Stamkos focused on third straight championship, growing Lightning legacy

Steven Stamkos laughed while he struggled to find the right words when he heard the short list of elite players the Tampa Bay Lightning forward could join in a few months.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard
.
George Armstrong
.
Yvan Cournoyer
.
Denis Potvin
.
Those four Hall of Famers are the only players in NHL history who have been captain of a team that won the Stanley Cup at least three consecutive seasons.
Stamkos will join that exclusive fraternity if the Lightning win a third straight championship this season.
Tampa Bay (33-11-6) enters the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series against the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN360, TVAS2, NHL LIVE) in a good spot to make another Cup run. The Lightning have won 10 of their past 13 games and are second in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the Florida Panthers, after a 5-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
"Yeah, I mean, well, that would be amazing," Stamkos said, still laughing. "You list those guys, those are unbelievable players. Obviously before my time but I know who they are and how much they've meant to the game."
RELATED: [NHL Stadium Series coverage]
What Richard (Montreal Canadiens, 1957-60), Armstrong (Toronto Maple Leafs, 1961-64), Cournoyer (Canadiens, 1976-79) and Potvin (New York Islanders, 1980-83) have meant to the game is equivalent to what Stamkos has meant to the Lightning and the Tampa area since arriving as the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.
His legacy as one of the greatest athletes in the city's history already is sealed because of the two championships, but Stamkos is hungry for more.
"That's the mentality we have here in Tampa," Stamkos said. "My friends on different teams will ask, 'How do you guys stay motivated?' It was the same after we won the first one. Like, 'Yeah, we won it, but how cool would it be to win two in a row?' That pushes you. Now you win two in a row and it's easy to say, 'Well, we've got our two Cups, let's just sail off into the sunset.' It's the opposite. We have a chance to do something so special that has hardly ever been done in the game, so let's go out and do it."
\\*
The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 when they were in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles and Stamkos was more cheerleader than player, limited to one goal and five shifts totaling 2:47 of ice time, all in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, because of a lower-body injury.
They won the Stanley Cup again last season, when Stamkos returned for Game 1 of the first round after missing the final 16 games of the regular season because of a lower-body injury. He scored 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Tampa Bay is again one of the top teams in the NHL this season, and Stamkos, with a Lightning-best 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 49 games, again is one of the best leaders and players, as healthy and motivated at 32 years old as he was 10 seasons ago when he scored 60 goals.
"He's determined," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "It's not just the production, it's his overall game. He's taking big draws for us, playing PK. He's a complete player. You can tell he's healthy and things are going extremely well for him. He's a world-class player, but obviously the last few seasons have been tough for him with injuries. It just shows what kind of guy he is, so determined to come back."

Stamkos said there are multiple reasons for the season he's having, with health No. 1.
"I've had some tough injuries at some tough times and I've missed out on some amazing opportunities," he said. "But the thing I take most pride in is just being able to come back from those injuries and play at the level that I feel is very good, elite, whatever you want to call it. There were a lot of people who probably didn't think I'd be where I am this year after the past couple of years. That's motivation for me to prove those people wrong."
He said he was motivated by what he thought was going to be the potential to play for Canada at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
NHL players were slated to participate in the Olympics when the season began, but COVID-19 disrupted the schedule enough to force the postponement of 98 games, with 95 rescheduled during what was supposed to be the Olympic break from Feb. 7-22.
Stamkos had been passed over for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, likely because of his age (20) and lack of experience at the time.
He wasn't healthy enough to play in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He broke his right tibia when he crashed into the goal post during a game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 11, 2013, and was out four months.
NHL players did not participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
"The Olympics was a huge motivator coming into this season," Stamkos said. "I wasn't afraid to talk about that before the year, that it was something I was really looking forward to and wanted to have a really good first half of the season to put myself in that position."
Stamkos said he was disappointed NHL players didn't get the chance to go to Beijing, but it hasn't deterred him.
"There's nothing wrong with that, trying to chase that dream," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "He did a heck of a job and finds himself a top 10 and sometimes top five scorer in the League."
\\*
Leadership is a big part of Stamkos' legacy with the Lightning.
He was named captain March 6, 2014, the same day he returned to play from his leg injury and one day after former captain Martin St. Louis, one of Stamkos' role models, mentors and friends, was traded to the New York Rangers.
"I can't even believe it's been as long as it has been since I was named captain," Stamkos said. "I learned a lot from the guys that I was around my first five, six years in the League and that's where a lot of the leadership qualities stem from, trying to poach something from each guy."
He mentioned St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Eric Brewer, Ryan Callahan, Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi as examples he's drawn from.
"I've tried to be a combination of all those guys," Stamkos said.
Hedman said Stamkos thrives as a vocal leader in the dressing room in the same way St. Louis did with the Lightning.
"[St. Louis] had high expectations, wanted to challenge you, make you believe in yourself and make plays," Hedman said. "'Stammer' is the same way. He's got great knowledge of the game. He speaks up. He speaks by the way he plays. He puts the team on his shoulders some games. He's got a good feel for the locker room and you need that."

Former Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi said Stamkos was the first player to reach out to him when he signed with the Lightning on July 1, 2017, after 11 seasons with the Rangers and many battles against Stamkos, including in the 2015 Eastern Conference Final, won by Tampa Bay.
"I really appreciated that text," Girardi said. "It really meant a lot to me. My two years with him there were unreal. What a leader. And it was genuine leadership. It wasn't hot air."
Stamkos' leadership extends to his strong relationship with Cooper. He said it's built on trust and respect.
Cooper has been the Lightning coach since March 25, 2013, making him the longest-tenured active coach with one team in the NHL.
"We've grown together," Cooper said. "I don't want to use the term friendship, but I think we're peers. I know he sees me as the head coach and I guess the decision-maker, but I run a lot of things by him. We're teammates, and that's how I view it. He is so knowledgeable about the game. He sees it from a lens that I don't, and I learn from that. I think there's probably some situations where he leans on me directing traffic in the game and keeping the whole thing together. It's really grown in nine years. I truly believe we're completely comfortable in any situation together just because we've gone through it all together. He trusts the decisions I make, and I trust when I want messages sent across [to the players] it's going to be the right message."
\\*
Stamkos has a house in Markham, Ontario, where he and his wife, Sandra, are from. But Tampa has become a second home.
Their family has grown to four with Carter, who is 2 1/2, and Chase, who was born Nov. 30.
"The thing for me is I just never get tired of being here," Stamkos said. "There's never a moment where you're like, 'I can't wait to go home.' It's great to get home in the summer and see all our friends and family, especially now that I have a family of my own here. But there's always that excitement to get back to Tampa, and that says a lot."
He credits the culture the Lightning have created since owner Jeff Vinik bought the team in 2010 and the guidance and decision-making of former general manager Steve Yzerman and current GM Julien BriseBois.
Stamkos also credits Cooper's coaching and the core of players he's been with for several seasons, including Hedman and forwards Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat.
"Every time a player leaves here or a player gets here, all they talk about is, 'Man, you guys don't know how good you have it,'" Stamkos said. "I just feel like you have everything you want. You have a sold-out crowd every night. You have the notoriety around town but not to the point where people are constantly bugging you or hounding you. The fans are respectful, great. There is so much to do around town. Obviously everyone loves the weather. The no state [income] tax is great too. I mean, let's call a spade a spade; it's just great. To be with the core bunch of guys that we've had, it is a special group and it is a special place to play."
With a special captain who continues to build on a legacy that might never be matched with Tampa Bay.