Pat Maroon Calls out Lightning Organization for their poor treatment of Stamkos
NHL player Pat Maroon was recently on the Spittin Chiclets podcast, where he put the entire Lightning organization on blast for how they treated Steven Stamkos.
There's no getting around it, Steven Stamkos' exit from Tampa Bay was a shocker.
Grumblings began during last year's preseason when Stamkos publicly vented frustration over a lack of discussions about an extension, but many anticipated a resolution would take place.
Instead, when free agency began, Stamkos signed with the Predators, leaving behind the team that drafted him first overall in 2008.
Stamkos spent 16 years with the Lightning, earning two Stanley Cups, two Rocket Richards, and seven All-Star games. He earned 1,137 points in 1,082 games, becoming a franchise legend in the process. Ultimately, it was about cap constraints.
The Lightning went into free agency with about $5 million in room and, according to reports at the time, made an eight-year, $24 million offer to Stamkos, just $3 million a year, well below his value after an 81-point season.
Even after a move trading Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot for more than $10 million in salary room, no deal occurred.
A matter of hours later, Tampa acquired Jake Guentzel's rights in Carolina and signed him for seven years and $63 million. By then, the era of Stamkos in Tampa Bay was done.
Pat Maroon reveals Tampa's players were extremely upset
Adding salt to the wound, former Lightning winger Pat Maroon, who now plays with the Chicago Blackhawks, revealed during an episode on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast that Tampa's players were seething about how the organization handled it.
To watch a legend pushed out and then have them prioritize other signings in free agency sat poorly in the room, which might explain why the team is playing well below expectations this season.
This move was a slap in the face when compared to other long-term captains remaining with one team: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Gabriel Landeskog, all signed with their respective groups.
Stamkos, however, began a new chapter in Nashville, ending his legendary status in Tampa Bay.
