Of all the players to lift the 2021 Stanley Cup as members of the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was tough not to feel happiest of all for Steven Stamkos. Stamkos, who missed all but two minutes and 47 seconds of last year’s bubble run, was a key contributor for the Bolts on the road to this triumph. While many were quick to remark last year that Tampa Bay “proved they could win without Stamkos,” the reality is that they wouldn’t have won this year without him.

That last sentence isn’t meant to be hyperbole, either. This truly was Steven Stamkos’ moment. Even though his 18 points in 23 playoff games rank third on the team behind Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, and even though certain media talking heads were critical of his relatively quiet performance in the Final, Stamkos was a key cog in the machine that led the Lightning to their back-to-back Stanley Cup win.

As evidence, consider two statistics that really demonstrate the impact he had for this Bolts team throughout the 2021 postseason run. Per Natural Stat Trick, Stamkos led the Lightning in five-on-five expected goal share through the playoffs – generating a 55.03% share in his 23 games. That’s an elite performance at a very difficult time of year. And, how he got there might be even more impressive.

That impressive expected goal share wasn’t built on the back of nonstop scoring chances for Stamkos and the Lightning; instead, it was built on the back of his superior defensive performance throughout the team’s playoff journey. Among all regular Lightning skaters, Stamkos also led the Lightning in limiting expected goals against. His five-on-five xGA/60, again per Natural Stat Trick, was a stellar 1.9. That ranks eighth overall in the league among players who suited up for more than 200 five-on-five minutes.

Combined, those two numbers tell the story of the evolution we’ve seen from Steven Stamkos over the last decade-plus. Gone are the days of him being a threat to score 60 goals in a season. Gone are the days of him being considered one of the absolute best offensive threats in the league – heck, he’s not even the best offensive threat on his team anymore! But, do you know what days have arrived in their place? The days of Steven Stamkos, Stanley Cup Champion. His commitment to recovering from a truly grim injury history and becoming an all-around contributor is a big reason that the Bolts are back-to-back champions.

So, even though Stamkos’ contributions to the Lightning may be quieter than they were in the early part of his career, it’s impossible to argue with the fact that his contributions in this era made a difference. Throughout the playoffs, many commentators were pleasantly stunned by the Lightning’s ability to lock things down in low-scoring games; both Game 7 against the New York Islanders and Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens spring to mind. Tampa Bay obviously doesn’t win this Cup without Nikita Kucherov’s absurd 32 points, but Tampa Bay also doesn’t win this Cup (and games like those) without the complete-game prowess of Steven Stamkos.

As always, thanks for reading.

Join the Discussion: » 45 Comments » Post New Comment

» Steven Stamkos and the Olympics

» Steven Stamkos is Showing Hart

» Victor Hedman is Back

» Lightning, Predators Release Stadium Series Jerseys

» With Nothing Left to Prove, Lightning are Proving Something