STAMKOS HAS MANY OPTIONS
would join a high-quality forward group that includes Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is to the Sabres what Victor Hedman is to the Lightning.
Buffalo isn’t far from Toronto, so Stamkos still would be close to home. The Sabres have the salary cap space to pay him what the Maple Leafs could.
Stumbling block: Because the Sabres aren’t quite a contender, they lack the wow factor of other possible destinations.
Detroit Red Wings: With Pavel Datsyuk expected to move back to Russia, the Red Wings would like to make a dramatic move to improve their roster. Signing Stamkos would do it. They would have Stamkos and young Dylan Larkin as their top two centers.
The big question is whether they can create enough cap space to make this work. They would have trade Datsyuk’s contract.
Although the Red Wings haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 2008, they have a rich history that Stamkos would appreciate. They also are moving into a new arena.
Stumbling block: The Red Wings might be on the decline if they can’t find more scoring and upgrade their defense this summer.
Lightning: The closer we get to July 1, the less likely it is Stamkos will re-sign. But the Lightning can give him an eight-season contract, and no other team can do that.
The problem: The Lightning have other young stars they need to sign, and they don’t think they can match what Stamkos can earn on the open market. They would want Stamkos to give the Lightning a hometown discount.
The Lightning have options. With expansion likely coming, they will have to decide between keeping goalie Ben Bishop or Andrei Vasilevskiy. If they deal Bishop this summer, it would ease their salary cap constraint. A trade of Valtteri Filppula could also create funds to pay Stamkos.
Stumbling block: Stamkos prefers to play center, and coach Jon Cooper has played Stamkos on the wing in the past.
New York Islanders: It’s not hard to imagine the Islanders have been thinking about the possibility of having Stamkos and John Tavares as their top centers.
They likely are losing Kyle Okposo and maybe Frans Nielsen to free agency, which would save them enough money to make this work.
Stumbling block: The Islanders’ move to Brooklyn has not worked quite as well as the franchise had hoped. The Islanders’ ability to contend is also a challenging read. How close would signing Stamkos bring them?
Montreal Canadiens: Stamkos is exactly what the Canadiens need to upgrade their offense, but it would require considerable maneuvering to get it done.
Would the Canadiens consider trading defenseman P.K. Subban to create the wherewithal to sign Stamkos? Only general manager Marc Bergevin knows the answer.
Stumbling block: Players in Montreal are under the microscope, maybe even more than those in Toronto. That would be a big change for Stamkos after he had some measure of privacy in Tampa.
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