Quick Strikes: Is Steven Stamkos ready to play tonight?

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesThe Bolts

Okay. Let's get the heavy Steven Stamkos speculation out of the way. This is NOT an April Fools joke (I mean it could be, but I'm fairly certain Steve Yzerman doesn't care for elaborate pranks that involve reassigning players.)

Let's follow the breadcrumbs.

First, the Syracuse Crunch reassigned Stefan Fournier to the Kalamazoo Wings (Tampa Bay Lightning's ECHL affiliate). This freed up a spot for a forward in Syracuse.

Then came the big move - the one that really suggests that someone is ready to return to the lineup. Joel Vermin got reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch and Assistant GM Julien BriseBois confirmed that he would be in Syracuse today.

B…