Stamkos: No distractions, no excuses for Lightning
With unsigned contracts and trade demands a thing of the past - for now at least - Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to finish some business on the ice.
The club is set to open a new season on home ice against Detroit on Thursday, and the captain is looking forward to focusing solely on the mission at hand: lifting the Stanley Cup come June.
"There shouldn't be any distractions this year and that means no excuses," Stamkos told reporters after the morning skate.
Unmentioned but likely at the front of his mind were several issues that hung over the club last season and into the summer, beginning with Stamkos' uncertain future with the team, followed by Jonathan Drouin's trade request, and culminating in Nikita Kucherov's extended contract negotiation that was resolved only days ago.
The Lightning did push Pittsburgh to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, and after advancing to the Cup Final the year before, Stamkos feels this certainly could be Tampa's time.
Stamkos: "We've gotten older and we have the experience now of doing what it takes to get there. The excitement is here." #DETvsTBL
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 13, 2016
Still, the Lightning won't necessarily be distraction free, as goalie Ben Bishop is an impending unrestricted free agent and the likes of Drouin, Tyler Johnson, and Ondrej Palat will need new deals next summer.
The band's all together for now, meaning 2016-17 might be the Ligntning's best chance of striking it big.