Report confirms Steven Stamkos being targeted by the Rangers this summer

Stamkos is completing his eight-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning that paid him $8.5 million per season. It seems that the Lightning are willing to move off from Stamkos as they look to restock and retool their lineup after losing in five games to the Florida Panthers.

This leaves the door open for Stamkos to look across the league and with his age at 34 years old, the window for opportunity to win is shrinking by the year he will be looking for a contender. Several teams will be calling his agent including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and the Rangers.

The Rangers recently made their first major move by putting Barclay Goodrow on waivers who was then picked up by the San Jose Sharks which included his $3.6 million contract per season for the next three years.

If the Rangers are serious in signing Stamkos it's likely they will need to make another trade as they will need more cap space as they need to address a few issues in their lineup especially goals for five on five.

There's some speculation that Stamkos could still fetch $8.5 million per season but with some health trouble and his age, it's likely teams will offer him less money but a decent amount of terms as he wishes to closeout his career.

Signing Stamkos would certainly give the Rangers a much-needed boost down the middle and would give the team an excellent puck distributor an facilitator who would augment the top six. He played 79 games this season, scoring 40 goals 41 assists for 81 points with 34 penalty minutes. Adding him to the top six would see the Rangers production grow exponentially.

Rangers fans will need to wait until July 1st at 12:00 PM when unrestricted free agency season opens.

Source : The Hockey Writers