Five potential destinations for Steven Stamkos to consider this off-season

For the second straight season, the Tampa Bay Lightning saw their season end in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and this off-season will prove to be a tricky one for the team’s front office. 

Among the top priorities will be to figure out what the future holds for captain Steven Stamkos, who is inching closer to free agency after signing an eight-year $68-million contract back in 2016. At that time, Stamkos was also being courted by teams to leave Tampa Bay, but ultimately he decided to return and has two Stanley Cup rings to justify that decision.

It’s hard not to look at how the Lightning and Stamkos have found themselves in this position. The 34-year-old didn’t want to be this close to free agency in the first place and made that very clear back in September. 

“To be honest, I’m disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,” Stamkos said as Lightning players reported for the start of training camp. “It was something that I expressed at the end of last year that I wanted to get something done before training camp started.”

Well now the ball is in Stamkos’ court to decide what comes next for him and he’ll have some options to consider especially after another productive season where he scored 40 goals and 81 points in 79 games and led the Lightning with five goals in their first-round series against the Florida Panthers. 

What does the future look like for Stamkos? Here is a look at the top destinations and fits for Stamkos ahead of free agency. 

Tampa Bay Lightning
Projected cap space: $12.585 million
Players signed for next season: 16

The Lightning have been in this position before and you have to think they like their chances to convince Stamkos to remain with the team. 

They were able to convince Stamkos to stay despite some enticing offers that were well and above what the Lightning were offering. That appeared to work out well for both sides but this time around, general manager Julien BriseBois has his work cut out for him. 

BriseBois had to answer for Stamkos’ disappointment about his pending contract status and lack of negotiations, saying he needed time before he could make a push to re-sign his captain. 

“Steven and I share a common goal of bringing the Cup back to Tampa — that’s our objective,” BriseBois said. “In order for us to do that in future years, we’re going to need to spend our cap dollars as wisely as possible. In order for me to do that, I feel like I need to gather more information.”

Tampa Bay has been busy the past couple of off-seasons ensuring the team’s core is locked up long-term, including long-term deals for goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and defencemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak along with forwards Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. The real question is where does Stamkos fit into the Lightning’s long-term plan and can they make the room for him on the salary cap?

BriseBois made it clear that after this season, the information he gathered told him that bringing back Stamkos would be a wise investment and is already making it a priority to get a deal done. 

“Obviously Steven Stamkos needs a contract and we want him [to be] part of that group,” the GM told reporters Wednesday. “You all saw how, from the trade deadline on, Stammer elevated his level of play, which was incredible to see. For someone who has already earned his Hall of Fame plaque, has accomplished so much already, and has been accomplishing so much for so long, for him to play arguably the best two months of hockey of his career — it started around the trade deadline, and he carried it all the way through that series against the Panthers — for him to do that, at the time when our team needed it most, was incredible

“The aim is for him to continue to play on a contending Tampa Bay Lightning team going forward.” 

A meeting has already taken place between Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan and the Lightning and BriseBois seemed hopeful that a deal can get done. Stamkos also made it clear that while winning is still at the top of his mind, he has also considered other factors that will influence his decision, including the fact his family has established roots in the city. 

The Lighting have 16 players under contract next season and just over $12.5 million in space to fill out the rest of the roster and get a Stamkos deal done. They might have to make some moves in order to get some flexibility, which has been done in the past to ensure the team is cap-compliant by the start of the season.  

Another factor the Lightning need to consider is Victor Hedman’s pending status. 

As important as Stamkos has been to the Lightning’s success, Hedman’s importance to the team can’t be overlooked. This was made clear when BriseBois indicated that re-signing the six-time Norris Trophy nominee is a priority. Hedman will be elegible for an extension on July 1, and could become a free agent next summer.

Will that mean Stamkos has to take a discount in order to leave the team space to keep Hedman?

Detroit Red Wings
Projected cap space: $29.04 million
Players signed for next season: 13

If there is a person who might be capable of luring Stamkos away from Tampa Bay, it’s the man who was the architect of the team’s championship core. 

Steve Yzerman was also the general manager when Stamkos decided to stay with the Lightning. Yzerman knows what Stamkos brings to the table and it’s the type of player the Red Wings could use in a big way. 

Yzerman made a big push to get Alex DeBrincat last off-season in order to bolster Detroit’s offence, but he wasn’t able to get back to being the 41-goal scorer that he was during his time in Chicago. 

When the Red Wings were without captain Dylan Larkin because of an injury, the rest of the team struggled in his absence, which not only suggests a need to address the team’s offensive depth but also a glaring need to add some leadership.

