Confirmed Signing with Link: [NSH] F Steven Stamkos signs with the Predators (4 years, $8M AAV)

[AlexGretzchenvid]

Tampa being ruthless. Chose a UFA winger over their franchises best player. I can't imagine it is popular with the players

Uhm, Which sources help you indicate that Tampa was Ruthless? What if Steven just didn't want to play there anymore, like any player may want to after the contract is up. It's not all about some silly banner on a cieling.

 

[DFC]

Uhm, Which sources help you indicate that Tampa was Ruthless? What if Steven just didn't want to play there anymore, like any player may want to after the contract is up. It's not all about some silly banner on a cieling.

...have you seen any of Stamkos's interviews?

 

[LightningStorm]

Gutted by this. Watched this guy for the last 16 years help drag this team out of the gutter all the way to the top. Lots of highs and lows in between. Stamkos became not just the face of hockey in Tampa but probably the biggest sports icon this city has seen. I'm not sure anything will top the Stamkos era in Lightning history. That the origination couldn't see past the X's and O's and see the impact this has on the locker room, the fan base, and the community is just shocking. This day should never have come, and made even worse by the way it was handled.

Nashville you guys got a hell of a leader. Accountability in the locker room, genuine interaction with fans, thoughtful responses to media questions. This guy does it all. And one of the best shooters the league has ever seen. Best of luck in Nashville Stammer.

Exactly this. I do believe the rumors that he was willing to stay in Tampa at $4M-5M AAV, then looked to get paid when he couldn't even get that. For the face of the franchise and our captain, his impact on the team went the beyond the ice. Letting him go and disrupting team continuity was a shortsighted move by JBB, who I've lost faith in by now. The Jeannot trade was terrible, and this was just classless. Not surprised Hedman's rumored extension hasn't been signed in light of him seeing the organization do his friend dirty like this.

Best of luck in Nashville Stammer, we'll always love you. And f*** JBB.

 

[MessierII]

This will be weird. Unreal job by Nashville today though. They are one of the best teams in the central now.

 

[I am Canadian]

Uhm, Which sources help you indicate that Tampa was Ruthless? What if Steven just didn't want to play there anymore, like any player may want to after the contract is up. It's not all about some silly banner on a cieling.

Living under a rock?

 

[mobilus]

Uhm, Which sources help you indicate that Tampa was Ruthless?

There’s nobody on the team named Ruth.

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

...have you seen any of Stamkos's interviews?

Nope. Thanks though.

 

[ViD]

Tampa without Stamkos / Sergachev definitely feels different

 

[bossram]

Nashville undoubtedly made their team better in the short-term. But like, what is the actual organizational direction here? Did Trotz see the Lou Lamiorello Islanders philosophy of team-building and say, "that's the model, we gotta do that"?

Nashville is locking into a very old and expensive core. In 2-3 years, they will have several poor-value contracts and likely a couple complete albatrosses on their hands. They've capped their upside by committing so much money/term and roster space to guys who will be declining shortly. Do they think they are a legit contender right now? It's the only way it makes sense.

As for Stamkos specifically, it's not hard to see why TB let him go. He's not worth $8M. The counting stats are there, but it's really a lot of cookie points. His ES rate scoring has taken a nosedive, along with his defensive metrics. He was outscored significantly at ES this season. He can still snipe it on the PP, but he won't have Kucherov maestroing the PP for him.

At least Nashville will be entertaining.

This doesn't make sense. Stamkos signed for 8 Mill, why Tampa didn't offer him this money is insane, They just signed Guetzel to just over 7 mill. Stamkos has done a lot for Tampa. He still is putting up good numbers.

Because Guentzel is a far superior player and Brisebois knows that.

All great players, but they aren't Kuch. And doesn't Forsberg play the same side as Stammer?

Yep. He's not getting the same PP cookies in Nashville, and that's the only place Stammer can offer + value at this stage in his career.

 

[lawrence]

Love this player. Love this signing. Stamkos is one of the nicest guys on the planet.

its one of those "I want him on my team"but I know he wont come to the West coast. Great pickup for Nashville. I would have lived with 4 years 8 million for him.

 

[DRW895]

Thumbs up Brisebois for letting go stammer

 

[Soundgarden]

Nashville undoubtedly made their team better in the short-term. But like, what is the actual organizational direction here? Did Trotz see the Lou Lamiorello Islanders philosophy of team-building and say, "that's the model, we gotta do that"?

Nashville is locking into a very old and expensive core. In 2-3 years, they will have several poor-value contracts and likely a couple complete albatrosses on their hands. They've capped their upside by committing so much money/term and roster space to guys who will be declining shortly. Do they think they are a legit contender right now? It's the only way it makes sense.

As for Stamkos specifically, it's not hard to see why TB let him go. He's not worth $8M. The counting stats are there, but it's really a lot of cookie points. His ES rate scoring has taken a nosedive, along with his defensive metrics. He was outscored significantly at ES this season. He can still snipe it on the PP, but he won't have Kucherov maestroing the PP for him.

