The easiest thing to do would have been to deny the accuracy of the numbers or to completely shoot them down. But when Steven Stamkos was asked about Elliotte Friedman’s report that the Lightning offered him an eight-year, $68 million contract extension, he declined comment.

“I don’t know how they get a hold of stuff like that,” Stamkos told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

A source close to negotiations also declined comment on the reported offer, staying consistent with the air-tight negotiations between Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman and Newport Sports.

If the reported offer was way off, we’d assume Stamkos would have laughed it off rather than wonder how the information surfaced. But assuming it’s close to how negotiations are proceeding, there are a couple of ways to interpret it.