Steven Stamkos has been the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay Lightning since he was drafted No. 1 overall by the organization in the 2008 NHL Draft. And he has the hardware to make him a franchise legend, leading the Bolts to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and winning two of them.

But as contract talks continue between the captain and Tampa general manager Julien BriseBois, it's still not clear whether the team is going to be able to afford the 34-year-olds next contract — or be willing to pay it.

“This one could go right to the wire,” The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Friday. “Stamkos has been the face of the franchise forever, so this isn’t just about dollars and cents. I would hate to see that guy wear another uniform, but I can’t tell if they will be able to bridge the gap.”

Complicating matters is the fact that the Lightning have followed up three straight championship appearances with back-to-back first-round exits. Tampa Bay was defeated in five games by the Florida Panthers in Round 1 in 2024, and were ousted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 just over a year ago.

Eventually, the dynasty that is the 2020s Tampa Bay Lightning is going to end. And based on the last couple of seasons, it already has. That makes a potential Stamkos extension tricky, as it isn't really clear how much longer this core is going to be able to compete for Stanley Cups.

“Nothing to report,” Stamkos' agent Don Meehan of Newport Sports told LeBrun earlier this week regarding a potential extension.

Steven Stamkos' status with Lightning is complicated

Tampa Bay Lightning looks on trailing the Florida Panthers late in the third period in game five of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena.
Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Another reason there is some skepticism that this deal gets done is the fact that BriseBois just brought Ryan McDonagh back into the fold, trading draft capital to the Nashville Predators to re-acquire the veteran defenseman. McDonagh was a key piece of the championship runs, and is extremely popular in the locker room.

Still, it adds another $6.75 million AAV to a team that is already strapped tightly to the cap, and that's with the potential $4 million increase in 2024-25. BriseBois did say that even with McDonagh's contract on the books, he still had cap space to re-sign the captain.

But no deal is done yet, and we're only six weeks away from the NHL's free agent frenzy on July 1.

“But as always, we’ll see if there’s agreement on what the team feels is a fair deal for the 34-year-old 40-goal scorer and what the player and his agent do,” stated LeBrun on Friday.

Without a doubt, it's one of the key questions this offseason. A player of Stamkos' caliber — a bonafide top-line sniper with a proven regular-season and playoff pedigree — doesn't often become available on the open market.

If Stamkos doesn't re-sign with the only franchise he's ever known, expect a ton of interest for the two-time Stanley Cup champion. But as LeBrun said, it's just hard picturing this player with anything but a Lightning bolt on his chest.