What could make a push for Stamkos complicated is the Red Wings need to make improvements to the blue line and between the pipes. They could look to move off a defender like Justin Holl in order to gain some roster flexibility, but his $3.4 million cap hit might be tough to move out. Even Ville Husso’s $4.75 million cap hit looks like a boat anchor deal that could be addressed with a trade.

While the team has an abundance of cap space, Yzerman and company have some heavy lifting to do with contract extensions needed for two key players in Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. If they can try to move some players out to add some flexibility, Detroit should consider themselves a prime destination for Stamkos should he become available. 

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Montreal Canadiens
Projected cap space: $17.4 million
Players signed for next season: 14

If there is a chance that Stamkos hits the open market, Kent Hughes and company should be one of the first teams to call Stamkos’ agent for a meeting with the perennial goalscorer. 

There are several areas Stamkos would help improve this Canadiens team including their below-average power play, which was the 26th-ranked unit in the league at 17.5 per  cent. Montreal is also in need of more goal scoring with Nick Suzuki leading the team with 33 goals this season and only three players putting up 20 or more goals. 

Of course, the Canadiens also have a major asset within the organization who could help the team persuade Stamkos to consider Montreal in head coach Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. It’s no secret that St. Louis is someone Stamkos has a lot of respect for from their time together in Tampa Bay. 

The Canadiens should have roughly $17.4 million in cap space once they place Carey Price on long-term injured reserve which should be enough for the team to consider taking a swing at Stamkos and make other moves. Some will wonder if it would be the right move for a team like the Canadiens to make a play for a high priced free agent while they are in a rebuild, but at some point Montreal will have to make a push to return to the playoffs. 

Nashville Predators
Projected cap space: $19.295 million
Players signed for next season: 16

Just when it looked like the Predators were going to take a step back with general manager Barry Trotz in charge, they were a surprise team that went on a big second-half run to secure a wild-card spot. There are still glaring problems on this roster and that was made clear with some of the players they added at the trade deadline in Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier. 

While some might be concerned about Stamkos’ age and injury history when it comes to making a sizeable commitment to him in free agency, the Predators are in a position where they need to add a premium goalscorer. 

Filip Forsberg had a career year where he put up 48 goals and 94 points and next on the list in goals was Ryan O’Reilly with 26. This is a team that has been trying to turn a new leaf offensively after buying out Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen last off-season and it’s going to be tough for them to rely on Gustav Nyquist to replicate his production after scoring 23 goals and a whopping 75 points when he never had more than 60 points in a single season before. 

In the playoffs, the Predators are relying on goal-scoring by committee with Forsberg leading the way at two goals, so having a player like Stamkos who had five through five games would be a welcomed addition. 

Looking at their cap structure for next season, the Predators don’t have any big-name free agents to worry about, but there will likely be some questions on what they will do with Juuse Saros who will be a free agent after the 2024-25 season. Considering they have Yaroslav Askarov waiting in the wings, could they gauge the trade market to see if a team is willing to pay up for Saros or decide it’s worth keeping him around? 

There is no doubting Stamkos could help this Predators team not just with his ability to put the puck in the net, but also add another leader to the fold. 

A darkhorse destination…Toronto Maple Leafs
Projected cap space: $18.5 million
Players signed for next season: 16

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a push to go after Stamkos before, maybe they can get it done the second time around? 

Obviously, the Leafs have several needs to consider this off-season especially if they are unable to turn things around and lose out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will have a decision to make on how they proceed with their goaltending position and the blue line is in need of a hefty revamp especially with just five defencemen signed and Timothy Liljegren needing a new deal. 

Of course, the pending decisions on what the team does with John Tavares and Mitch Marner, who both have one year left on their deals, will also play a big part in how they navigate free agency. You would think the team would prefer to bring back one of Max Domi or Tyler Bertuzzi, but there is only so much cap space that can be dedicated to either. 

If this team is also going to consider a big push towards a couple of defencemen in free agency, they might have to reconsider where they spend their cap space otherwise they could find themselves in a similar situation where they miss out on top targets and have to settle for secondary options like they did with John Klingberg, which didn’t really work out as they planned. 

At the same time, this season exposed a glaring issue with the Leafs’ inability to put pucks in the net, especially on the power play in the playoffs which is currently second-last at 5.9 per cent. If the Leafs were to seriously consider going in a different direction, Stamkos’ resume would be tough to ignore. 

If Toronto were to find a way to move one of their core players, some would question if going after Stamkos is the right choice given the money would be better spent on addressing the other issues listed above. However, it’s hard to see Stamkos commanding a significant salary given he’s going to be 34 next season, especially if he plans to remain with a team in a contending position.

But, it’s hard to ask a player capable of scoring 40-plus goals to take a discount in a place that doesn’t also have the same tax-free benefits as Tampa. 

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