News: Steven Stamkos to hit free agency on July 1st

[Kegs]

I know he's putting up points on the stat sheet but he just looks completely irrelevant when I watch their games. It is a much higher scoring era, so his numbers look decent but he just doesn't impress. Like he's not a bad player or anything, but he's just not good if that makes sense.

Kind of like Tavares for us. Like you see his numbers and go wow, he's producing. Then you watch the game and he just looks like an average guy out there, but somehow is ppg.

Taveres is a really good two way player. He never looks average. I do not think you are seeing the whole game. Maybe you’re looking for fancy stick handling or something. But centres like taveres make everyone around them better.

 

[AvroArrow]

Taveres is a really good two way player. He never looks average. I do not think you are seeing the whole game. Maybe you’re looking for fancy stick handling or something. But centres like taveres make everyone around them better.

He's good, as is Stamkos. My point was, his point totals suggest he's a lot better than he actually is.

 

[Petes2424]

The difference is Chicago had no chance of making the playoffs last year while the Lightning are still very much in the playoff hunt. So unless they are clearly out of contention by the deadline they’ll almost certainly (barring a return they can’t pass up) keep Stamkos and let him walk if he chooses to do so.

I was under the impression, this entire thread was based under the assumption, they’d be out of it by the deadline…. I agree though…. it’s the only way they’d ever trade him. If that wasn’t the assumption of this thread, that’s on me then.

So if it came to them trading him, because they’re selling at the deadline…. I stand by the previous post.

 

[Point21]

He’s potentially Carolina’s missing piece. That one-time threat from the left half wall could be the difference between a cup winning PP and the one that’s at 14.2% over the past 5 playoffs.

If Stamkos is amicable to an extension, Necas wouldn’t be off the table; it’s just moving the timeline up a bit as the Canes have to commit to him this Summer or trade him.

If im JBB and Carolina was interested, i would be looking at something around Nikishin, Trikozov, and Morrow

 

[Vasilevskiy]

If im JBB and Carolina was interested, i would be looking at something around Nikishin, Trikozov, and Morrow

Carolina has some intriguing prospects but I doubt they would trade Nikishin.
Nadeau, Morrow, Lucius, Mukhanov and Unger Sorum are all interesting

 

[Rschmitz]

He is pretty awful in the postseason, what playoff bound team would want him? Yeah if Bolts were way out of it he could be available but that’s very unlikely

 

[GreeningOil]

He is pretty awful in the postseason, what playoff bound team would want him? Yeah if Bolts were way out of it he could be available but that’s very unlikely

I would take him on the Oilers in a heartbeat

 

[Unbiased Fan]

Stammer for Nylander

 

[ShaneinTpa]

Neither team makes that trade. Start with the fact that the lightning could have Stamkos in the off-season for far less than Nylander, so what problem does that solve?

 

[canuckslover10]

Neither team makes that trade. Start with the fact that the lightning could have Stamkos in the off-season for far less than Nylander, so what problem does that solve?

IMO you can trade stammer and get some futures and use the new found capspaceand assets to get a top 6 player and a top 4 dman in the off season.

 

[AndreRoy]

IMO you can trade stammer and get some futures and use the new found capspaceand assets to get a top 6 player and a top 4 dman in the off season.

And teams are just lining up to trade those away, right?

 

[canuckslover10]

And teams are just lining up to trade those away, right?

well depends on what they can get for stammer at the TDL if they can get a 1st, 2nd, and a decent prospect then they can flip that for a top 4 dman and then sign a top 6 forward via ufa and most likely they will sign a little cheaper since Tampa has quite favourable tax breaks, and they are still considered a top team in the league atleast in terms of their core players.

 

[ShaneinTpa]

IMO you can trade stammer and get some futures and use the new found capspaceand assets to get a top 6 player and a top 4 dman in the off season.

That on the surface sounds good, but is highly unlikely to work. Stamkos has a no movement clause. Any team that he would even consider doesn’t have the cap space, nor the assets to turn them into the players this coming off-season that would help Tampa Bay. Essentially the only teams that could take him he wouldn’t wave for.

 

[ShaneinTpa]

well depends on what they can get for stammer at the TDL if they can get a 1st, 2nd, and a decent prospect then they can flip that for a top 4 dman and then sign a top 6 forward via ufa and most likely they will sign a little cheaper since Tampa has quite favourable tax breaks, and they are still considered a top team in the league atleast in terms of their core players.

Realistically any team that he would waive his no movement clause for at the TDL doesn’t have high enough draft picks to make that worthwhile for Tampa. The contenders that need him the most are Boston and Carolina. It’s highly unlikely JBB would trade with his own division. Carolina with a first and Brett Pesce would be the best bet. I just don’t see it happening.

