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Tampa Bay Lightning Should Be Cautious With Steven Stamkos

By Tasha St. Pierre

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos’ contract is about to expire, and as the Lightning look to strike a new deal, they should be careful not to overcompensate.

As most of us are painfully aware by now, the 2014-15 Tampa Bay Lightning hockey season has come to an end and the pains of hockey withdrawals have already began setting in. Soon, the attention of the hockey world will shift to the 2015 NHL Draft and then to the Free Agency period.

When it comes to the Free Agency period, there is one name that you are going to hear from just about every single media outlet over the next few months; Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.

While his contract may not actually be up until 2016, you can bet your bottom dollar that Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman is going to be hard at work trying to get a new deal signed and in place before the new season starts.

As Stamkos-gate rages on and almost every single major media outlet is going to talk about the other places that would be “perfect” for Steven Stamkos, the only thing we here in the Bolts Nation are concerned with is when not if the deal is going to be done.

At the same time, there is one fear that seems to have taken us over as of late. We all want Steven Stamkos to remain in Lightning blue for many years to come, but if the Tampa Bay Lightning hand Stamkos a ridiculous contract there could be repercussions that would damage the team in the long run.

Allow us to elaborate a little more. There is no doubt that Steven Stamkos is worth more than he makes right now. Steven Stamkos is a name that is almost always mentioned when it comes to the National Hockey League’s leading goal scorers and most certainly one of the team’s most valuable players.

RELATED: Don Cherry: Steven Stamkos ‘Will Be Gone’ After Next Season

At the same time, if the Tampa Bay Lightning were to offer Steven Stamkos a rather large contract, which is what some feel it will take for him to stay in Tampa, for somewhere around 8+ years, the Lightning may find themselves in a position that they are not prepared for.

While there may not be that many players who are up for renewal this season, there are going to be quite a few players that we really need to re-sign that will almost all be looking for a modest bump in pay after their spectacular season in 2014-15.

Players like Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Nikita Nesterov, and Cedric Paquette are just a few of the players who will be looking for a new deal at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season. We’re pretty sure you are beginning to get where we are going with this one.

The Tampa Bay Lightning only has so much money to play with when it comes to the salary cap, and with all of these players in need of a jump in their pay, there isn’t going to be a whole lot left over to give Steven Stamkos in terms of a ridiculously large contract.

Of course, if that is truly the route that Steve Yzerman wants to take, we are sure that he will be able to find a way, but at what cost to the team? Would you be willing to sacrifice someone like Kucherov and/or Killorn just to keep Stamkos?

Don’t get us wrong, Steven Stamkos most certainly deserves a raise in his new contract, and we would love to see him get a deal for somewhere around 4-5 more years, but we just don’t want the notion of re-signing Steven Stamkos to lead to a rash decision that could ultimately cost the team.

RELATED: Steven Stamkos Contract Could Be A Distraction

On the bright side, Steven Stamkos has expressed interest in remaining with the Lightning and has even gone on record as saying that he wants to win a championship with this group. That alone gives us faith that he will be open to a reasonable deal when one is put in front of him.

At this particular point and time, we have faith that Yzerman will be able to work out a deal that will be amicable to both parties, but until Stamkos has signed on the dotted line there will always be that small hint of worry as to what it is going to take in order to keep the captain in Lightning blue.

What kind of deal would you like to see Steven Stamkos offered by the Tampa Bay Lightning? What do you think is the magic number that it will take to keep Stamkos in Hockey Paradise? How long would you like to see his contract for? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning: 2014-15 Goaltender Grades

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