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Yzerman says there's no update on Stamkos extension

Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

Steve Yzerman may not cross the top item off his summer to-do list after all.

Days after the Tampa Bay Lightning lost the Stanley Cup Final at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, the club's general manager said signing franchise forward Steven Stamkos to a contract extension was his "No. 1 priority."

With two weeks left before the start of training camp, Yzerman addressed the situation Friday, telling reporters, "There is nothing I choose to comment on at this time, but there is nothing really to report right now."

Stamkos, who's eligible to sign an extension with the team that drafted him first overall in 2008, can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2015-16 season.

The 25-year-old hit the 40-goal mark for the fourth time in his career this past season, and is averaging 46 for every 82 games played since breaking into the NHL seven seasons ago.

Stamkos is set to make $5.5 million in the final year of his current deal (while carrying a cap hit of $7.5 million), and could challenge Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews - both of whom will be making $10.5 million this season - as the league's highest-paid player.

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