Steven Stamkos C/LW TB Wed 6/29/16 8:23 PM
Steven Stamkos
C/LW TB
Stamkos, who agreed to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension with the Lightning on Wednesday, likely could have hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1 while commanding a higher salary with another club, but the state of Florida has no income tax which is believed to have helped the Lightning retain him at a relatively low rate, the Tampa Bay Times reports.