Just End the Stamkos Drama

Enough with it. End the drama.

Is there a chance Stamkos doesn’t play for the Lightning next year? Surely, but it’s pretty small.  GM Steve Yzerman is trying to do everything in his power to keep Stamkos in Tampa.  Stamkos is the team’s biggest marketing tool, and the future of the franchise.  Trading (or letting Stamkos go) would be Stevie Y’s last resort, but there’s no rush at the moment.

Are teams like the Flyers, Maple Leafs, among other teams,  interested in adding Stamkos? Of course.  He’s one of the best players in the league, everyone’s going to have interest.  How much interest and whether they are willing to part with some pieces is a different story.

A lot of these types of rumors are started because the NHL offseason has hit a dead spot.  Everyone’s bored.  Fans are playing NHL11 and seeing how different players look in different uniforms.  Media members have written stories about “no new news” with the Stamkos negotiations and then fans begin speculating (despite the insistence of “no new news”).  Rumors start, such as that Stamkos “doesn’t want to play in Tampa”, even though no credible reports have said this.  Also, it has been denied over and over.  Yet the rumors persist.

So what do Lightning fans think?  

July 4th’s All Time American Hockey Team

In honor of our country’s Independence Day, I’ve decided to compile a full 23 man roster of the greatest American hockey players.

Centers
Pat LaFontaine scored over 1000 points in a career that was cut short. He was surpassed as the American points leader by Mike Modano, who has 561 goals and 1374 points (and still going?). Another player with 500 goals and 1000 points is Jeremy Roenick. The recently retired Doug Weight played for various teams in the NHL for 19 seasons, also scoring over 1000 points. Neal Broten, a member of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, played 1099 NHL games, being named an All Star twice.

Left Wings
Keith Tkachuk is only one of four Americans to score 500 goals, and went to five All Star games. In Montreal, John LeClair was a 3rd line center, but when he was traded to Philly in 1995, his career took off. 3 straight 50 goal seasons (only American to do that) and 5 straight 40 goal seasons, LeClair finished with over 400 goals. Brian Rolston has played over 1100 games and scored over 700 points in the NHL. Even though he never played an NHL game, Mike Eruzione scored the biggest goal in American hockey history, as he captained the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.