Dark comments from Stamkos put his return in serious doubt.

Earlier this week for the first time since his catastrophic injury was announced Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos admitted that despite his optimism there was a chance he wouldn't recover in time no matter how deep of a run the Lightning made without him.

Stamkos also admitted that his primary concern was his long term health and quality of life going forward if he took a risk and returned early, and on Friday he expressed just how serious those concerns were, also for the first time since his injury.

"I think there's a big difference between playing through pain and playing with your life at risk," said Stamkos as per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

Believing that you could literally be putting your life at risk is a very dark thought to have, and if this is how Stamkos truly feels it would be no surprise to see him continue to sit out the rest of the postseason.

[pub]