Lightning GM Working On Contract Extension with Steven Stamkos

During the trade announcement to re-acquire Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed to the attending media members,confirmed to the attending media members, his contract negotiations with Steven Stamkos have begun.

It's been quite the up-and-down relationship between the two, as BriseBois was blunt before the season started that he wasn't interested in extending Stamkos until after the final season of his contract. Stamkos admitted he wasn't very happy with how he never heard from the team. Now, it sounds like things are moving in the right direction:

We still have some cap space. Steven Stamkos is not signed yet right? That’s ongoing. We’re still able in my mind to get something done that makes sense for the organization with Steven even after acquiring Ryan McDonagh. And depending on what happens with other players we’ll address other needs. But we still have some cap space to get done what I think we need to get done this offseason. I don’t think anything changed. Steven was up front saying he wanted to stay. That’s his strong preference. I’ve mentioned that’s our strong preference as well. And now we’re still working on how we make this happen for it to make sense for both sides.

The Lightning have just $5 million in cap space to work with and will surely have to make a cap-saving trade in order to fit Stamkos in under the cap. The Lightning legend is coming off an 81-point season and scoring five goals in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Stamkos made $8.5 million last season after signing an eight-year $68 million extension back in 2016.

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