Steven Stamkos won't be back in the Stanley Cup final

The will he play or won't he guessing game regarding Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos is over. Lightning coach Jon Cooper has confirmed Stamkos will not play again in the series, regardless of how long it goes.

"Hopefully the next time we see him on the ice is for a trophy presentation," said Cooper during a news conference on Sunday.

"He did everything he could to get back. And he did get back, and unfortunately he couldn't go any further. I'm sure this will all be addressed after the series is over. He gamed it out," Cooper added.

Stamkos played in just one game the entire playoffs, which was game three of the SCF. He logged just 2:47 seconds of ice-time, but managed to score a goal on his very first shot.

Stamkos underwent core muscle surgery back in March and was expected to be out six to eight weeks. However, he had several setbacks along the road to recovery. Tampa Bay currently leads the Cup final 3-2, with game six set to go Monday night. Stamkos will have his name on the Stanley Cup should Tampa Bay win it. The current rules state a player must have played at least 41 games in the regular season with his club or one game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Stamkos played 57 games in 2019-20, so his name would have been there even if he hadn't played the one game in the final.

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