Jon Cooper comments on Steven Stamkos returning to Tampa Bay: the soap opera of sports

Steven Stamkos left the Tampa Bay Lightning after a stellar career this past off-season, and now his highly anticipated return is finally upon us.

After a year full of rumours and speculation, Steven Stamkos officially parted ways with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer, and it was a move met with plenty of emotion from both sides. Stamkos' deal with the Nashville Predators came as a shock to many, and now, just a few weeks into the 2024/25 regular season, the veteran star will return home, as the Predators visit the Lightning on Monday night.

Unsurprisingly, it's expected to bring out the emotion in everyone from both sides, but when asked about Stamkos, Head Coach Jon Cooper had nothing but praise for his former captain.

When the emotion of the night was brought up, Cooper hyped up the highly anticipated game, calling this one of the reasons why we watch sports, for the drama.

As for potential booing that we consistently see when a player leaves in free agency and returns, that's not expected this time, at least not from Victor Hedman, who was named captain after Stamkos' departure.

While Stamkos' departure from Tampa Bay never should have happened, it indeed did and is now in the past, so now we look forward to a highly emotional game in which Stamkos will play as a visitor for the first time in the place he called home for well over a decade.

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