Prior to the draft tonight Tampa Bay Lightning general manager, Julien BriseBois, met with the local media over a zoom call. Unsurprisingly, the first question he was asked did not involve the draft. Instead it focused on the free agent situation that has lingered like a thunderstorm over the bay for the last year. Like a storm on a day when you planned on going to the beach the answer he provided in regards to the status of the negotiations with Steven Stamkos isn’t likely to make any Lightning fan’s weekend better. Per Gabby Shirley his response was,
“As we stand here right now, we haven’t been able to reach an agreement yet.