Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is predicted to succeed in the open market, his agent shared with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Stamkos has been a pillar of the Tampa lineup since his first-overall choice within the 2008 NHL Draft. He’s since achieved all of it in Tampa Bay — claiming the franchise file for video games performed, objectives, and factors; succeeding Vincent Lecavalier as captain in 2013; and main Tampa to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
To not be outdone, Stamkos adopted the Cup wins with the primary 100-point season of his profession in 2022. He has since proven zero indicators of slowing down, recording 34 objectives and 84 factors final yr and 40 objectives and 81 factors this yr. By his seasons that weren’t restricted by damage, Stamkos has failed to succeed in 50 factors simply as soon as — in 2008-09, when he scored 46 factors as a rookie. He’s since been as constant of a scorer as groups might ask for, nonetheless providing high-end goal-scoring at 34.
The Lightning are within the uncommon place to abdomen dropping a constant 80-point scorer, due to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Level’s continued problem of the 100-point mark. Nonetheless, Tampa will nonetheless have to discover a strategy to substitute the dependable upside that Stamkos introduced yr after yr ought to he transfer away from the membership. That may very well be a tricky invoice to satisfy because the Lightning boast simply $5.335M in projected cap house, with seven pending free brokers on their NHL roster. That features winger Anthony Duclair, who scored eight objectives and 15 factors in 17 common season video games after Tampa Bay acquired him on the Commerce Deadline. Duclair had a profession yr in 2021-22, scoring 31 objectives and 58 factors, although he’s did not reignite his scoring since. Whereas he’s certain for a pay elevate after a scorching second half to the yr, Duclair may very well be a less expensive choice with scoring upside to try to fill Stamkos’ top-six function.
In the meantime, the query of what Stamkos’ subsequent contract might seem like is seemingly unimaginable to reply. He’s nearing the tip of his profession however nonetheless appears match for a number of extra years within the league. And he’ll undeniably be among the many yr’s highest-paid gamers after concluding an eight-year contract with an annual cap hit of $8.5M. There appears to be no worth he couldn’t demand after potting 40 objectives this season. On the very least, he probably isn’t set for a pay minimize. And he’s a future Corridor-of-Famer coming into the open market, which might rapidly encourage a bidding conflict.
Tampa Bay is susceptible to dropping the face of their franchise for a lot of the 2010s. That shall be unimaginable to fill, particularly with such restricted cap house. In the meantime, Stamkos will plan for a uncommon career-first in free company — and loads of curiosity from across the league.
