Stamkos returns, not talking about future

1:54 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos knew the question was coming.

He sat at his locker after his team’s 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night at Consol Energy Center, distraught by the loss and the team’s inability to reach the Stanley Cup finals for a second consecutive season. As tough as the loss was, many wondered whether this would be Stamkos’ last game as a member of the Lightning, a team and organization he has known since it selected him first overall in the 2008 draft.

When asked if he has thought about the possibility this could have been his last game in a Lightning sweater, No. 91 quickly answered, “No.”

It’s too soon to start thinking that way, but on July 1 he will become an unrestricted free agent, and there will be teams that will come calling if Lightning vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman doesn’t re-sign Stamkos before then.

Both sides have kept negotiations quiet. Now that Tampa Bay’s season is over, talks should pick up — because the Lightning should sign their franchise player and lock him up for a long time.

When Stamkos stepped onto the ice for Game 7, that should have been a strong indication to Yzerman of the captain’s desire to stay. Stamkos wouldn’t have played if his life was in danger, but he had been sidelined 56 days and 21 games while recovering from surgery to correct a blood clot near his collarbone. He had surgery on April 4, and the minimum amount of time he could miss was eight weeks; he tried everything he could to return sooner.

If Stamkos was thinking of being elsewhere in the future, why would he risk his health and play in this game?

Sure, he’s a competitor and wants to win. Yes, he wanted a chance to return to the Stanley Cup finals, only this time to win it. The fact is, he took a chance, probably sooner than expected, and Yzerman should take notice of that.

Was that Steven Stamkos’ final game with the Lightning? Gregory Shamus/NHLI/Getty Images

After the Game 7 loss, Stamkos wanted to focus on the team and not his own career.

“All the adversity that we overcame as a group, I couldn’t be more prouder of the guys with how far we came with all the injuries we had,” Stamkos said. “I feel horrible for the guys that battled, and I was able to play one game, but those guys had a hell of a postseason. I was honored to be on the ice with those guys …

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