"Slap in the face" - Paul Bissonnette slams Lightning's "insulting" $3,000,000 AAV Steven Stamkos contract offer

By Evan Bell

Modified Jul 04, 2024 06:12 GMT

The Nashville Predators signed Steven Stamkos to a four-year deal worth $32 million this week, marking a significant shift in the landscape of the league. Stamkos had become a staple of the Lightning organization over the past 16 years, making his departure somewhat surprising. The way Paul Bissonnette sees things, the Lightning's offer was insulting.

Prior to the deal that landed Stamkos in Nashville, Tampa Bay had reportedly offered him a long-term contract that would have allowed him to stay with the team. Indications are that the deal would have paid him an average annual value of just $3 million.

Considering his last deal was worth $37.5 million over five years, the expectation was that Stamkos would get a bigger offer to stay with the team.

In response to the reports of the long-term deal that the Lightning reportedly offered to Steven Stamkos, Bissonnette took aim at the Bolts. On the latest "Spittin' Chiclets" episode, he said:

"I just think it's also insulting at the fact that we're talking about $3 million for a player who averaged over a point per game. They offered this player a contract basically being like, here's a slap in the face. We know you're not going to take it, and then we can just go on and get what we actually want in order to do business."

Steven Stamkos opens up on "puzzling" offer from Tampa Bay, following Nashville signing

As Paul Bissonnette explained in the video above, Steven Stamkos has continued to produce at a high rate despite now being well over a decade into his career. Last season, Stamkos played in 79 games and scored 40 goals while contributing 41 assists.

Given his durability, and the fact that he averaged a point a game, the offer the Lightning made him was certainly a head-scratcher. After signing with the Nashville Predators, he spoke on Sportsnet about how his contract negotiations played out.

As it turns out, behind the scenes, things were just as puzzling to Steven Stamkos as they were to fans and analysts. When asked what led to his split from the Lightning, he explained:

"To be completely honest, I found myself asking the same question. The more people I talked to, everyone seemed to share that same sentiment, which is puzzling and strange. Things happened quick throughout this week.

"You always have a plan, or you think you have a plan and then it doesn't work out and you got to go in a different direction. That's life, right?"

As Stamkos went on to explain, it was difficult for him to initially accept that his time with the franchise had come to an end. Despite spending 16 years wearing blue-and-white, the two-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner is excited about his future with the Nashville Predators.