Lightning's Stamkos: 'This is probably the deepest team I've ever played on'

Steven Stamkos is impressed by the Tampa Bay Lightning roster he'll be leading toward the playoffs.

"This is probably the deepest team I've ever played on," Stamkos told TSN's Mark Masters on Wednesday. "We don't rely on one guy or two guys."

The Lightning weren't the most active team at the trade deadline, but they didn't need to be. Tampa Bay's league-leading offense remained intact, while Braydon Coburn was added to an increasingly formidable blue line.

Stamkos, a superstar in an unconventional market, has often been the subject of speculation linking him to bigger, more traditional franchises. The 25-year-old dismisses any notion of a desire to leave the Lightning for a hockey-mad market, noting Tampa Bay can be a lot of fun - as long as the wins keep coming.

"Sometimes it's nice to go into those big cities and you can feel the buzz and stuff, but for the most part you still have that buzz here too, especially when you're winning," Stamkos said. "The couple times we've been in the playoffs it has been a lot of fun."

Stamkos will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season unless he signs an extension with the Lightning, who will likely need to make their captain one of the league's highest-paid players to keep him around. But it might not take a lot of convincing to keep Stamkos around considering the bond he's developed with the organization.

"You have a good team and you're winning and you have the fan support, it's tough to beat a place to play like here," he said. "Guys who have come from other organizations and come here can't compliment the treatment we get down here enough."