The speculation isn't going away anytime soon. Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos remains without a contract beyond this season and there's been no word as to his plans for his NHL future or an update on negotiations between his agent, Don Meehan, and Lightning GM Steve Yzerman. As such, fans - specifically those in Toronto, who root for Stamkos' hometown Maple Leafs - and media members, are free to speculate as they will. And if last night's game between the Lightning and the Leafs is any indication, the next several months leading up to the NHL's late Feb. trade deadline are going to be rife with comments, conjecture and probably more than a few breathless reports.
Already, TSN's Bob McKenzie has suggested that the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators - teams with a glaring need at the pivot and the ammo to make a deal - could look like "attractive" options to Stamkos. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun wonders whether the Detroit Red Wings and Ken Holland wouldn't possibly be interested in a shocking, blockbuster deal.
In short, the rumors and reports will continue to swirl and armchair GM's will likely place Stamkos in any number of hockey homes in the coming days.
But what of the man himself? What of Stamkos, who did his best to ignore the chorus of "Sign Stamkos" that reigned down in Toronto as he and the Lightning stole a victory from the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night?
"Time's going to tell," said Stamkos, per a separate article from LeBrun. "Everything will figure itself out. My main focus is trying to focus on my game, and it hasn't been that great as of late. I'm trying to find a way to help contribute a little more."
Stamkos didn't land on the scoresheet on Tuesday, registering just one shot. His lack of offensive production didn't tell the whole story though, as it rarely does for a notoriously selfless player like Stamkos, but it's continued a surprising trend for the former first-round, first-overall pick this season. Through 32 games, Stamkos has just 11 goals, putting him on pace for 28 for the year.
It would be his lowest total in a full season since his rookie campaign.
There are plenty of people who could look at Stamkos' numbers and suggest that maybe his uncertain future really is affecting him, that thoughts of just where and when he could potentially be dealt by Yzerman if talks continue to prove fruitless may be creeping into the back of his mind and planting the seeds of a distraction Stamkos himself may not even know is there.
But Stamkos is adamant that's not the case. And his teammates, like Ryan Callahan, the one-time captain of the New York Rangers who was surreptitiously dropped by the Broadway Blueshirts and then-GM Glen Sather when Sather realized the player's contract demands - Callahan was in the final year of his deal - and the team's salary cap situation just weren't going to align, back Stamkos on that.
"He's handled it great, he's a professional,'' Callahan said, per LeBrun. "He's been in the league quite a while. He knows. It's business at this point. He doesn't bring that stuff to the rink and I think that's the biggest thing. I think it's more of a conversation for you guys [in the media], to be honest, than it is in the room. It was the same thing for me in New York, nobody talked about it in the room. He's been a professional about it, it's part of the business.''
Callahan knows as well as anyone that the business considerations eventually override the wants and desires of fans, players and even coaching staffs. Stamkos is a pro and will continue to play hard for the Lightning in all likelihood, but it will be the coming months that tell the real story of just who in this story wants what and whether Stamkos really is happy in Tampa Bay.
