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Steven Stamkos’ eventual signing in Tampa Bay doesn’t deter Philly’s flirtation with him

NHL Awards Portraits

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 22: Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning poses for a portrait during the 2011 NHL Awards at the Palms Casino Resort June 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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The most desirable restricted free agent out there, Steve Stamkos, is still left unsigned and while the Tampa Bay Lightning look to lock up their young franchise player to a long term deal, other teams continue to daydream about plucking him away in one form or another. The Flyers have been the one team that people believe is most hot after the superstar goal scorer and many are crafting scenarios in which it could work out.

With Stamkos being a restricted free agent, however, if a team was wacky enough to force the issue and sign him to an offer sheet, the Lightning would be able to match the offer and there’s little doubt, if any, that they would do that immediately. As it goes, the hopefulness in Philadelphia is unwavering as CSN Philly’s Sarah Baicker shares today.

Multiple sources have suggested to CSNPhilly that the Lightning would be interested in acquiring Brayden Schenn, Sergei Bobrovsky and a future No. 1 draft pick in exchange for Stamkos. Though Holmgren expects Stamkos will eventually re-sign with the Bolts, there are indications he is prepared to make a trade offer if it doesn’t happen.

But even after dishing those aforementioned names in order to lure Stamkos to Philly, the Flyers would still likely be forced to shed some salary in order to fit him. Would it be worth it to deal Matt Carle, say, or Scott Hartnell (both names have been mentioned in trade scenarios)? Probably not – the chances of any of this going down are still very doubtful – but not completely impossible.


It’s all drawing up ideas in a sandbox in Philly for how things could work out. But what would Tampa Bay’s interest in trading a guy who has scored 96 goals the last two seasons be? Virtually nil is our guess, but the NHL is also a league that saw Wayne Gretzky get traded so anything is possible. How are those contract negotiations going in Tampa though? The guys at The Fourth Period have their ear to the ground and say a framework for a contract is there for Stamkos.

TFP has learned that the two sides are working towards a five-year contract, though the dollar figure and salary breakdown have not yet been agreed upon.

It’s believed Stamkos will earn an average salary in the $7 million to $7.5 million range, though neither side would confirm term or numbers.

It has been widely reported that another team could swoop in and extend Stamkos an RFA offer sheet, which the 21-year-old would need to agree to and sign, though a source close to the situation said such a tactic was “unlikely.”


Adding that on top of what Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos tweeted today about there being a potential five-year deal worth $37 million being hammered out with Stamkos and you’ve got yourself a lot of pipe dreaming run amok in Philly. You can’t fault the Flyers and their fans for getting excited about the potential, but this situation with Stamkos is one that favored both the Lightning and Stamkos in that they had all summer to get something worked out without much pressure.

It would take a titanic offer to get Stamkos to potentially upset Tampa management and sign an offer sheet with another team and we’re thinking that biting the hand of GM Steve Yzerman probably isn’t something he’s eager to do. While Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has to keep dealing with the interest from fans and media alike towards Stamkos, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Stamkos in anything other than Lightning blue for the foreseeable future.