With their rousing victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and young captain Steven Stamkos are now just one win away from the first Stanley Cup Finals berth of Stamkos' career and first for the franchise since they won it all in 2003-04 behind the efforts of current nemesis, Martin St. Louis.
The entire Lightning roster is seemingly growing up before our collective eyes, but Stamkos has certainly become the poster boy for the maturation of the Tampa Bay squad.
While Stamkos elevating himself from phenomenal player to transcendent talent and leader is good news for the Lightning and their fans in the here and now, it may prove damning in the not-too-distant future.
"The notion sounds so goofy that it should be promptly dismissed. Steven Stamkos is Tampa Bay's captain and signature player. But there is chatter wondering if Stamkos's eventual blockbuster contract - he will be a UFA on July 1, 2016 - would be steep enough to prompt the Lightning to deal their captain," writes Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe.
Of course, as Shinzawa himself notes, the possibility of Tampa Bay trading Stamkos seems laughable, but upon further review, the Lightning's depth at forward combined with a questionable, if not necessarily dire cap situation could lead to more than just whispers of Stamkos' departure.
"This speaks to several things: Stamkos's asking price, uncertainty about the salary cap in the future, and Tampa's depth. Stamkos's threshold is $10.5 million, the annual numbers that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will earn starting next season. Stamkos is just as important to his club as Toews and Kane are to theirs. He probably deserves more. But the two Chicago superstars signed their extensions before the weakening of the Canadian dollar," writes Shinzawa.
Stamkos, just 25, has topped 20 goals in every one of his seven NHL seasons. He's also posted, at minimum 40 points, even in the lockout-shortened 2012 and a 2013 season which saw him appear in just 37 games after breaking his leg in gruesome fashion.
He seems to have not only survived but thrived in a leadership role for the Lightning, especially this year as the games have grown in importance and the pressure has mounted.
Still, the Stamkos has not filled up the score sheet this postseason and the teammates how have may be just as important for the Lightning long-term.
"Tyler Johnson is already a top-two center at 24 years old. Vladislav Namestnikov, 22, could become a go-to pivot. They will get raises, as will Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, and Jonathan Drouin. Moving Stamkos is a wild thought. But some people are thinking it out loud," Shinzawa writes.
Netminder Ben Bishop will also need a new deal sometime in the next couple of seasons, as will defenseman Victor Hedman.
The Lightning are in an enviable spot talent-wise, but winning means bigger paychecks, means some players will be forced to move on.
While it's unlikely that Stamkos will be one of those players, if his asking price is indeed that exorbitant, something will have to give for Tampa Bay and as hard as it is to come to terms with, depth could potentially prove more important than Stamkos' individual contributions.
