Steve Stamkos?

[Kin]

My thinking is, and it may just be wishful, is that if Stamkos indeed opts to become a free agent, the Leafs will be at or near the top of his list of teams to sign with.  And with that being the case, why would the Leafs burn up any assets when he is going to make zero difference this year and can be had with a simple blank cheque a few months later.

I think sometimes we present the way free agents make decisions as entirely too simple a dichotomy. We either say "Well, Player A wants to be a Duck or Blue and that's that" or we say "He'll just go to whoever offers him more money" with very little in-between.

I think there's far more of a grey area. I think a lot of guys get convinced to go somewhere or they have a preference of where to go but it's not their only issue.

So Stamkos might very well favour the Leafs but that doesn't mean that he'd definitely sign with them or wouldn't be swayed by a significantly higher offer(unless you'd be willing to give Stamkos whatever he wanted).

So the reason you'd spend those assets is because it lets you negotiate against yourself and only yourself. If that means you don't get drawn into a bidding war then the thinking is that the players you're trading might very well be worth the 2 million or so you might save in cap space.

 

[herman]

All this Stamkos talk reminds me of this other thing he has in common with LeBron: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJr-Vbq6y8[/youtube]

 

[bustaheims]

Even if it's the deadline and either they've decided to move on/Stamkos has told them he's leaving? You think they're still playing hardball and willing to let him walk for nothing?

Yeah, because I think there are teams out there who would be willing to offer up some significant pieces to add Stamkos in the hopes of being able to lock him up long-term.

 

[Frank E]

Even if it's the deadline and either they've decided to move on/Stamkos has told them he's leaving? You think they're still playing hardball and willing to let him walk for nothing?

Yeah, because I think there are teams out there who would be willing to offer up some significant pieces to add Stamkos in the hopes of being able to lock him up long-term.

Yeah, but NMC though.

 

[bustaheims]

Yeah, but NMC though.

Sure, but if he's set on not returning to TBay, that's not really an issue. He'll waive to go to a number of places. Whether he'll sign there or not is up in the air, but teams make that kind of gamble all the time. I also don't buy for a second that he's set on signing in Toronto and only Toronto. It may be a preference, but Stamkos isn't stupid. He's not going to artificially limit his market to one team. He's going to look to maximize his contract as well.

 

[Frank E]

Yeah, but NMC though.

Sure, but if he's set on not returning to TBay, that's not really an issue. He'll waive to go to a number of places. Whether he'll sign there or not is up in the air, but teams make that kind of gamble all the time. I also don't buy for a second that he's set on signing in Toronto and only Toronto. It may be a preference, but Stamkos isn't stupid. He's not going to artificially limit his market to one team. He's going to look to maximize his contract as well.

I'm not saying he's stupid.  I'm really not. 

But didn't he like another tweet like that one this past year?

 

[bustaheims]

I'm not saying he's stupid.  I'm really not. 

But didn't he like another tweet like that one this past year?

Even if he did, he could just tweet any article about himself, or he could be messing/joking around with his friends, or any of a number other possible explanations. It's really an entirely meaningless gesture.

 

[Kin]

I also don't buy for a second that he's set on signing in Toronto and only Toronto. It may be a preference, but Stamkos isn't stupid. He's not going to artificially limit his market to one team. He's going to look to maximize his contract as well.

I generally agree with this but I don't know that it's quite that black and white. I believe, say, that if Toronto(or whoever) is his first choice his position might be something where he has a number/term in mind(say, 10/8 or whatever) and he'd be willing to sign that but he might also say that if he does make it to free agency then he'll start listening to higher offers and that 10/8 might not be there.

 

[Frank E]

I'm not saying he's stupid.  I'm really not. 

But didn't he like another tweet like that one this past year?

Even if he did, he could just tweet any article about himself, or he could be messing/joking around with his friends, or any of a number other possible explanations. It's really an entirely meaningless gesture.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has been very judicious with what he favorites (or now as it's called, likes) on Twitter. That's probably because one of the few times he favorited any tweet, it was a link to a story in The Hockey News about him becoming Toronto's LeBron and returning to his native city to join the Maple Leafs.

