The ballots have been tallied and the results are in - Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, despite his stated desire to play center, is a winger. At least that's how a large number of the NHL's general managers reportedly feel about him.
TSN's Darren Dreger revealed late Wedensday, via Chris Nichols, that while speaking with GMs across the league at the board of governor's meetings earlier this week, he "did not find a single general manager who sees Steven Stamkos as a centerman."
Dreger spent a lot of time w/ the GMs in CA. "They see (Stamkos) as a winger, exactly where Jon Cooper insists on playing him." #TBLightning
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) December 10, 2015
That's probably not going to set well with Stamkos, who earlier this week told TSN's Frank Seravalli in no uncertain terms that he's a center and that's where he'd prefer to be playing. Stamkos though, by all accounts is a team guy. He made no fuss last year when Lightning coach Jon Cooper moved him to the wing for the run up to and through the NHL playoffs. And he's had little to say this year beyond his conversation with Seravalli after being kicked outside again by Cooper.
As long as the Lightning are winning - and winning they are, as they've now emerged victorious in two of their last three games, all with Stamkos on the wing - their big captain seems happy enough.
But with his contract situation still unresolved, it remains to be seen what kind of effect this will have on the long-term relationship.
On the one hand, it could prove beneficial to the Lightning's chances of keeping him. As Seravalli noted in his story, talk has persisted that at least part of the reason for Stamkos having not yet re-signed in Tampa is philosophical and positional differences with Cooper.
If the rest of the league views Stamkos as a winger and he and his agent, Don Meehan, are hearing the same thing as Dreger, Stamkos' potential desire to leave may lessen as the hoped-for return to the pivot won't materialize elsewhere.
As evidenced by the success the Lightning have had with Stamkos on the wing, even despite recent injuries to Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette, there's a basis for why Cooper and the rest of the league my feel he's best suited for a role on the outside. Yes, he's a guy who doesn't like to stop his feet, who likes to swoop and gather speed as he moves through the neutral zone, but with the current construction of the Lightning roster, Stamkos' skillset provides the most impact on the outside.
"In their situation, Stammer has to go to the wing," an unnamed scout told ESPN's Craig Custance recently. "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."
But does Stamkos' preference for lining up at center carry much weight at this point? If it's a great enough desire to push him to seek opportunities elsewhere, then there's really not much the Lightning can do. Cooper can't keep him at center just to appease him despite the negative ramifications that would presumably arise.
Still, as was noted Wednesday, there seems to be "no intent" on the part of Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman to trade the former first-overall pick.
Does that mean a long and lucrative marriage between Stamkos and the Lightning? No, of course not. But from the sounds of things, Stamkos may be coming up against a harsh reality about his own talents and fit in the league. And while he's most comfortable at center, if his long-term fit is at wing and the money offered by Tampa isn't much different than that being offered elsewhere - and they can provide the longest term, though there's been no indication whether negotiations between the two sides have gone to a possible eight-year deal or not - why leave?
Then again, all it takes is one team willing to pony up serious assets and/or cash and make promises - in good faith or not - of a fulltime return to center to potentially lure Stamkos elsewhere.
