According to Bob McKenzie, Steven Stamkos is going to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning on a an eight-year deal worth $8.5 million per season ($68 million in total).
The 26-year-old Stamkos, drafted by the Lightning with the No. 1 overall pick in 2008, has spent his entire career with the Lighting, and has scored 312 goals and 562 points in 569 career games with the Bolts (which puts him third on the club's all-time scoring list behind, of course, Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis).
Stamkos' decision to stay with the Bolts is a gigantic one. It keeps the Lightning poised as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, and with the deal coming in at a more than reasonable cap-hit given the talent, it shows that Stamkos is putting more value into winning than money.
And while that's easy when you've come as close as Stamkos has throughout his tenure in town -- they've been to the Cup Final once and two separate Game 7s in the third round -- ignoring the money that a team like Buffalo, Detroit, or Toronto would have thrown your way is tough.
With Stamkos signed, the Lightning have over $9 million in cap space left to re-sign restricted free agents Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, and Vladdy Namestnikov.