Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is expected to reach 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 selection in the 2008 NHL Draft. He’s since accomplished it all in Tampa Bay — claiming the franchise record for games played, goals, and points; succeeding Vincent Lecavalier as captain in 2013; and leading Tampa to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
Not to be outdone, Stamkos followed the Cup wins with the first 100-point season of his career in 2022. He has since shown zero signs of slowing down, recording 34 goals and 84 points last year and 40 goals and 81 points this year. Through his seasons that weren’t limited by injury, Stamkos has failed to reach 50 points just once — in 2008-09, when he scored 46 points as a rookie. He’s since been as consistent of a scorer as teams could ask for, still offering high-end goal-scoring at 34.
The Lightning are in the rare position to stomach losing a consistent 80-point scorer, thanks to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point’s continued challenge of the 100-point mark. However, Tampa will still need to find a way to replace the reliable upside that Stamkos brought year after year should he move away from the club. That could be a tough bill to meet as the Lightning boast just $5.335M in projected cap space, with seven pending free agents on their NHL roster. That includes winger Anthony Duclair, who scored eight goals and 15 points in 17 regular season games after Tampa Bay acquired him at the Trade Deadline. Duclair had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 31 goals and 58 points, though he’s failed to reignite his scoring since. While he’s bound for a pay raise after a hot second half to the year, Duclair could be a cheaper option with scoring upside to try and fill Stamkos’ top-six role.
Meanwhile, the question of what Stamkos’ next contract could look like is seemingly impossible to answer. He’s nearing the end of his career but still seems fit for a few more years in the league. And he’ll undeniably be among the year’s highest-paid players after concluding an eight-year contract with an annual cap hit of $8.5M. There seems to be no price he couldn’t demand after potting 40 goals this season. At the very least, he likely isn’t set for a pay cut. And he’s a future Hall-of-Famer entering the open market, which could quickly inspire a bidding war.
Tampa Bay is at risk of losing the face of their franchise for much of the 2010s. That will be impossible to fill, especially with such limited cap space. Meanwhile, Stamkos will plan for a rare career-first in free agency — and plenty of interest from around the league.