From the moment the Lightning and Stamkos parted ways, Oct. 28 was circled on many a calendar as the return of the prodigal hockey son. As months turned into weeks turned into days leading up to the game, the buzz in Tampa has been mushrooming. In fact, it’s not just here either.
Not that the Lightning needed to be reminded of the impending occasion, but that’s exactly what happened at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto last Monday. With the Maple Leafs up 5-1 in the third period, the fans began chanting “Where is Stamkos?,” a reference to the former Lightning great who grew up in nearby Markham, just north of the city.
One week later, he’ll be exactly where he thought he’d always be prior to the divorce with the Lightning: back at Amalie Arena.
“It’s hard for me to get there mentally or emotionally without physically being there,” he said earlier this month.
On Monday he will be. And you can bet there will be plenty of eyes welling up, both for the player and in the stands.
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Phil Esposito remembers when Stamkos-mania first came to Tampa.
If you can call it that.
He recalls the billboards, the bumper stickers, the t-shirts, all with the “Seen Stamkos?” slogan splattered on them. Some of the locals knew who Stamkos was. Others were left scratching their heads.
“Here’s the thing,” Esposito said. “A lot of people here at the time didn’t know what it meant. They would see those things and didn’t know who he was. He hadn’t played a game for the Lightning yet. He hadn’t even been drafted yet.
“It was a marketing campaign by the team. And it was a smart one.”
Esposito co-founded the Lightning franchise in 1991, and has served as a broadcaster for the team’s games since 1999. As such, he watched and monitored the Stamkos era in Tampa from its inception 16 years ago.
“What you have to remember is that one player does not make a team,” the 82-year-old Esposito said. “Stamkos came to a team that already had star players like Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. They’d won a Stanley Cup in 2004. Stamkos came in and didn’t have to be the guy.
“They were a great influence on him.”
Especially St. Louis.
Now the coach of the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis became a big brother figure to Stamkos in those early years. Then, on March 5, 2014, in St. Louis’ 13th season with the Lightning, he was sent to the New York Rangers after requesting a trade out of Tampa.
As such, the 49-year-old St. Louis understands the roller coaster of feelings Stamkos will experience upon returning to Tampa. The two, in fact, have stayed in touch with texts since Stamkos signed with Nashville.
“I think it will be very emotional for him,” St. Louis said Saturday after Montreal’s 5-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues. “It was for me. Not just for him. For his family. For the fans.
“It’s going to be a great night for him. He’s going to get the respect and recognition he deserves. It’ll always be special for him to be back there.
“But that first game back, it’s one of those games you’ll always remember when all is said and done.”
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Stamkos and Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had a ritual.
On any given NFL Sunday, when the Lightning schedule allowed them to, the two best friends would get together to watch games. They’d been teammates since 2009 when Hedman was drafted No. 2 overall by the Lightning, and soon became neighbors.
They filmed commercials together. Their kids played together. Theirs was and is a special bond, the hard-shooting forward from Ontario and the big, mild-mannered defenseman from Sweden.
“It’s weird, in so many ways, that he’s not here,” Hedman said. “I miss a lot of things. I miss not getting together to watch football.
“Like I said, I miss so many things.”
So does the city of Tampa. Stamkos and his wife Sandra, after all, personally supported the local Ronald McDonald House Charities through ad campaigns and fundraisers, as well as by inviting many of the families to Lightning games.
They were entrenched in the community. As such, Stamkos said the most difficult part of leaving was saying goodbye to all the friends his family had made here in almost two decades. In fact, his dad Chris came down to the Tampa area last week to get reacquainted with some of those familiar faces.
“I know that’s one of the hardest aspects about this whole situation for Steven,” Chris said.
For Cooper, it has been a sobering reminder of the business of hockey. Three years after the Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup, he’s seen a mass exodus from that team, including forwards Stamkos, Blake Coleman, Ross Colton, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Patrick Maroon and Ondrej Palat, and defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Luke Schenn.
“I’m kind of a newbie at experiencing this the past few years,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of my guys leave. It’s part of the game but it doesn’t make it any less emotional.”
Especially for Hedman, who succeeded Stamkos as Lightning captain and said the two will remain lifelong pals well after their respective Hall of Fame careers are over. In fact, there was chatter at Amalie Arena after the Lightning’s 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday that maybe, just maybe, the two might get together for the late NFL games on Sunday if Stamkos arrived in Tampa on time.
Asked if that was the case, Hedman smiled shrewdly.
“Maybe,” he said. “We’ll have to see.”
Will he have "Seen Stamkos?" On Monday, he and Lightning supporters certainly will.
Count on there being tears all around.
NHL.com independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report.
