Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will not be traded before the deadline, GM Julien BriseBois told reporters on Tuesday.
“Steven Stamkos is not getting traded, so we can put that one to bed,” BriseBois said, according to Tampa Bay Lightning team reporter Gabby Shirley. “That is not going to change between now and the deadline, under any circumstances.”
BriseBois was then asked if he saw Stamkos being with the Lightning beyond this season.
“Yes,” he said, according to beat writer Chris Kenn. “Like I said all along, after the season, we’re going to sit down and we’re going to evaluate where we are as a team and where Steven is, and we’ll see how we can make all the parts work together.”
Stamkos, the franchise leader in goals and points, is in the final season of an eight-year, $68-million deal and would be an unrestricted free agent this summer. BriseBois has said previously he would wait to see how the season went before considering an extension, a stance that has not impressed the Markham, Ont., product.
BriseBois also told reporters he doubted defenceman Mikhail Sergachev would return from his lower-body injury before the All-Star break.
