«I look at the Lightning's salary situation and wonder if the acquisition of Ryan McDonagh is related to unsuccessful contract extension talks with the Stamkos camp.
With the addition of the defenseman, the team now has a payroll of $82,665,000 for 2024-25. So, a projected space of about $5,035,000. And that's with 18 players under contract (10 forwards, 6 defensemen, 2 goalies).
I doubt they'll be able to extend Stamkos and sign a few other players in that context... unless they consider other significant personnel moves!» - Marc-Olivier Beaudoin