weeks and days make his team even better, starting with 29-year-old star player Jake Guentzel. The Lightning acquired his rights from Carolina yesterday before signing him to a seven-year contract today.
“Of course, I know Steven signing with the Predators is going to overshadow the other personnel moves we’ve made. But I’m very excited about the future with the way our organization has shaped up.
“(Guentzel) is a star player who is in his prime. He was perhaps the most sought-after player on the free agent market this summer. A few weeks ago, we brought back Ryan McDonagh, who is still one of the best defensemen and leaders in the NHL who is under contract for two years. This weekend, we also acquired JJ Moser who is also a top-four defenseman in the NHL and I don’t think he has reached his peak yet. And let’s not forget Conor Geekie, an 11th overall pick two years ago, who is one of our top prospects.”
“When I look at the outcome of all of this, I think we’re a better team and we have more depth. We’re younger, with players who are in their prime and some good prospects added to our pipeline, which means that in the long term, we’ve improved our chances of success as well. We’ve improved our fortunes both in the short and long term in the last few weeks.”
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