 

[canuckslover10]

That on the surface sounds good, but is highly unlikely to work. Stamkos has a no movement clause. Any team that he would even consider doesn’t have the cap space, nor the assets to turn them into the players this coming off-season that would help Tampa Bay. Essentially the only teams that could take him he wouldn’t wave for.

Colorado can definitely muster up the capspace especially with Girard in the program for most likely the rest of the season (speculation of course)

 

[AndreRoy]

. Carolina with a first and Brett Pesce would be the best bet. I just don’t see it happening.

Tampa could definitely use defensive help, but if they’re trading Stamkos it’s because they’re out of contention this year in which case Pesce’s expiring contract does them no good. They would need Pesce to agree to a team-friendly extension in advance to even consider it, and given that he was underpaid for a good portion of his career I doubt he would want to do that.

 

[AndreRoy]

A more realistic trade would be Stamkos with retention to contending team A, picks and prospects (along with maybe an expiring or two-year cap dump) to rebuilding team B, and a mid-twenties roster player on a good contract to Tampa. Despite what the Canucks fan thinks a rental Stamkos isn’t going to return sufficient pieces to bring back both a top-six forward and a top-four defenseman, but he would easily return the sort of futures that the Lightning used to acquire the likes of Hagel and Coleman, so getting one player like that back in a three-way deal is realistic assuming the right trade partner exists.

 

[HuGort]

Montreal probably be interested in Stamkos in off season. Help our powerplay. We need goals. Habs have 13 million in caproom we can offer short term contract in neighborhood of 10 million

 

[WreckingCrew]

Carolina has some intriguing prospects but I doubt they would trade Nikishin.
Nadeau, Morrow, Lucius, Mukhanov and Unger Sorum are all interesting

Unger Sorum and Morrow are likely completely out of the question (like Nikishin), since there's a chance one or both could make the roster next year (Sorum especially looked really good in camp/preseason, just not NHL ready yet). Nadeau likely a no-go either right now. This front office doesn't like sacrificing potential long-term players for short-term unless it's someone they've already decided isn't likely part of the future team.

 

[Picklepete]

Stammer was pissed with everyone talking about him,,,;
So he decided to pot 4 goals vs Oil last night ! Lol

 

[AndreRoy]

Unger Sorum and Morrow are likely completely out of the question (like Nikishin), since there's a chance one or both could make the roster next year (Sorum especially looked really good in camp/preseason, just not NHL ready yet). Nadeau likely a no-go either right now. This front office doesn't like sacrificing potential long-term players for short-term unless it's someone they've already decided isn't likely part of the future team.

An understandable approach, especially if they don’t think they’re quite ready yet to be truly competitive in the postseason. There comes a time in a team’s competitive window where they have to be willing to sacrifice potential for present value, and Carolina may not be there at this point. But if they want Stamkos he’s the caliber of player that will return a team’s top non-elite prospect(s) as a rental.

Despite what many on this forum unrealistically expect when it comes to their team’s top players potentially being traded with little term remaining, competitive teams looking to add an impact player at the deadline don’t deal core or key complementary players (as they’re needed to help the team win now) or elite prospects (as they’re simply far too valuable in a cap league to give up for a rental.) But quality roster-ready prospects who are non-elite and unproven at the NHL level are dealt all the time at the deadline in these sorts of trades. They are the type of prospect that fans tend to overrate but GMs understand are far from sure things. If I only had a dollar for every time someone on this forum declared such players “untouchable” only to see them fail to make an impact at the NHL level.

If Carolina doesn’t think they’re in a position yet where adding Stamkos would put them over the top then I certainly wouldn’t blame them for choosing not to pursue him. But if they did want to acquire him none of those prospects would realistically be off-limits. Stammer won’t return a proven NHL stud or a sure-thing future star as a rental, as a lot of people on this forum unreasonably expect for their team’s potential deadline sales, but he won’t be dealt for table scraps either.

 

[ShaneinTpa]

Tampa could definitely use defensive help, but if they’re trading Stamkos it’s because they’re out of contention this year in which case Pesce’s expiring contract does them no good. They would need Pesce to agree to a team-friendly extension in advance to even consider it, and given that he was underpaid for a good portion of his career I doubt he would want to do that.

I think it could be easily argued that Pesce is not grossly underpaid. I do agree The lightning will not trade Stamkos unless they’re out of the playoff race at the trade deadline.

 

[WhoozYerrDaddy]

Stamkos will retire a Lightning

That's what everybody thought about Lecavalier, St Louis, and Richards.

 

[canuckslover10]

Wonder if they will re-sign him.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

He totally deserves 8 years at $5M AAV. Has done a lot for that team.

Or maybe Utah decides to make him their first captain and show him the money.