Steven Stamkos was reportedly almost traded during sophomore season
It's hard to picture what the Tampa Bay Lightning would look like without their captain Steven Stamkos, who's helped the team hoist two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
But back in 2010, a trade involving Stamkos was reportedly agreed on between Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers, but was ultimately vetoed by the Lightning's co-owner.
The New York Rangers would have received Steven Stamkos from the Lightning in exchange for two or three of the following players: Michael Del Zotto, Evgeny Grachev, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Dan Girardi.
If the Tampa Bay Lightning's co-owner would have approved the trade, it would have undoubtedly changed the landscape of the National Hockey League and could have helped the New York Rangers their first Stanley Cup since 1994, but their wait continues.
Without Stamkos, the Lightning probably still would have had success, especially with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov, but may not have won the second of their back-to-back Stanley Cups.
It's crazy to look back on these proposed trades that almost happened to see how it would have changed things for both franchises involved. Five years after the trade was vetoed, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final. If Stamkos was on the Rangers, that script could have been flipped.
Source: New York Post
| POLL | ||
If the trade had been approved, would the Rangers have won a Stanley Cup with Stamkos? | ||
| Yes | 13 | 29.5 % |
| No | 23 | 52.3 % |
| Not Sure | 8 | 18.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
