Stamkos posts goodbye message to Lightning, fans on social media

Steven Stamkos officially confirmed that he won’t be returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning this season.

The captain posted a thank you message to the team and fans on social media on Monday, just a few minutes before free agency officially began.

Stamkos said on TSN that he signed with the Nashville Predators on a four-year deal.

In the message, Stamkos thanks Tampa and fans for the 16 years he spent with the team. The forward was selected with the No. 1 pick by the Lightning in 2008 and served as the team captain since 2014. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Lightning as part of the back-to-back championship teams in 2020 and 2021.

The two-time All-Star has played all 1,082 games of his career so far with the Lightning, scoring 555 goals and recording 582 assists.