Bruins Set To Make Splash by Landing Fans Favorite

If the Boston Bruins want to create mayhem this offseason while also filling a key need, they could go big-fish hunting in free agency and sign Steven Stamkos.

As implausible as it is for Stamkos to leave the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he has been since 2008 and captain since 2014, his contract will expire in just over a week, making him an unrestricted free agent. If this occurs, the Bruins would be wise to make an offer to the experienced forward, who would immediately improve the team’s top-six center corps.

The Bruins surprised many with their performance last season, especially after a turbulent offseason that saw many important departures and patchwork signings to fill in gaps for minimal amounts. To general manager Don Sweeney’s credit, many of these signings proved to be significantly more valuable than expected. here offseason, however, the Bruins may try to make a greater splash; here is where Stamkos enters into the picture.

Stamkos Offers the Bruins a Short-Term No. 1 Center Option

The obvious elephant in the room is that Stamkos is 34 years old and does not provide a long-term solution for the team’s center position. It’s evident that the Bruins require long-term remedies in the center, but those players don’t sprout on trees. Even worse, the Bruins lack the draft capital required to discover a top-tier talent down the middle in the early stages of the next few Entry Drafts. This means the organization will have to be creative and, ultimately, lucky in order to fill this premium position of need; one way they can do it is by signing Stamkos to a deal that pushes the can down the road a little longer.

Last season, the right-shot centerman scored 40 goals and 81 points in 79 games. He clearly hasn’t lost a stride yet, and despite being 34 years old, he’s younger than the Bruins’ 36-year-old captain, Brad Marchand. Relying on two players in the twilight of their careers to be focal points of the offense is a risky game, but it isn’t always the worst decision to try to maximize Marchand’s remaining years while also bridging the cap for younger, more long-term options down the middle to blossom for the team. Matt Poitras, for example, could already be on the roster, learning a lot from Stamkos and potentially blossoming into a true top-six option down the middle for the Bruins. Stamkos would also provide championship experience and leadership to the Bruins team.

As it stands, the Bruins require stronger choices in their top six than Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle, who have performed excellently this season. Still, nobody should be expecting the Bruins to maintain the status quo at center this season. Stamkos also won 56% of his faceoffs last season, though he only took 637 total. This is still a sizable sample size, but not quite as huge as Zacha’s 1,068 faceoff attempts and 54.8% win rate, or Coyle’s 1477 faceoffs and 51.6% win rate. At the same time, shifting Coyle back to the third line may provide the Bruins with their greatest opportunity of improving their team’s faceoff win rate of less than 50%. Aside from John Beecher, no other Bruins player won more than half of his draws last season, which is a problem for a team that used to take pride in starting possessions with the puck during the Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci eras. Stamkos helps to address this while also improving the Bruins’ faceoff alternatives throughout the lineup.

Will Steven Stamkos become a free agent on July 1? It is completely feasible. Will the veteran forward even receive offers from opposing general managers? This could be where the hypothesis fails.

Stamkos may look into his options, but it’s also possible that he’ll give the Lightning some time to work out some of their other offseason trades before signing him to a term that works for both parties. If there is even a chance that Stamkos may join the Black and Gold next season, Sweeney must make a phone call to test the waters and determine what a prospective contract would involve. Locking up significant money for the long term is not a good idea for a player nearing the end of his career. At the same time, the cost of doing business in the NHL is high, and Sweeney may need to make concessions to secure a contract; how much wiggle space he is willing to allow, however, is unknown. To be honest, Stamkos is likely worth the risk, especially if it means the Bruins will hurt their division rival Lightning in the process. Every reason the Bruins would want to sign Stamkos is the same reason the Lightning would not want him to leave.

The Bruins have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, but Stamkos is a guy worth taking a chance on if there is mutual interest. He had soon become the priority.