Lightning's Steven Stamkos Needs Surgery on Core Muscle Injury, Out 6-8 Weeks

Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos will undergo core muscle surgery Monday and has been ruled out for the next six to eight weeks, the team announced Saturday. 

Stamkos is part of a Lightning team that appears well-equipped for a deep playoff run and a potential Stanley Cup win thanks primarily to a stacked forward group.

Last season, the Canadian both benefited from and helped those around him, as he scored 45 goals and added 53 assists for a career-high 98 points.

That came after Stamkos posted 27 goals and a career-high 59 assists for 86 points, as well as 16 points in 17 playoff games, in 2017-18.

This season, Stamkos has logged 29 goals and 37 assists for the Lightning, who occupy second place in the Atlantic Division with 85 points. 

While he has long been a key part of Tampa's success, the Bolts have experience playing without him.

In 2016-17, Stamkos was absent for all but 17 regular-season games because of knee surgery. The Lightning missed the playoffs by one point that season, which illustrates how important he is despite the fact that Tampa Bay is stacked with talent elsewhere.

The Lightning have come a long way over the past few years, though, with other players since developing into stars.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the NHL's top goalies, Mikhail Sergachev is a rising star on defense to complement the likes of Victor Hedman, and forwards Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli are progressing nicely.

Even though Tampa Bay may be the NHL's best all-around team and can play winning hockey until he comes back, there will be added pressure on winger Nikita Kucherov to carry the load and get his teammates involved in the meantime.