Ex-Lightning star Steven Stamkos returns to Tampa as Predator

TAMPA, Fla — Every time Steven Stamkos has stepped on the ice in Tampa, it’s been as a member of the Lightning. That was true when he was an 18-year-old rookie in 2008 through back-to-back Stanley Cup championships through last season, when he scored 40 goals as the team’s 34-year-old captain.

On Monday night, Stamkos will step on that ice again as a member of the Nashville Predators. After a contentious and public contract negotiation with the Lightning failed to produce a new deal, Stamkos signed a four-year free-agent contract with Nashville last summer, setting up what should be an emotionally charged night for the teams, Lightning fans and a star forward who’s still processing this bitter split.

“I mean, it takes time,” Stamkos said at Amalie Arena on Monday morning. “Certainly it’s been an adjustment period, not only for me but for my family, for your friends, everything. This is all I had known my whole life as a professional athlete, so it’s certainly difficult in terms of that.”

Stamkos played 1,082 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who drafted him first overall in 2008. He scored 555 goals with the team, helping to grow a nontraditional NHL market into one of the most successful ones in the league in terms of on-ice success and fan engagement. In the process, he became the third-highest active goal scorer in the league behind Alex Ovechkin (855) and Sidney Crosby (593).

“Let’s be honest: Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be synonymous with each other until the end of time. He came here as an 18-year-old, with the weight of his everything on his shoulders, and in the end he delivered. He did everything we asked of him for many, many years,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper, who joined the team in 2013.

“Breakups are hard. It’s the soap opera of sports,” Cooper said. “It’s why we watch it — for moments like this, to see how the drama of life is going to unfold. I think everybody should enjoy today. I think it’ll be an emotional night, more so probably for [Stamkos] than anybody else.”

Stamkos traveled to Tampa over the weekend with his wife, Sandra, while their two sons remained back in Nashville for school. She stayed at the home of Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, with whom Stamkos spent time on Sunday before having dinner with a group of ex-Lightning teammates on Sunday night.

“I know it’s going to be a roller coaster of emotions for him. [Stamkos] is going to get the reception that he deserves and I’m sure everyone is excited to see him,” Hedman said Monday. “One thing that I’ve learned about him is his resiliency. I’m sure he is going to have a great game tonight. Hopefully not too good.”

Stamkos said one of the surprising things about leaving Tampa for Nashville was how his family has processed it, while he’s struggled to find his footing with one goal in eight games for the Predators.

“I probably thought that the family transition was going to be more difficult than the hockey one, and it’s kind of been the opposite. But I’d rather have it that way where my wife and kids are making the transition and then I can figure it out myself,” he said.

Monday night’s game will be an emotional night for all involved. That includes Lightning winger Jake Guentzel, who signed a seven-year, $63-million free-agent contract after the team decided to part ways with Stamkos. He’s taken the former captain’s spot on the team’s top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov.

Cooper said he hadn’t spoken with Guentzel about the emotions surrounding Stamkos’s return.

“I think the one thing that I try to impart to him and everybody else is that is he’s not replacing Stamkos, because Stamkos created his own legacy here and Guentzel’s got seven years to create his own legacy,” said Cooper. “We weren’t looking necessarily for a right-handed shooter on the power play. We got a playmaking lefty winger that brings different attributes to the game. So yeah, the next seven years are Jake Guentzel nights. Tonight is Steven Stamkos’ night.”

Stamkos said he’s not sure how he’ll handle the fans making this a special night and whatever tribute the team has created for him.

“I’m not usually a very emotional guy, in terms of letting people see the emotions. I don’t know how it’s going to be until that moment comes,” he said. “It’s the best feelings in your life, the worst feelings in your life. You don’t know how you’re going to react until you go through it.”