Stamkos replaces St. Louis as Lightning captain

Steven Stamkos was scoreless in his return from injury, but the bigger news was him being named captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning now that former captain Martin St. Louis was traded.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Steven Stamkos to replace Martin St. Louis as captain, the team unveiled prior to Thursday’s game versus the Buffalo Sabres.

“Steven Stamkos was destined to be the leader of our team,” head coach Jon Cooper said in a press release. “The fact that it’s happening now just puts us one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal and that is trying to win the Stanley Cup.”

Stamkos made his much-awaited return to the Lightning lineup Thursday after suffering a broken right tibia Nov. 11 in Boston. The injury kept him from playing for Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, despite being selected for the team.

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