Arizona Coyotes Should Pursue Top-Scoring Forward
By Alex Temes
A deal with Steven Stamkos is likely far-fetched, but Arizona has the resources to make a competitive offer.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is an interesting player. He has all the skill, speed and leadership that a coach or GM would want in a franchise player, but is not quite labeled a generational talent.
Currently, Stamkos is raking in $7.5 million dollars in his current contract with the Bolts and he is only 26 years old.
That same contract was over 5 years, and depending on how Stamkos feels about his career, he could be looking for a short contract over 2-3 years or a longer, 5-6 year deal. Either way, whomever signs him will be forking out the loose change in their assistant GM’s pockets to make sure he plays for them.
In the context of the Arizona Coyotes, Stamkos could essentially name a number as long as it isn’t ludicrously out there. His number would likely be between where he is sitting now at $7.5 million and as high as $8.5-9 million dollars.
The Arizona Coyotes are likely willing to give Stammer whatever contract he wants including bonuses and and no trade/movement clauses. Other teams who may want in on the Stamkos-sweepstakes like Detroit and his current team may not have this flexibility given the list of players they need to resign. Moreover, teams like Toronto aren’t really immediately built for the playoffs.
The Coyotes, on the other hand, were in the hunt for a playoff spot up until late February this year.
The Yotes have the money to land Stamkos, but the prospect of him coming to the desert doesn’t seem too likely, unfortunately.
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