Chris Kunitz isn't satisfied with four Stanley Cup wins.
The veteran winger is after a fifth (at least) before hanging up his skates, hence his recent decision to sign one-year, $2-million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"The Lightning obviously have an unbelievable chance to win a Stanley Cup and that's basically why we came here," Kunitz told reporters Wednesday.
It may seem like a bold statement about a team that didn't make the playoffs last season, though they didn't miss by a wide margin and experienced significant injury issues along the way, including the loss of captain Steven Stamkos for the majority of the regular season.
At full force, Kunitz estimates, his new club stacks up well against the best in the league.
"I would say it's in those top three or four teams that everybody would agree they're just that close. When healthy, any team with this dynamic of a roster can beat anybody every single night," Kunitz said. "They have position players who can win a game on their own, like a goaltender or dynamic forwards or D-men who can step up. It has to be one of the favorite teams that can go in and try to make a run at it."
In the two seasons prior to 2016-17, Tampa Bay advanced to the Stanley Cup Final (2015) and pushed Kunitz's Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the Conference Finals (2016).
Kunitz won three Cups while in Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017) and another with the Anaheim Ducks (2007), and was also a member of Canada's 2014 Olympic gold-medal winning team.
Altogether, he's racked up 92 points in 161 career playoff games, and will be relied upon to make that experience count when it matters most for the Lightning.
