Crack open the vault.
It’s going to be an all-out bidding war as several teams dig deep into their pockets to pay for the services of Steven Stamkos. He’s more than just a point per game player (569 points in 562 career games); he’s more than a .55 goals per regular season NHL game player (second only to Ovechkin); he’s a franchise centerpiece.
Like any superstar athlete, Stamkos doesn’t need the money. He’s coming off a $37.5 million, five-year contract that paid him $8M for the first four years and $5.5M for the last year. Oh, and he also had a paltry seven million dollar signing bonus.
Drafted first overall in 2008, what the 26-year-old really wants is to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. Or is it?
Staying with the Lightning may well be the best avenue to take to achieve that goal. In 2014-15, Tampa was two wins away from a Cup. Last month, they were one win away from getting to the Cup Finals again. And that’s without the sniper missing almost every game due to a blood clot. If Stamkos does indeed bolt (pun intended), it won’t exactly trigger Stammergeddon in Tampa.
Reports out of Tampa are that the Lightning are willing to go up to $9 million per year. Steve Yzerman, Tampa’s GM, is almost resigned to watching Stamkos walk away.
“I have no control over what other teams do. It’s all part of the business. We all have decisions to make, players have a right to make their own decisions and I don’t judge anybody on that.” – Steve Yzerman
Stamkos has made it clear he prefers to play center, while Cooper wants him at wing. And he wants to be close to his home…Toronto.
The Sabres are one of the many teams in the hunt for number 91.
“We’re going to chase the big fish. You have to find out if there’s interest from their side. That’s the big thing, I think there’s a lot of free agents today that have an inkling on where they want to go. It’s a feeling-out process. If there’s mutual interest, then you get deeper into it.” – Tim Murray
How much is it going to take? Rumors are upwards of $12 million per year which would make it the biggest contract in NHL history.
A massive contract like that brings with it serious cap implications down the road, possibly putting the franchise in a salary cap black hole for several years. In addition to envisioning clutch goal scoring and playoff success, the Sabres need to think a few years down the road when big contracts for Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen will need to be signed. Oh, and don’t forget about the possibility of landing Jimmy Vesey.
The Sabres added $3.2 million to their cap in the Kulikov trade, leaving them with roughly $19 million.
The Blackhawks, carrying the heavy load of two $10.5 million contracts for all-stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are constantly dealing with cap issues and personnel issues. It’s a tough pill to swallow, yet the team is consistently exciting, entertaining and most importantly, winning.
Despite it calculating to around fifteen percent of a team’s salary cap, Murray believes you can tie up $10 million or even $11 million in one player.
“Somebody else on your roster has to either pay the price or you have to walk away from other really good free agents. You have to allocate your money. If you draft well and you draft players that can give you a few years under an entry-level system and he’s a real good player, that negates finding those $4 million guys that don’t allow you to pay $12 million to a certain player. You have to allocate the money, draft well, have entry-level guys.” – Tim Murray
He also referenced the importance of drafting well and finding players who can perform on inexpensive entry-level contracts.
So, how do you lure in Stamkos?
“You’ve got to show him your blueprint. He’s certainly going to look at your roster. I think there’s going to be a lot of equals as far as money. There won’t be a lot of equals as far as geography. But I think the one thing that can put a team over the top is teammates and who he gets to play with or doesn’t get to play with. We’re confident that we have good players that other good players would want to play with.” – Tim Murray
Also known to be in the hunt are the Leafs, Rangers, Red Wings, Canucks and Bruins. The reality is… any team with cap space will likely make a run for the perennial all-star.
Teams can officially reach out to Stamkos as of Friday at noon.