I had fully intended to write a post about the departure of Steven Stamkos. I dated it in July of 2024, shortly after he’d been traded to the Nashville Predators. I shelved it, not only because it hurt but because so many of us in the area felt the same way. The move was unfortunate, but perhaps, dare I say, necessary. It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.
I was going to start that post off with a Shakespearean quote about parting and sorrow, with ominous lines like “’Twas a gloomy day for Bay area hockey fans indeed, the Lightning suddenly sounded a little fainter despite the heavy Florida rain.” How pretentiously poetic.
Stamkos was 34 when he left town for a Predatory 4-year, $32 million dollar deal, a contract the Tampa Bay Lightning could not come close to matching. By most accounts, the Lightning wanted to keep Stammer in Tampa, and Stammer wanted to stay, but ultimately that many zeroes were too tough to pass up.
I was going to entitle the post “Stammer Sting,” coincidentally the name of his Ontario Hockey Minor League team before being called up to the majors, the sting ironically signifying what it meant for Tampa Bay to lose one of its most iconic sports figures. Of course, Rays fans are used to becoming attached to players only to see them leave for an unmatchable offer. Tampa Bay does not have Los Angeles pocketbooks.
But that wasn’t supposed to happen with Stamkos, who the Lightning drafted first overall back in 2006. After 16 successful seasons with the Bolts, two of which he captained Stanley Cup winning teams, Stamkos was supposed to finish his career in Lightning Blue.
Similarly, Mike Evans was supposed to retire as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. So much for happy endings.
In the hustle bustle of professional sports, tens of millions of dollars along with the opportunity to further one’s career trump any sort of storybook allegiance.
That happened again this NFL offseason when Big Mike Evans opted to sign a three-year, $60 million contract with the San Francsico 49ers, a deal the Buccaneers could not come close to matching, a deal Evans had to take for one final pay day, a deal no Buccaneers fan resents him for. It just sucks. Like Stamkos before him, the Tampa Bay franchise, despite wanting to keep its most dynamic superstar, could not afford to pay market value to keep its man in town.
And so, for the first time in over a decade, we Bucs fans are left to watch football without Big Mike in our lineup.
In his second season with Nashville, Stammer has yet to reach the playoffs. Meanwhile, his former team has restructured contracts and appears poised for another Cup run. If you asked Predator brass, they might openly admit they paid too much money for an aging superstar. It hasn’t quite worked out the way they wanted.
We will see how Evans’ health affects the 49ers over the next three years of his contract. He’ll be 33 years old by the time the season starts, a number that doesn’t bode well for men at his position. Despite his Hall of Fame trajectory, few NFL receivers in the history of the game have been impactful at that age.
Like Stamkos before him, Evans’ accomplishments in Tampa will never be forgotten. Sometime in the future, both he and Stamkos will return to the teams that drafted them, as they should. They will have their numbers retired and enshrined, perhaps even a statue. On the proverbial Mount Rushmore of Tampa Bay athletes, you’d have a hard time not chiseling their likenesses into the mountainside.
It’ll just take a while for them to return home before we do so.
