Stamkos Available?
As per Larry Brooks, apparently the Lightning are shopping Steven Stamkos.
Tampa Bay management can deny, deny, deny in the best tradition of all sorts of scoundrels, but it is most certainly true that 2008 first-overall draft pick Steven Stamkos is available for trade, at least according to two franchises that have been in contact with the Lightning and have no reason to fib about it.
If this is true, the tires should be kicked by Sather on this one. Anyone not named Staal and Lundqvist should be made available too. Stamkos has a cap hit of $3.725 million, and is under contract for the next two seasons, then becoming an RFA. He is also only 19.
This is probably never going to happen, but I think we would all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Sather at least made a call to Brian Lawton.
By Mike A., January 26, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Wow. I’m guessing that they’d be looking for something like Dubinsky, Sanguinetti, Prucha/Korpikoski at a minimum, but even that doesn’t seem like enough. I haven’t even checked if the money works.
By Dave, January 26, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
Plus draft picks, probably a first and a third, and I’d make that trade in a hearbeat. Del Zotto and Anisimov would still be in the system.
By Mike A., January 26, 2009 @ 1:28 pm
Ah yes, forgot about that. I’m used to baseball, where trading picks is a no-no.
By Dave, January 26, 2009 @ 2:59 pm
I don’t know why draft picks aren’t tradeable assets in baseball. Anything in the top 10 rounds should be fair game to trade.