If Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman was concerned only with the present, the Steven Stamkos contract would be finished. There are plenty of examples of contracts completed in the past where it was clear the GM was just trying to get the deal done and decided to worry about the consequences later.

Yzerman doesn't operate that way. He's a guy who trades a first-round pick for Braydon Coburn and then gets two second-rounders back for Brett Connolly. He's a guy who won't give in to the pressure just to sign a guy because he knows there will be consequences two or three years from now.

It's one of the reasons why the Lightning are set up so nicely to contend for the next several years.

They finished No. 1 in our annual Future Power Rankings, which analyzes how teams project to look in the 2018-19 season based on four criteria: roster, prospects, contracts/cap room and owner/coach/GM.

ESPN Insider's panel of four that included Craig Custance, Corey Pronman, Timo Seppa and Matthew Coller like how the Lightning are set up for years to come. Here's a look at the full rankings: