Lightning's Stamkos to have surgery, miss 6-8 weeks

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will undergo surgery Monday and miss approximately six to eight weeks, the team announced Saturday.

Just before puck drop in a matinee game against the visiting Calgary Flames, the organization issued a statement that said Stamkos will go to St. Louis for surgery to repair a lingering core muscle injury.

Stamkos, 30, did not skate one shift in the final period of the club's 4-3 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, then missed the Lightning's 5-2 defeat Thursday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

"Stammer's a weapon," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said after Saturday's 4-3 home win over the Calgary Flames. "Everyone is going to say you're going to miss that goal-scorer, but teams devise schemes to look after him, so it opens up for other people. ... Now we have to get a little more creative on the power play. But you can't replace him."

A 12-year veteran and 60-goal scorer in the 2011-12 campaign, Stamkos produced 66 points -- 29 of them on goals -- through 57 games this season, ranking him second on the team in both categories. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, selected by the Lightning.

His rehab timeline would have him returning to the Lightning's lineup in mid-April at the earliest -- after the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"(Stamkos is) a huge part of the team but he's also the leader of the team," Lightning forward Alex Killorn said after Saturday's contest. "The only positive you can take is that we've done it before. ... He always comes back really strong and that's a credit to his character."

The Eastern Conference team is currently in second place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins.

--Field Level Media