What It Means:

The Penguins eliminated the Lightning in Game 7 on Thursday night and Stamkos made a surprise return to the lineup. He is eligible for unrestricted free agency in July, but he has expressed plenty of interest in staying with Tampa Bay and hopes that something can be worked out for that to happen.

Stamkos put together a regular season which was slightly underwhelming compared to his normal level of production, scoring 36 goals and recording 64 points in 77 games. His -3.1 Relative Corsi For Percentage at Even Strength was a career low while his 51.5 Corsi For Percentage was slightly above his career average (50.6).