For the first time in a decade, the Tampa Bay Lightning are in need of a new captain.
On July 1, Steven Stamkos left the club that drafted him first overall in 2008 when he signed a four-year, $32-million contract with the Nashville Predators.
He departs as the Lightning’s franchise leader in games played (1,082), goals (555), points (1,137) and game-winning goals (85). He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has worn the ‘C’ for Tampa Bay for nearly the entire tenure of coach Jon Cooper, who took over behind the bench on March 25, 2013.
At 24, Stamkos was named the Lightning’s captain on March 6, 2014.
It was the same night that he made his return to action after missing nearly four months of action with a broken leg — an injury that also kept him out of the the 2014 Winter Olympics.
It was also one day after the 2014 trade deadline, when previous captain Martin St. Louis forced a deal to the New York Rangers after feeling snubbed when Lightning GM Steve Yzerman did not select him for Canada’s 2014 Olympic team.
The Lightning wasted no time in moving on from St. Louis’ messy departure. In 2014, they returned to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. In 2015, they reached the Stanley Cup final. And in 2020 and 2021, they won it all.
Now, Stamkos is gone and a new era begins in the Sunshine State. If history repeats, the Lightning won’t waste a moment before naming their next captain, especially since the perfect candidate is already within their ranks.
Like Stamkos, Victor Hedman is a lifelong Lightning player, drafted second overall in 2009. He’s also a two-time Cup winner, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2020, and holds the franchise records for games played, goals, assists and points by a defenseman.
The 33-year-old also isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. On July 2, he signed a four-year contract extension with a cap hit of $8 million a year and a full no-move clause. With one year remaining on his current deal, he’s locked up through the summer of 2029, when he is 38 years old.
