Chris Johnston of Sportsnet with his views on the Stamkos situation.

The more this goes along, the more it looks and sounds like Steven Stamkos is heading towards a breakup with the Tampa Bay Lighting.

It might even come by the end of the month.

No one is saying that, not exactly. But there’s something about the way the “no comments” are flowing with a little more than two weeks left before the Feb. 29 trade deadline that makes you wonder if the situation is coming to a head.

When veteran agent Don Meehan of Newport Sports appeared on Prime Time Sports earlier this week it was notable when he responded to a question about Stamkos and the deadline by saying: “Well, I think it’s a sensitive issue.”

Then Stamkos met reporters on Thursday and declined to rule out the possibility of waiving his no-movement clause to help the Lightning facilitate a deal.

“I haven’t even thought about that,” said Stamkos, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. “I think the answer is, ‘we’ll cross that bridge at the time, and I don’t think it’s that time now.’ So I continue to come to the rink everyday as the leader that I am and the teammate that everyone in this room knows that I am, and give my best effort.”

He added: “The trade deadline is coming up in a couple weeks, I’m sure everyone will have some answers in a couple weeks when that comes.”

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