It appears the dream of a sign-and-trade to acquire Steven Stamkos from the Tampa Bay Lightning will remain just that — a dream. For god only knows what reason, Steve Yzerman felt the need to publish a statement today saying that the forward will not be moved before the Feb. 29 trade deadline.
Perhaps he’s tired of getting phone calls from Lou Lamoriello, or maybe it’s a sign that things aren’t going so well in the contract negotiation room, but it’s surprising to me he feels he has to say anything. Not only was it widely assumed Stamkos wouldn’t be moved, you know, because he’s Steven-fricking-Stamkos, but even if you don’t want to move him, why put it out there?
Here’s the statement from Yzerman.
“As February 29th approaches, I am stating today that Steven Stamkos will not be traded before the NHL’s trade deadline. I have said repeatedly that it is our hope to reach an agreement with Steven on a new contract at some point, and with 27 games remaining in the season, our entire organization, Steven included, wants to focus on making the playoffs. I will keep the negotiating process strictly between the involved parties and have no further comment on the state of those negotiations.”
“Please stop calling me.” —Yzerman
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