Jos Buttler stood down as limited-overs captain after his disappointing reign concluded with a dismal Champions Trophy campaign last week that left his side nursing a run of 10 defeats from 11 games since the turn of the year.
His vice-captain, Harry Brook, was thought to be at the front of the queue should the next generation be asked to step up but Key, the managing director of men's cricket, is giving himself time to consider his options.
And, in an unexpected move, expanding Stokes' brief appears to be one of them.
The 33-year-old has been inspirational since taking over the red-ball side from Joe Root but his age and injury issues - he's currently recovering from a second serious hamstring issue in a year and previously had major knee surgery - mean he's been a Test specialist for almost 18 months.
Yet Key is alive to the prospect of pairing up the 'Bazball' duo of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, having already installed the latter as cross-format head coach.
"I think nothing's off the table really. Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen," he said.
"It would be stupid not to look at him. It's just the knock-on effect of what that means."
Keeping Stokes fresh and ready for action, particularly given his longstanding fitness struggles, will be a primary concern.
He has not played a T20 international since the triumphant World Cup final of November 2022, and has not featured in an ODI since the 2023 tournament in India.
The danger of pushing Stokes to breaking point in a year that sees a marquee home series against India followed by a hotly anticipated Ashes tour in the winter are obvious, but Key is tempted by a more optimistic outlook.
"We don't want to risk other things but there's always a way in England to start looking at, 'what if it goes wrong?'. Well, you've also got to think, 'what if it goes right?'," he said.
"People surprise you, don't they? He's been an outstanding leader and he loves doing the job. Ben has a lot of energy for a lot of things."
Key caught up with Stokes on a training camp in Abu Dhabi last week, where he combined his ongoing rehabilitation with his first steps towards an off-field future in the game.
"We want our best people to be going into coaching. So we're putting him through coach development," Key revealed.
