To be fair he was the only guy that looked like he wasn't going through the motions in that series. The question is whether you trust him to be that guy again with a contract in his back pocket.
Yep, agree much of this, but have been looking at situation this way.
- Lightning had major depth they enjoyed from 2015-2022.
- Star players like Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, & other offensive producers enjoyed and benefited from awesome depth.
- That Lightning depth would come through enough during playoff runs.
- That took pressures off Lightning stars every playoff game back then.
- Stamkos didn't have to be a firecracker because team dynamtic didn't call for it.
- Stamkos not having such a bighead, like some stars do with demanding puck, ice-time, etc.
- Helps paint a clearer picture of Stamkos being a team player 1st.
- But one might see all this differently, there's a bunch to unpack here.
Now with all that depth gone, Lightning need star players like Point & others to play at same level Stamkos brought -vs- Florida. Some Lightning players brought it -vs- Florida, some didn't. Take Point as an example.... did Point look like same player who pressured opponents defensively during back-to-back runs? I don't think so, and Point hasn't looked like "Mr. clutch playoff Point", since back-to-back. Love Point, and it was nice witnessing old "Clutch Point" during Lightning 10-0-2 run this season. But Point's high salary would not be safe, when it came to decidng who stays and goes (
No trade messes this up though). Tough choices have to be made, it stinks. When weighting all this, it matters to me Stamkos played & stepped up when Lightning needed stars to be stars the most. Just like Leafs & other star players have, and are asked to do every playoffs. Stamkos did just that these playoffs, and who knows what happens if everyon else plays 60 minutes the same way.
Lastly, can't think of time Stamkos was selfish and not a team player first. Maybe someone here can help refresh my memory, if Stamkos did so. Going to give Stamkos benefit of doubt here, he's earned that much. Afraid if Lightning let Stamkos go: His game looks as if it's going to age well, and witnessing that for years on another team, will make McD trade regret seem mild in comparsion.