3. Carolina Hurricanes
Steven Stamkos would make the Carolina Hurricanes even better right away.
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL. They also have a little bit of cap space to work with and can do some things to make room for a guy like Stamkos. If the Lightning really did decide to trade him, Carolina would be perfect.
They have been in the Conference Finals a few times over the last handful of years and they didn’t win a single game in that series. A player like Stamkos, who has been a part of a lot of Conference Finals wins, might bring some good experience to that group.
The Hurricanes have one of the deepest groups in the league. They have a lot of high-end offensive players led by Sebastian Aho but they don’t have one of those super-elite guys. Everything on this team is done by committee. Well, Stamkos could change that.
He might not be the mega player that he was a few years ago but he would still probably step right in and be their best forward right away. They could use a guy like that.
Seeing Stamkos wearing any other sweater in the league would be wild. However, it is starting to feel more and more likely as time goes along. We’ll see what happens.