In a matter of days, the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to lock up captain Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman to eight-year extensions that were well below market value, and general manager Steve Yzerman credits his stars' desire to win as the reason the deals got done.
"With Stamkos and Hedman (signing), these are our cornerstones," Yzerman said Friday. "Very important parts of our franchise and good guys to represent us."
"They both want to win and they both wanted to stay here," he continued. "They've had some success and they want to continue that."
Some rumors saw a potential Stamkos contract pegged at upwards of $12 million per year, but the 26-year-old opted to remain in Tampa on a deal averaging $8.5 million.
Meanwhile, some believe Hedman would have commanded more if he hit free agency next offseason, but the blue-liner will also stay to contend for a Cup, on a deal worth $7.85 million per season, starting in 2017.
"It's been a good couple of days for the organization," Yzerman added, according to Bryan Burns of TampaBayLightning.com.
With backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy receiving a three-year extension of his own Friday, the next step is signing restricted free agent Nikita Kucherov, and Yzerman said he's confident an agreement with the 30-goal scorer will be reached "at some point."
