How does a franchise icon move on? Inside Steven Stamkos’ tough transition to Nashville

NASHVILLE The weekday wake-up call for carpoolers comes early, including for Steven Stamkos .

The Nashville Predators center is usually up at quarter to seven, enough time to get 5-year-old son Carter up, fed, dressed and ready for kindergarten drop-off.

Stamkos, a father of three, then picks up coffee on his 15-minute commute from his Oak Hill home to his office, Bridgestone Arena.

Advertisement Easy living, Stamkos said recently, smiling.

Midwest living.

Stamkos and Midwest living in the same breath isnt something many would have thought theyd ever hear including Stamkos.

Hes still not used to it.

The former Tampa Bay Lightning captain never intended to leave.

And up until the eve of July 1 free agency, when he signed a four-year, $32 million with the Predators , he, his friends and his former teammates held out hope that hed re-sign and finish his NHL career where it started.

Up until the last minute, said friend and Predators teammate Luke Schenn .

And while Stamkos is trying to stay in the present, theres a realization that this type of emotional tie is rarely if ever completely severed.

I dont know if you can put a timetable on it, Stamkos said .

Its not something youre truly going to forget.

Thats the way life goes.

In order for you to give everything youve got to a new situation, youve got to dive headfirst in.

And thats what Ive been trying to do.

Be myself.

Play my game.

It helps that both he and the Predators are coming out of early season slumps the team winning five of its past six games, and Stamkos scoring five goals and eight points in that span (17 and 33 in 48 games this season).

After starting the season 0-5, though, and carrying a 13-22-7 record before the six-game upswing, its still a steep slope back for the preseason darlings.

They were 12 points out of the Western Conferences second wild-card spot heading into Mondays action.

Stamkos former team, the Lightning, is fighting for a playoff spot of its own in the East.

And, yes, Stamkos still follows them closely.

For sure, he said.

Youve got lifelong friends on that team.

Youre keeping tabs on them.

I still talk to a few guys pretty regularly.

I wouldnt say I sit on the couch and watch a lot of the games, but you check the scores, see how guys are doing.

And keeping communication.

That will never change.

Advertisement Stamkos figured the transition would be easier on the hockey side than the family side, and he was wrong.

Sure, his kids are so young that allegiances can change like pants.

Once the Predators sent the family team gear over the summer, Carter, 5, and Chase, 3, were comfortable in the yellow and black.

Carter is playing on the same Junior Predators hockey team as the sons of Schenn, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan OReilly .

Stamkos and Schenn did the two-hour drive together to Huntsville, Alabama, for a recent tournament, both standing on the bench behind their kids.

Theyre loving it, Stamkos said.

Schenn and his wife, Jess, have been close with Stamkos and his wife, Sandra, for years.

So they were a significant part of the transition.

The families live minutes apart in the same neighborhood.

Stamkos bought the home of former Lightning teammate Ryan McDonagh .

Anyone who has been somewhere for their whole career, you feel like thats probably your second home, Schenn said of Stamkos.

Theres a lot of emotion attached to it.

But, at the same time, change is a good thing and theres excitement that goes along with it.

But theres mixed emotions when you have been in one spot for so long.

He kind of grew up with those guys.

Schenn was on the phone with Stamkos often as he approached free agency.

He said he wasnt trying to recruit him or sell Nashville; mostly he was listening to a good friend who was making an agonizing decision.

Stamkos third child, daughter Olivia, was born in June, so having a newborn in the home only added to the chaos.

Stamkos expressed disappointment before last season that the Lightning hadnt yet approached him about an extension, hoping that hed never have to make a decision to leave in free agency.

There were zero talks during the season.

In hindsight, Stamkos said that should have been a clear sign but he was too blinded to see it.

Advertisement I had no intention of going anywhere in that particular moment, Stamkos said.

It didnt work out.

My view on that had never changed over the years.

I never thought itd be a possibility Id get to July 1.

Even looking back to the previous year July 1.

Maybe the writing was on the wall when things didnt translate.

There were no discussions the whole year.

Youre naive in those situations sometimes.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois met with Stamkos after the team returned to Tampa following a first-round loss to the Panthers in May.

He called re-signing the captain a priority.

But as the sides appeared far apart, BriseBois at the NHL Draft said that Stamkos and the team agreed to at least let him reach free agency.

