Be Surprising If Steven Stamkos Doesn’t Remain With the Tampa Bay Lightning
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined TSN Radio in Montreal, and when asked about Steven Stamkos’s future in Tampa, he stated he would be surprised if he ended up somewhere other than with the Lightning.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
NHL Rumors: Steven Stamkos on Track To Remain with the Lightning
Host: “Chatting with Dave Pagnotta Hockey Heaven at 11 Campbell versus Gallo. You know, the Canadiens are searching for offense, but any other team is searching for offense in the offseason. David, a name that we already brought up on this show, and I’m very curious about what his offseason is going to look like, is Steven Stamkos. How do you see this playing out when it comes to July 1?”
Dave Pagnotta: “I would be pretty surprised if he’s not wearing a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform at the start of next season. Now, to what extent his new deal will ultimately be? $9.5 million, which is the max cap to hit that Kucherov, Point, and Vasilevskiy have.
So you’ve got to think that probably going to be no more than that. Now, it is a tax-free state. So there’s the benefit of the lower overall cap hit because of that, and they’re one of six teams that can benefit from it, but honestly, I’d be pretty surprised if Stammer is somewhere else.
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Now, could they prolong it? Could he hit July 1 and at least explore options again? Certainly, that wouldn’t shock me. That wouldn’t surprise me either. But at the same time, I think that he’ll ultimately stay in Tampa. And it’s not just him they have to worry about.
It’s also Victor Hedman. Victor has one more year on his contract. He’s eligible, just like everybody else who will enter their final year, to sign an extension in July. He’s another guy that’s going to have to be addressed, and with the way he’s performed this season, I mean, that’s almost as high on the priority list as Stamkos’s future is for that organization.”