That was two years ago. Since then, Stamkos hasn't pressed the little heart button very much. In fact, he only has one like on his Twitter account as of right now. And would you look at that? It's another link to a video about the possibility of him joining the Toronto Maple Leafs. In fact, it even asks the question of if Toronto should pursue him (H/T to Andrew Berkshire for the heads up).

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25407400/steven-stamkos-liked-another-tweet-about-him-and-the-maple-leafs

 

[bustaheims]

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has been very judicious with what he favorites (or now as it's called, likes) on Twitter. That's probably because one of the few times he favorited any tweet, it was a link to a story in The Hockey News about him becoming Toronto's LeBron and returning to his native city to join the Maple Leafs.

That was two years ago. Since then, Stamkos hasn't pressed the little heart button very much. In fact, he only has one like on his Twitter account as of right now. And would you look at that? It's another link to a video about the possibility of him joining the Toronto Maple Leafs. In fact, it even asks the question of if Toronto should pursue him (H/T to Andrew Berkshire for the heads up).

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25407400/steven-stamkos-liked-another-tweet-about-him-and-the-maple-leafs

Honestly, I still think this is more likely to be part of some running joke he has with his friends than anything else. It's more likely "hey, look how badly people want me to be a Leaf, hahaha" than anything else.

 

[herman]

[tweet]674688563771023361[/tweet]
How convenient 

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Slipperiest twitter finger in the west.

He's probably trolling everyone.

 

[Frank E]

Whatever, really.

I think this is probably pissing off Yzerman though.

For all I know, he's just trying to push Yzerman for a better offer.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Slipperiest twitter finger in the west.

He's probably trolling everyone.

That's definitely what he's doing. And man it's working.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

Slipperiest twitter finger in the west.

He's probably trolling everyone.

Interestingly, his slips seem to be related solely to Leafs/Stamkos inuendo.

And speaking of friends, apparently Stamkos spends a lot of his summer in Toronto with his friends. Assuming you were in his close circle, do you think you would have any power at all to sway his decision (other than begging, which is likely what I'd resort to)?

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Whatever, really.

I think this is probably pissing off Yzerman though.

For all I know, he's just trying to push Yzerman for a better offer.

If I was a betting man and I had to choose, this is the way I'd be leaning.

 

[Highlander]

I've been saying for a long while that SS may be a Leaf and without repayment in terms of talent. Whether they want to open the bank that much is another question.  And if you have Nylander and Kadri (whom I want to keep) vying for the first line role where does SS fit in.  Looks like we can have pretty good cheap goaltending after next year with Optimus and Sparky.  And perhaps we move out Bozak, Lupul and maybe Phaneuf (although he seems to have a big fan in Babs), and the increase in cap space then we could afford a 12 million man. Stamkos, Nylander and Kadri up the Centre, sounds kind of good if they all role as quick as Babs likes to change da lines.

 

[jdh1]

I,m a little iffy in getting SS to the Leafs,especially for big bucks.They are not ready to contend seriously for a few years.The defence isn't near established,the forwards are still in the AHL.I don't want a repeat that Burke made in getting Kessel,and a bunch of 3rd liners around him.
I would rather take the slower approach and build a core as is happening now.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I,m a little iffy in getting SS to the Leafs,especially for big bucks.They are not ready to contend seriously for a few years.The defence isn't near established,the forwards are still in the AHL.I don't want a repeat that Burke made in getting Kessel,and a bunch of 3rd liners around him.
I would rather take the slower approach and build a core as is happening now.

It's not the Kessel approach.

Would you have been ok with having Kessel, Seguin and Hamilton?

That's essentially how the Stamkos thing plays out if he is signed as UFA.

As for not being ready to contend, so what if it takes another three years?

Stamkos would only be 28.

 

[herman]

That's essentially how the Stamkos thing plays out if he is signed as UFA.

As for not being ready to contend, so what if it takes another three years?

Stamkos would only be 28.

I was also iffy at first, what with our recent team history, and other highly touted players from Tampa Bay moving on and floundering, but I see that is an emotional response to generally unrelated things.

It's a crazy opportunity to get a superstar from 26 to 33.

I can see us moving some above-average spare parts (they still like Panik, right?) and picks prior to the Draft to get dibs on signing him (freeing up some contract slots).