Steven Stamkos’ recovery from a blood clot is the focal point of the Eastern Conference final.

But the number of eyeballs focused on Stamkos now pales in comparison to the buzz that will surround him whenever the Bolts’ Stanley Cup playoff run ends.

July 1 is barely 40 days away.

And Stamkos, 26, will have the hockey world as his oyster if he decides to test the waters as the youngest superstar ever to hit the open market.

A decade ago, NHL players were locked in as restricted free agents until age 31. The painful 2005 lockout brought a salary cap, but it also helped free players into unrestricted free agency at 27 — or with seven years of league service.

In his eight NHL seasons, Stamkos has established himself as one of the game’s elite offensive talents. He became the second-youngest active NHL player to score 300 career goals when he hit that plateau on Feb. 20 against the Penguins. Alex Ovechkin was 178 days younger when notched No. 300 in 2011, but Stamkos had nearly half of a season cut short due to a lockout and also missed 45 games with a leg fracture in 2013-14.

His availability would be unprecedented. The only player other than Ovechkin to score 60 goals in the last 20 seasons could command more than $10 million annually from suitors.

That’s only if Stamkos makes it to market. He could opt to stay in Tampa Bay, where the Lightning have maintained all along that they would like to keep him.

Can they afford him? Will Stamkos be willing to take a hometown discount to play with a team that could have a long window to win a Stanley Cup?

Following a quiet Free Agent Frenzy in 2015, when NHL teams finally saved themselves from themselves, the 2016 free agent class is shaping up to be a strong one. Stamkos headlines a group packed with firepower.

But a lot can change before July 1. Milan Lucic may re-up in Los Angeles. The Blues could come to terms with long-time captain David Backes on a new pact. Shane Doan could decide to leave the desert and join the pack.

Stay tuned.

Here is the first TSN Hockey Top 30 Free Agent list of the spring:

 

Top 30 Potential Free Agents

 
# PLAYER TEAM POS AGE GP G PTS 15-16
1 Steven Stamkos TBL C 26 77 36 64 $7.5 M
2 Loui Eriksson BOS LW 30 82 30 63 $4.25 M
3 Milan Lucic LAK LW 28 81 20 55 $6 M
4 Kyle Okposo NYI RW 28 79 22 64 $2.8 M
5 Mikkel Boedker COL RW 26 80 17 51 $3.75 M
6 David Backes STL C 32 79 21 45 $4.5 M
7 Andrew Ladd CHI LW 30 78 25 46 $4.4 M
8 Keith Yandle NYR LD 29 82 5 47 $5.25 M
9 Troy Brouwer STL RW 30 82 18 39 $3.66 M
10 Jason Demers DAL RD 28 62 7 23 $3.4 M
11 James Reimer SJS G 28 40 2.31 .922 $2.3 M
12 Frans Nielsen NYI C 32 81 20 52 $2.75 M
13 Dan Hamhuis VAN LD 33 58 3 13 $4.5 M
14 David Perron ANA LW 28 71 12 36 $3.81 M
15 Roman Polak SJS RD 30 79 1 16 $2.75 M
16 Jiri Hudler FLA RW 32 72 16 46 $4 M
17 Kris Russell DAL LD 29 62 4 19 $2.6 M
18 Brian Campbell FLA LD 37 82 6 31 $7.14 M
19 Lee Stempniak BOS RW 33 82 19 51 $850 K
20 Alex Goligoski DAL LD 30 82 5 37 $4.6 M
21 Eric Staal NYR C 31 83 13 39 $8.25 M
22 Luke Schenn LAK RD 26 72 4 16 $3.6 M
23 Jamie McGinn ANA LW 27 84 22 39 $2.95 M
24 Radim Vrbata VAN RW 35 63 13 27 $5 M
25 Teddy Purcell FLA RW 30 76 14 43 $4.5 M
26 Kris Versteeg LAK RW 30 77 15 38 $4.4 M
27 Dale Weise CHI RW 27 71 14 27 $1.03 M
28 P.A. Parenteau TOR LW 33 77 20 41 $1.33 M
29 Kyle Quincey DET LD 30 47 4 11 $4.25 M
30 Cam Ward CAR G 32 51 2.41 .909 $6.3 M