MAJOR: Steven Stamkos Trade Reportedly Blocked by Ownership

Back in 2010, the New York Rangers reportedly had a deal in place to acquire 20-year-old Steven Stamkos.

If this trade were to have gone through, the entire outlook of the NHL would have been shaped.

The best-case scenario for the Lightning here is to obviously not trade Stamkos but if they were to trade him, their best return would have been Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi. Ironically enough, both would be playing for the Lightning in 2018. However, they were past their prime at that time. If they were with the Lightning during their prime they could have certainly helped them out immensely but only for about 5 or 6 years after the trade.

It is difficult to determine what exactly is the worst-case scenario. First off, Evgeny Grachev only played 34 career games scoring one goal so he would certainly be a part of this deal. The other piece would have had to be Michael Del Zotto or Brandon Dubinsky. Del Zotto likely would have been slightly worse to acquire despite having a higher peak in the following years.

Del Zotto would play four more years with the Rangers before becoming more of a journeyman having played for seven different teams since the Rangers' cup run in 2014.

While Del Zotto was a serviceable player for over a decade, having only him to show for after trading away Steven Stamkos would be more than disappointing.

As seen on Markerzone - Blocked By Ownership: Tampa Bay's Stamkos Was Nearly Traded to a Conference Rival in What Would Have Been One of the Most Disastrous Deals of the Century