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Steven Stamkos has agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract to join the Nashville Predators, the team announced on Monday.
The 34-year-old Stamkos had been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since the franchise selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2008 NHL Draft.
A lack of contract extension talks between Stamkos and Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois during the regular season was a sign that a return to Tampa wasn't guaranteed. After last-ditch discussions over the past weeks failed to get anywhere, Stamkos' agent said the Lightning legend was "going to July 1" to test the free agent market.
"To be complete honest I've found myself asking the same question and the more people I talk to everyone seems to share that same sentiment, which is puzzling and strange," Stamkos said when asked on Sportsnet where negotiations went south. "At the end of the day there was no question I was willing to put all that stuff aside to remain a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning."
"We wanted it to end and retire with the Tampa Bay Lightning," Stamkos said. "It certainly didn't work out, but at the end of the day in order to look yourself in the mirror you just have to be honest with yourself, know your self worth, know what loyalty and respect means to you and move on. And that's why it's been so exciting for our family. Once we kinda got over that hump we kinda zeroed in on a few teams with Nashville being very high on that list and just the mutual interest from day one. How aggressive they were, how accommodating they were in terms of any questions or concerns, and it just seemed like a natural fit."
On Sunday, the Lightning acquired the negotiating rights to Jake Guentzel from the Carolina Hurricanes and signed the forward to a nine-year, $63 million contract. Guentzel, who was expected to be a highly coveted unrestricted free agent, is four years younger than Stamkos and has scored at least 30 goals in each of the last three seasons.
Stamkos 'excited for next chapter' with Predators
Before the deal was made official, Stamkos, who had served as Lightning captain since 2014, took to X to say goodbye to Tampa. In 16 seasons with the Lightning, he scored 555 goals and 1,137 points, won two Rocket Richard Trophies as the league's top goal scorer, and led the franchise to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.
It was a busy first hour of NHL free agency for Predators GM Barry Trotz. Along with Stamkos, he added forward Jonathan Marchessault (five years, $27.5 million) and defenseman Brady Skjei (seven years, $49 million).
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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