"We have a long, long list of considerations for players like that [who] are going to commit to an eight-year term," Meehan said. "Then there are many personal issues, there are many professional issues, there are many economic issues.
"And to do this right, to do it right, to do I think justice to the whole process, everyone should take as much as time as necessary to review all these considerations so that when the decision is made you won't have any regrets by saying, 'Well, I never thought of that, I never covered that off, I never considered that.' …
"Nobody should make any excuses for doing that. I think you really owe it to yourself to do that in every respect."
Stamkos was a restricted free agent in July 2011 and took 18 days before signing his five-year contract.
He has 21 goals and 40 points in 53 games this season. Stamkos, the first pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, has 297 goals and 538 points in 545 games, all with the Lightning. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2010 and 2012, has four 40-goal seasons, and has scored at least 20 goals in each of his first eight seasons. In 2011-12, he became the 20th player in League history to score 60 goals in a season.