Steven Stamkos is the kind of guy willing to do whatever it takes to see his team win. When injuries forced him out to the wing late last season, Stamkos made the jump without question, helping to propel the Tampa Bay Lightning through the NHL playoffs and into the Stanley Cup Finals. This year, with the Lightning facing a scoring slump, Stamkos has again been kicked out to the wing by head coach Jon Cooper.
Stamkos has taken it all in stride, playing wherever and in whatever role necessary to help the struggling Tampa Bay team right the ship. And since his recent move, right they ship they have. The Lightning is now 2-1 on their recent West Coast swing with Stamkos out on the wing. And while that may seem a surprise to some, others around the league actually believe that Stamkos' current best NHL position may, in fact, be on the outside.
"In their situation, Stammer has to go to the wing," an unnamed NHL scout told ESPN's Craig Custance last week. "The coaches, they're not going to say it [publicly] but they would probably say the same thing. The GM and the scouts and everyone else would too. But Stammer wants to play center."
And therein lays the rub for the Lightning. Stamkos wants to play center and his current contract impasse is reportedly based on a valuation by Stamkos and his reps that considers the former first-overall pick a center and not a wing. Per a report from Frank Seravalli of TSN, Stamkos' "position and philosophical difference with Cooper is believed to be a major sticking point" in his current contract negotiations with the team.
"If you ask any player, I think they prefer to play their natural position," Stamkos said Saturday, per Seravalli. "For me, it's just easier to create speed from my game when I'm in the middle. Again tonight, I didn't do much offensively, but we found a way to win and make some plays defensively."
Really, Stamkos' game and overall impact isn't just about the position he plays. He's a strong locker room personality and a team leader. He affects the game in a number of ways, both on and off the ice. As evidenced by his willingness to player wherever he's needed, he's everything a coach would want in an elite-level player.
But the issue seems to be one of pride for Stamkos - he wants to be a center. He wants to be "the guy." And while he can still be an impactful player from the wing, it likely bothers him that even on a team facing a dearth of centers thanks to Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette's injuries; he's been shoved out to the wing. And it's got to be a little irksome that the team seems to play better and ultimately win when he's "out of position."
Stamkos will likely continue to grin and bear the current situation, but his stated preference for being at the pivot and his day-to-day body language seem to suggest that it's a situation that can't last forever for the prideful star.
A Stamkos trade remains unlikely, but at this point, it's certainly not quite as farfetched as once thought. And in the end, it could be the best move for everyone, especially if it allows the Lightning to come to terms with a blossoming player like Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos to both return to his natural position of center as well as get the megadeal he's said to be pursuing.
