Flyers eying Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos

He's practically already in with the Flyers. harhar.

Without cap space or without Stamkos? This is a question that we should have the answer to soon. Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman is faced with potentially losing his star center, Steven Stamkos, and he may look for a good return as soon as tonight.

One thing that really took me by surprise is that Eric Brewer was signed to an extension today before Stamkos. Look at the way that Holmgren handled Bryzgalov, nothing else went forward until a deal was reached and signed. Look at the way Montreal went after Markov first and foremost. Now Yzerman has seemed to move on and is now going after some of his other free agents.

I can only see this meaning one of two things: Stamkos is signed and they are waiting to announce it or a deal between the two sides cannot be reached and Yzerman and his staff have moved on.

I have also heard that Stamkos does not want to re-sign in Tampa Bay. I am unsure of why that is. Could be because of the team's direction or the weight he carries there. Sources are disclosed.

If it is the latter of the two cases above, who and what will the Flyers likely have to give up for the 21 year old sniper? Brayden Schenn's name has been thrown around, after all the Lightning will have to fill his position as the second line center. Sergei Bobrovsky seems like the obvious guess, the Lightning need a goalie and Bob is clearly available now that Bryzgalov is signed for 9 years.

Draft picks will also play a big role if a deal is made. The Flyers currently hold the 8th overall pick in this year's draft, along with all of their future 1sts. There has been talk of the Flyers moving up into the top three and with that then moving their potential top three pick in a deal that would involve Stamkos.

The Tampa Bay fan is looking at this situation saying "we have over $23M -with Brewer signed- what is everyone making such a big deal about? Stamkos will sign and then we'll get to the rest of the team."

Who is the rest of the team? Tampa Bay's defense, though heroic in the playoffs, lacks stability and has little potential outside of Hedman. The goaltending is a huge question mark with both Dwayne Roloson and Mike Smith set to be UFAs.

If Holmgren has said anything in the past two days it's that there is no quick fix that lasts for years. Tampa sees this and thinks they might have to sacrifice now to make a better team for the future. Yzerman is at a crossroads knowing that he does not have many prospects and may see Stamkos as a way to build his team up at every position.