Stamkos won't confirm or deny reported offer: 'It's staying internally'

Steven Stamkos isn't sure how his contract negotiations are leaking to the media, and he wants them to be kept in-house.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that the Tampa Bay Lightning captain was pitched an offer worth $68 million over eight years - or $8.5 million annually - some time in the last few weeks.

"I'm not going to comment on that," Stamkos told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday.

"We haven't talked about that stuff in the media all season long, and I don't know how they get a hold of stuff like that. All the things that we've talked about, it's staying internally, and it'll continue to be that way."

The initial offer wasn't accepted, but it wasn't summarily rejected either, according to Friedman, who characterized it more as a negotiation point.

Neither Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman nor Stamkos' representatives have commented on the report.

Stamkos, a pending unrestricted free agent, is earning $7.5 million in the final year of his contract. He's previously expressed a desire to remain with the Lightning, with whom he's spent his entire eight-year career.

The 25-year-old center hasn't scored in five games, but he has 20 goals and 37 points in 48 contests.

Tampa Bay had a seven-game win streak snapped in a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.