“That’s the frustrating part,” Stamkos said. “When you’re hurt with a broken hand or broken leg, you can’t get out there and play because your body can’t function properly. My body feels pretty good.”
The pervasive surgery he underwent involved slicing away muscle from the blood clot and extracting a rib. Optimistically, the recovery time is one to three months. He’s been sidelined since April 4 following the surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. To no ones surprise, the seemingly bionic man has already begun skating with his teammates. His team is two wins away from returning to the Eastern Conference Final.
Nobody would ever question Steven Stamkos’ toughness, especially after he returned for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Bruins in 2011 after a puck bashed his face in and when he broke his leg in 2013, only to return in less than four months to play the final 20 games of the regular season plus four in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s a hockey player and a damn good one.
BOSTON, MA – MAY 27: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates off the ice after being hit in the face with the puck in the second period of Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 27, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Does the injury, coupled with the Lightning’s early playoff success without their captain create doubts in GM Steve Yzerman‘s mind about the pending UFA’s value and the Bolts need for him on their roster next season?
Despite the injuries and the slight drop in scoring, certainly there are takers for Stamkos and his huge cap hit should he become a free agaent. No one more than the rebuilding, holders of the first overall draft pick Toronto Maple Leafs.
At 26, Stamkos is just now entering his hockey prime. Yes that’s right. Despite having scored an amazing 312 goals and amassing 562 points in just 569 NHL games, he’s only just begun. With today’s nutritional knowledge and physical fitness testing, Stamkos is looking at playing ten to fifteen more years if he chooses to and stays relatively healthy.
Ten to fifteen years of making over $8 million per year. Ten to fifteen years of taking a huge piece of someone’s salary cap.
Stamkos is still a premiere goal scorer and any team would profit from having him on their side. In four of his last five seasons he’s finished either first or second in goals scored.
Montreal, Boston and of course Toronto are my top three landing spots for Stamkos if he leaves.
Boston would have to circumvent their cap situation to land Stamkos, but they’ve done that in the past. Loui Eriksson‘s cap number is no longer hampering the Bruins and that puts them closer to the ability to sign Stamkos.
Boston is a hot bed of hockey history with passionate fans and that seems attractive to Stamkos. They are still in the “win now” mode, just as Stamkos is. If Stamkos is attracted to the Bruins, the only thing standing in the way is the cap.
With the return of goaltender Carey Price next season, the Canadiens become an instant contender. Although Montreal is tight to the cap, they are expected to have a big roster turnover this off-season. Of course Stamkos and Norris Trophy defenseman P.K. Subban are boyhood friends and that relationship could be more influential than anyone knows.
With a healthy Price in net, Montreal is much closer to a Stanley Cup than Boston or Toronto. Stamkos’ need to win now may cost these other teams a chance at him.
Recently TSN’s Bob McKenzie appeared on Montreal’s TSN 690. The conversation was about how well the Toronto Maple Leafs rebuild is going with the moves made on and off ice over the past year and if all of that makes it any more or less likely that superstar the Markham, Ontario native would want to come to Toronto.
“It’s a good question. I can’t presume to know what Steven Stamkos would think. It’s his hometown. I don’t think that just because it’s his hometown that he’s necessarily sitting there on pins and needles saying, ‘I can hardly wait to get to July 1 so I can sign with Toronto and nobody else’,” said McKenzie.
“What I can tell you is, I think, that I would be shocked beyond all belief if Steven Stamkos becomes a free agent… there’s no doubt in my mind the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to take a hard run at him. They would feel like Stamkos is the missing piece of the puzzle. He’s a real good player. They’ve got an unbelievable amount of salary cap flexibility right now.”
McKenzie added, “… There’s no doubt If Stamkos is on the market, they will make a strong bid to try and get him. Whether they get him, we’d all just be guessing on that.”
It is possible that the the Leafs drafting Auston Matthews will stop them for coming so hard after Stamkos, but there will probably never again come a time when a team with the cap room, the prospects and the timing of a rebuild would be able to sign a generational player like Stamkos. That’s the reason the Leafs will go at him as hard as they can.
So the ultimate question is will Steven Stamkos abandon Tampa Bay and/or will Steve Yzerman set him free?
“I still believe that Steve Yzerman is trying whatever he can do to sign Steven Stamkos, and I believe it will happen. Steven is going to come back. He’s going to be fine,” says VP of Corporate and Community Affairs Dave Andreychuk who is not part of hockey operations but is someone who certainly speaks with GM Steve Yzerman on a regular basis.
“He understands what it is to be a superstar,” Andreychuk said. “He is the face of the franchise. There’s no doubt in my mind.
“If I have a sick kid in the hospital, he’s on it right away.”
“The Lightning need the Triplets and Stamkos to be contender. You can’t just break things up and hope that it’s going to be successful,” Andreychuk said.
The Lightning are a better team with Steven Stamkos. GM Steve Yzerman will not make a decision on him based solely on his teams playoff performance. Yzerman no doubt wants Stamkos suiting up for the Bolts next season and will do anything financially possible to make that happen.
But even with owner Jeff Vinik‘s willingness to spend to the cap, it probably will not be possible to keep UFA’s Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop and RFA’s Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, and Jonathan Drouin who all need to be signed in the next two years.
Tampa Bay has already committed $52.2 million in contracts for next season. The cap will be close to the current level of $71.4 million or raise to $74 million.
Will Steven Stamkos be wearing a Lightning jersey next season? Probably. Will he leave to become a hockey God in Toronto? Maybe.
Toronto is on the right track but it’s not close to winning a Cup. Stamkos’ will and want to win will keep him here in Tampa Bay if at all possible. Many mainstream writers see money as Stamkos’ number one priority in negotiations. This may be true but the ability to win now is right there and Tampa Bay is the best place in the NHL right now, for Stamkos to live the ultimate dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup.
(Photos/Getty Images)
(Feature Photo/Christine Gunn)
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