The Lightning were cap-crunched, of course, but even after BriseBois cleared roughly $13 million of cap space by dealing Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot around the draft, their offer to Stamkos didnt change.

Moving on, the Lightning signed Jake Guentzel , 30, to a seven-year, $63 million deal ($9 million average annual value), and its hard to argue over how its worked out, with Guentzel at 25 goals and 49 points through 47 games.

But some former teammates and friends were disappointed by the Lightnings offer to Stamkos, which has been reported as an eight-year term and $3 million AAV.

Youd think Stamkos, a prideful and accomplished player, would have been hurt by it.

Was Stamkos surprised by the Lightnings final offer? For sure, Stamkos said.

Obviously if I wasnt, I would have stayed, right? Its in the past now.

Those are stories and conversations for another time.

Right now, its about trying to keep building my game.

I feel like Im in a much better place now than I was in the first month and a half.

Im making all those little adjustments on and off the ice, focusing on being present and doing what I need to do to help our team win.

Advertisement And the wins, finally, are coming.

This is what most of the hockey world expected when GM Barry Trotz made such a big splash in free agency, bringing in Marchessault and Brady Skjei in addition to Stamkos.

But it took longer than expected for all the new parts to come together.

New guys, different systems, different linemates, expectations are high you hope it clicks right away, but sometimes transition, it just takes some time to understand what we are as a team and what everyones goals are within the team, to find some lines that have some chemistry, Stamkos said.

The same held true for Stamkos individually, even though he opened the season with a chance to play center full-time for the first time in years.

It wasnt an ideal start for us at 0-5, then you start to think too much on the ice instead of reacting, Stamkos said.

We settled into some lines that have been more consistent, and it gave some of the new guys time to adjust.

It still hasnt gone outstanding, but I feel we are on the right track in terms of we understand what we are as a team, our identity.

Were just trying to put some wins together.

But overall, production on the ice has been a lot better than it was in the beginning.

Schenn has started to see things come together for Stamkos.

While Stamkos doesnt wear a letter, hes spoken up at times in the room, whether its to give us a kick in the butt or raise his voice or stay positive, Schenn said.

Hes as good as anyone in reading the room and it took him zero time at all to transition to that.

As for on the ice, Hes starting to look like the Stammer of old.

There were plenty of images of the Stammer of old during the emotional tribute video from the Lightning in Stamkos anticipated return in mid-October.

What sticks out in Stamkos mind from that trip were the people at the rink friends outside of hockey, those relationships you build over 16 years that sometimes you take for granted because you think youll see them every day and you dont.

It was great for Stamkos to see his best friend Victor Hedman wearing the C he donned for a decade-plus It was a pretty obvious choice, Stamkos said.

Then Stamkos surveyed the crowd.

The fans were fantastic, Stamkos said.

It was a great video and reception.

Its something Ill remember forever.

Those are the moments when its hard to not think, What if? Stamkos admitted the decision to sign elsewhere was much different than when he became an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016, when he decided to re-sign with Tampa Bay on an eight-year deal.

That was two Stanley Cup rings ago and three kids ago.

Advertisement Uprooting a young family no matter where he went was bound to mean worrying if he made the right call.

Youre always going to have those doubts, he said.

No matter what decision you make in life.

Especially ones that involve your family, your children, your wife.

Thats why its a tough decision.

But, saying that, you start looking for the reasons why you made the decision and not questioning why it didnt work out, then youre usually in a much better place.

Thats what Ive been trying to do.

For Schenn, the real celebration for Stamkos in Tampa Bay will be when his No.

91 jersey is officially retired, likely being placed next to former linemate and friend Martin St.

Louis.

Its tough during the season to grasp and honor him the way he should, Schenn said.

One day, when hes retired and the jersey goes up to the rafters.

And gets the statue.

Stamkos said the night he returned to Tampa that it wasnt a goodbye; it was a see you later.

Did that mean hed eventually re-sign with the Lightning at the end of his career? Or was it more colloquial? Ill be in Tampa again one day, he said.

Its not like Im never going back to Tampa.

Thats what I meant.

Everyone is like, This is a somber moment.

People think theyll never see you again.

Whether its we are living there or whether we are back for an event or whatever it might be, Ill be back there at some point.

Stamkos smiled.

So well see you later.

(Top graphic: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic , with photos by Jonathan Kozub and John Russell / Getty Images).

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