{"id":5156,"date":"2025-10-15T17:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T17:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5156\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T17:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T17:51:16","slug":"steven-stamkos-opens-up-on-his-difficult-lightning-exit-and-predators-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5156\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Stamkos opens up on his \u2018difficult\u2019 Lightning exit and Predators transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 If ever there was more proof needed that the NHL isn\u2019t a video game, the 2024-25 Nashville Predators provided it.<\/p>\n

What looks good on paper doesn\u2019t always translate to the ice.<\/p>\n

And nobody wore that more than Steven Stamkos, if only because of how much he cares and how much he puts on himself. Stamkos\u2019 first year in Nashville was a difficult experience.<\/p>\n

The NHL may not be a video game, but clicking the reset button is still an option, and that\u2019s what Stamkos wants to do this season. And so does his entire team.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was last year,\u201d Stamkos told The Athletic on Tuesday. \u201cWe talked about it as a group and decided that it was in the rear view. \u2026 We talked about expectations last year \u2014 the start wasn\u2019t where we wanted it, and it snowballed and just got off the rails. This year, there was more excitement going to camp with maybe less expectations and just the mentality of whatever happens, leave it in the past and let\u2019s just move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what that\u2019s going to be, but let\u2019s come in with a newfound energy. And I think our group has done that. It hasn\u2019t been perfect to start the year, but we\u2019re in a much better position than we were last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretty much anything beats the 0-5 start from a year ago \u2014 a hole the Preds could never dig themselves out of.<\/p>\n

It was a stunning chain of events, given the euphoria of July 1, 2024, when Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei all signed with a Preds team fresh off a surprising playoff appearance.<\/p>\n

The adjustment to all the new faces proved difficult. Things just didn\u2019t jell. And for Stamkos, who had spent all 16 of his previous seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the transition was a challenge both on and off the ice. Even the smallest everyday things that were second nature in Tampa became more difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in one place for so long, there\u2019s so many things that you just do that\u2019s almost, you\u2019re unconscious to the little things that happen that maybe help prepare you to play,\u201d said Stamkos, who scored 27 goals and 53 points \u2014 his lowest totals in a season with more than 38 games since his rookie year, 2008-09. \u201cYou\u2019ve played with the same players for so long, the chemistry \u2014 you don\u2019t think about that stuff because you just go out and play and it happens. And that was years in the making.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a new situation, it\u2019s certainly difficult, the family aspect of it, the off-ice aspect of it \u2014 all those things that you don\u2019t really think about when you\u2019re making that snap decision in free agency. But sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn\u2019t. And last year, it didn\u2019t work for our group. There\u2019s nothing you can do about that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the season, he came home to the Greater Toronto Area to work with Gary Roberts, as per usual, then returned to Nashville with his wife and kids as school started. This time, it felt more normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think coming back to Nashville, this time around, was so much easier with the kids already established in school,\u201d Stamkos said. \u201cAnd their sports are set up. The house is there. You just turn the key and walk in and everything is ready. You know where you\u2019re going. I was always the guy that had all the answers in Tampa, and then last year I had all the questions. Now you have more answers than questions after spending a year. That helps from a mental standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stamkos and his wife, Sandra, kept their house in Tampa. Who knows what life will hold once the 35-year-old\u2019s playing career is over?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly what the plan is going to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He did go back to Tampa for one week after the season. And guess who he ended up skating with?<\/p>\n

\u201cI skated for Kuch,\u201d smiled Stamkos, referring to Nikita Kucherov. \u201cYou know Kuch. It was like 10 days after they lost in the playoffs, we were texting back and forth, and he said he was going back on the ice, and I said I was going to be in town for the week with my wife and kids, so I skated with Kuch, and it was nice. Because it was the offseason, it didn\u2019t feel weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos were teammates for 11 years with the Lightning. (Mike Ehrmann \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He caught up with Lightning friends and non-Lightning friends while in Tampa. But that was it. One week.<\/p>\n

Is there still a part of his heart in Tampa? Of course. You don\u2019t wash away 16 years like that.<\/p>\n

