Steven Stamkos Is About Winning, Which Made His 500th Goal Much Sweeter

The 18,792 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night rose to their feet to applaud a career milestone. The reception was not for one of the hometown Vancouver Canucks, but for a visiting player.

There are not many athletes who would be celebrated in the opposition’s home in such a manner. Steven Stamkos is one. He has performed at the highest level for 15 seasons and has done so with tremendous class and dignity.

The folks in Vancouver understood that, and rose as one when Stamkos scored the 500^th goal of his NHL career not five minutes into a game his team would win. The latter part is no small detail to Stamkos. After all, team and winning come first and foremost. That’s why Stamkos has the “C” stitched on his jersey.

“Winning is the important thing and whenever you can have an individual achievement and have the team win, too, it is just that much more special,” he said following the game.

Stamkos has won a lot of important games while piling up many memorable goals throughout his career, which, including playoffs, was 1,082 games in length through Wednesday evening.

His storybook cameo (five shifts) in the Edmonton bubble during the 2020 Stanley Cup final against Dallas was something that will not soon be forgotten. Sidelined by a core muscle injury in February of what would be a virus-shortened regular season, and needing several months to heal, he returned for Game 3 more than 200 days later to score a first-period goal that gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead. They would win the game, 5-2, and go on to win their second Cup, and first of two straight.

“I’m not a huge believer of those meant-to-be moments, but that was truly one of those moments for me,” he said, after the goal was recognized as Sports Illustrated’s play of the year for 2020.

Stamkos, who recorded his 500th assist and 1,000th point earlier this season, is the 47th player to score 500 goals. He is only the 19th to have done so in less than 1,000 games as he did it in his 965th match. He also joins Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin as the only active members of the 500-goal club.

“It is such a humbling experience when you have a moment like that and get to celebrate it with your teammates, who are genuinely just as excited as you are,” he said after the Lightning’s 5-2 win over the Canucks, in which he capped the evening with an empty-netter for his 11^th career hat trick. “It is an individual stat, but it takes so many different players along the way to help me get to that. That’s where you reflect on those things, and you are very thankful to be part of this group and the group of players I have played with for one organization the last 14-plus years.”

Stamkos’ first NHL goal October 30, 2008 at Buffalo was a deflection past Sabres’ goalie Ryan Miller. It came on the power play and was assisted by the only two players in Lightning history to have their numbers retired, Vincent Lecavalier, whose right circle blast found Stamkos’ stick, and Martin St. Louis. Stamkos added a second goal in what was, like Wednesday night and Game 3 of the Cup final against Dallas, a 5-2 win.

Linemate Alex Killorn, who fed an open Stamkos to draw the primary assist on No. 500, has been a teammate on the Lightning for more than a decade.

“I have played with Stammer for 11 years now and I witnessed a lot of (goals), but to be part of it on the 500^th is special for me,” he said. “I am really happy for him. He’s worked really hard in his career. There are not many players who have scored 500.”

It will be 10 years in March since Jon Cooper took over behind the Tampa Bay bench. As such, he has had a front row seat to most of Stamkos’ goals while watching No. 91, who turns 33 in February, mature into one of the game’s elite players – and people. It is the latter that stands out as much as anything.

“It just makes you proud,” said Cooper. “What probably made me most proud is what he said to the team after the game and how he thanked everybody. I have watched that kid grow into a man and he is a phenomenal leader. To be honest, he is a generational goal scorer. Those guys don’t come around that often. Enjoy them while you can.”