Lightning honor Stamkos with 'emotional' tribute

Tampa, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Cooper looks up at the Jumbotron in an emotional tribute video highlighting Steven Stamkos' 16 years with the franchise.

Standing near the opposing bench was Stamkos, now a member of the Nashville Predators, returning to Tampa for the first time in a different uniform.

“I was thinking about how soft I got in my senior years. I'm just starting to get healthy,” Cooper said after his team's 3-2 overtime win Monday night. “How do you fit 16 years into a two-minute video? It almost doesn't feel right. It was extremely well done. But in the end, it doesn't matter how well you did it. You'll never do it justice.”

Stamkos is the Lightning's all-time leader in goals (1,082), goals (555) and points (1,137). He was a superstar who boosted the sport in Tampa and was a fixture in the community.

But Stamkos, 34, and the Lightning parted ways after last season when they couldn't come to terms on a new contract, an impasse that was both public and controversial. The Tampa Bay captain signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Predators. The Lightning replaced Stamkos on their top line with free agent winger Jake Guentzel, who is four years his junior.

Monday offered Stamkos his first chance to reconnect with Lightning fans since leaving for Nashville.

“I don't think of it as goodbye. I think of it as a 'thanks, see you later' kind of thing,” he said after the game. “It was pretty emotional. You see it started as an 18-year-old kid. Where I went from a boy to a man and a Stanley Cup champion. A husband, a father, a son. Most of my life has been here.”

Fans roared as Stamkos skated for warmups, as signs supporting the former Lightning star were plastered. Some fans were critical of Tampa Bay management for not signing Stamkos. But most took the moment to celebrate his achievement with the team.

Stamkos said it was a relief to be back at Amalie Arena, despite being in a different locker room. But seeing longtime friends turn into his on-ice enemies was surreal.

“It's weird. I had dinner with some guys last night and it's like I never left, right? It's just the bond you have. And then you get on the ice, the competitive nature of both sides comes out, so there's not much talking. , then you see each other right after the game and it's like we're back last night,” he said. “So that's the life of an athlete. It's the cliché that there are no friends on the ice, and you obviously don't want to kill anybody out there, but you want to win just as bad as they want to win.”

About seven minutes into the first period, the scoreboard lit up with images of a young Stamkos in hockey gear. Lightning fans rose to their feet as the tribute began: a two-minute montage of Stamkos' journey from the 2008 No. 1 draft pick through Tampa Bay's four conference titles and two Stanley Cup championships with Stamkos as their captain.

Electronic scoreboards around the rink light up with the slogan “Forever 91” and messages of thanks along with his career statistics, awards and accomplishments. At the video's conclusion, the spotlight hit Stamkos, who skated from the Predators' bench — where Nashville players were engrossed in video tributes — to the middle of the rink, raising his stick to the fans as the arena projected his No. .91 onto the ice, as has become tradition. When former Lightning stars return to Tampa with a new team.

When play resumed, Lightning fans loudly chanted “Steven Stamkos” in honor of their former captain.

“It was pretty cool when the crowd started chanting his name,” said defenseman Victor Hedman, one of Stamkos' closest friends on the Lightning. “And then they cheered when he got these two [assists]”

Stamkos helped the Predators hit the scoreboard in the second period after the Lightning took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee. Ryan O'Reilly scored a power-play goal and Stamkos had the secondary assist — his second point in nine games with the Predators. Tampa fans ranged from cheering at the announcement of the goal to cheering for helping Stamkos make a name for himself.

The cheers were a little more muted when Stamkos set up the tying goal by Gustav Nyquist just over eight minutes later for his third point of the season, though many Lightning fans still cheered loudly when his name was announced. The only boos Stamkos received during the game came in overtime, when the Hunters patiently controlled the puck without attacking aggressively.

Tampa Bay won the game with Nick Paul's OT.

“Obviously a pretty weird, pretty emotional night. But once the tribute is done, you settle into the game and then you focus on what you have to do to help your team win,” Stamkos said. “And it came up a little short tonight.”

The night gave fans a chance to show their appreciation for Stamkos. But the Predators forward admitted he can't quite move past his time in Tampa and his departure from the Lightning.

“I don't know when that moment comes. If it comes, if it doesn't. When you've been in this place for so long and you have memories, I mean, I don't think you can really turn the page completely. Maybe that's the reality,” he said. “I don't know. We'll see. I'll let you know when that day comes, but I don't think you'll completely turn the page.”