Did he regret his decision to sign in Nashville, as many have mused on social media?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that are asking that question are also the people that were picking the Nashville Predators to go to the Stanley Cup Final, right?\u201d he said. \u201cWe all thought something was going to happen, and it didn\u2019t. We all thought that Nashville had a great year (two seasons ago) and made the playoffs, we added some really good players and important pieces, and we were just going to build on that. I mean, yeah, you make a decision not because you think you\u2019re going to fail. You\u2019re making that decision because you think you\u2019re going to be part of something that\u2019s going to grow into something successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you make that decision, there\u2019s no going back on it. It was a disappointing year, for sure. But it is what it is. I think the Tampa situation is in the rear-view mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n

It clearly still hurts, though, how it all went down \u2014 how a franchise that meant everything to him didn\u2019t make a stronger effort to keep him around. The Lightning\u2019s final offer was an eight-year deal with a $3 million average annual value, and Stamkos signed for four years at an $8 million AAV in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings went a direction that I never thought was even possible, if I\u2019m going to be honest,\u201d Stamkos said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ve got to live with that. And I\u2019m in a much better place now than I was last year with that decision. You talk to (Marchessault) and (Skjei), when you\u2019re in a place and a successful franchise for a long time, no one wants to leave that situation. If you ask the players, they all want to stay there the rest of their career and be part of that. From a player\u2019s perspective, in those situations, you get a taste of the business aspect of it. It\u2019s much harder on the players than it is on the franchise to move on from those situations because of your family and your ties and your teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose people that are making those decisions, they\u2019re not in the battle with you. They\u2019re not the ones that have to move their family and their life. So it\u2019s difficult in that regard. But you make those decisions and you live with those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused before adding, \u201cIf you ask all of us that made those big transitions last year, we\u2019re in a much better place this time around. And that\u2019s just time and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other former NHL captains have told me over the years that you don\u2019t walk into a new dressing room and immediately start throwing your leadership weight around. That comes with time. Stamkos agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re coming into a situation you\u2019re unfamiliar with, and you don\u2019t know the dynamics yet,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to fit in yourself. Yeah, you had a role and a comfort level somewhere else because that was established over time, respect and experience. When you come in here, you still have that respect and experience, but you don\u2019t have that time with that group yet. And it takes time. It\u2019s not something that happens overnight. You\u2019ve got to get to really know the guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially as a veteran leadership guy, you have to know what works or doesn\u2019t work with some guys. You\u2019ve got to feel guys out. You need to go through some tough times and good times to see how guys react.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m much more comfortable in that regard this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stamkos sounds like he\u2019s in a better place. And his team, off to a 2-1-1 start, is flying under the radar this time around.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpectations from the outside are probably not as high,\u201d he said. \u201cBut let\u2019s embrace that underdog role and go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One message from general manager Barry Trotz to Stamkos after last season was that he has a great opportunity to leave an imprint on the team\u2019s youngsters as the Predators continue their roster evolution. That could be part of Stamkos\u2019 legacy in Nashville.<\/p>\n

And what does the future hold after his playing career? That\u2019s still a ways away, but anyone who has been around Stamkos over the years knows he has a hockey-computer brain. He\u2019s got future NHL team executive written all over him.<\/p>\n

Could we see him back with Tampa one day in that capacity?<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in a role one day and helping a team? Absolutely, I would want to do that,\u201d Stamkos said. \u201cWhich role, I\u2019m not sure yet. I have three young kids, and I want to be around and part of that. I certainly wouldn\u2019t want to live that same lifestyle that I\u2019m living right now. Not to say I won\u2019t down the road. You want to be around as a father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut with regard to what team that would be? That would be completely up in the air,\u201d he added, choosing his words carefully. \u201cSome of that would probably not be my decision, right? I don\u2019t think I have an answer for you in that regard quite yet.<\/p>\n

So you can\u2019t rule it out. Perhaps a reunion in Tampa will be in the cards one day, when time heals more wounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 If ever there was more proof needed that the NHL isn\u2019t a video game, the 2024-25…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[5690,5691,135,862,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-5156","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-nashville-predators","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-tampa","11":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","12":"tag-tampa-headlines","13":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}