At least Nashville will be entertaining.

We have a Vezina caliber goalie in his prime, a Norris winning 80-95 point defenseman in his prime, a 48 goal scorer in his prime and a Selke and Conn Smythe winning center, we need to go for it. Adding Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei to our roster adds a lot of quality and depth. We have three top 15 goals scorers from last year now.

We've also got a top 5 prospect pool and 2 1sts and 2 2nds in the next draft.

Signing one of the best goal scorers in the league for four years is hardly a back breaking deal, even if he just regresses into a 20 goal PP specialist three years from now.

 

[ThunderRoad]

As for Stamkos specifically, it's not hard to see why TB let him go. He's not worth $8M. The counting stats are there, but it's really a lot of cookie points. His ES rate scoring has taken a nosedive, along with his defensive metrics. He was outscored significantly at ES this season. He can still snipe it on the PP, but he won't have Kucherov maestroing the PP for him.

Tampa wasn't going to need to pay him 8M AAV. That's the point. He was willing to take much less to stay. This is not a guy who wanted a change in scenery. BriseBois made one offer and then apparently never made any further attempt, and then last off-season wouldn't even talk to him when he wanted to secure his position on the team then. By the optics, by Stamkos' own words, BriseBois didn't want him back, and for many Lightning fans, we can't understand why. His intangibles are worth what he reportedly wanted.

And for all the talk of his bad +/- numbers last season, take a look at everyone else's numbers (look at Point or Cirelli). Kucherov was the top forward on the team last year (because he was on his crazy scoring kick). The new system they decided to go with last season, whether it was Cooper's idea alone or Blashill's grand plan or conceived in a group think tank, it failed. Have no idea why it was so bad in execution but the outcome on the ice clearly showed it did not work. So unless they've decided they're rolling it out again this year, and Stamkos was going to be a liability in that scheme, the rest of the team isn't going to fare well either by that sample size.

No, Stamkos isn't what he used to be on the ice, but Tampa wasn't going to have to pay him like he was. They were the only team that wasn't going to need to overpay for his services. Because he wanted to retire a Bolt, and BriseBois (and presumably Vinik as well) chose otherwise.

I happen to think the long term ramifications of that aren't going to be worth Tampa's reluctance to keep its captain.

 

[Else Ermine]

Forsberg $8.5 until 35
Stamkos $8m until 38
Marchessault $5.5m until 38
O’Reilly $4.5m until 36

Josi $9m until 37
Skjei $7m until 37

Saros $7.7 until 38

Nashville rushing to paint themselves into a corner here.

 

[1865]

Massive, we could never pay that.

Wish the best to Stamkos in Nashville. That PP better be good because otherwise I think you will be underwhelmed, Preds fans

But you did... for Guentzel...?

 

[JTBF81]

Exactly this. I do believe the rumors that he was willing to stay in Tampa at $4M-5M AAV, then looked to get paid when he couldn't even get that. For the face of the franchise and our captain, his impact on the team went the beyond the ice. Letting him go and disrupting team continuity was a shortsighted move by JBB, who I've lost faith in by now. The Jeannot trade was terrible, and this was just classless. Not surprised Hedman's rumored extension hasn't been signed in light of him seeing the organization do his friend dirty like this.

Best of luck in Nashville Stammer, we'll always love you. And f*** JBB.

Hedman is basically locked up, but they wanted to wait to be able to announce it so it wouldn't conflict with all of the free agent hoopla of today. I do not believe Stamkos was taking 4.5 to stay in Tampa, nor was an 8 year deal all that realistic.

Sometimes cores have to be shaken up, and Stamkos did decline outside of the powerplay the last year and change. It sucks that he won't play his whole career in Tampa, but that's pretty rare in sports. JBB had more than just one avenue to keep the team competitive, and keeping Stamkos wasn't the best path forward in his view. He corrected a couple of his weaker moves by trading Jeannot and his big overpay in Sergachev. The goal was to improve on defense from last year, and then when it looked like one of the top 2 F ufa's wasn't re-signing, he saw a clear opportunity to once again upgrade at F. He's working to make the team better and competitive beyond just another season, and his moves the last few days have accomplished that for the most part imo. Taking emotional connection out of business.decisions, which this is, is what a good GM has to do at times for the overall betterment of the team.

Good luck to Stamkos in Nashville! I hope they do well(except against Tampa of course). Great for him to get the bag this time around and good for Tampa to not pay him in that range for his 35-38 year old seasons.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

It's gonna be super weird to see him wear another jersey.

 

[centipede2233]

Tampa without Stamkos / Sergachev definitely feels different

Tampa is ruthless and they have had back to back 1st rd losses. Somebody was going to pay and considering they were up against the cap, they needed to remove a couple of high cap players and that’s what they did. Vasi better have a good season next year, or his 9.5 mil caphit will be the next thing JBB’s radar

 

[Maple Leaf]

1 player signed today who got a tax advantage, but it was only a part of the puzzle. f*** all logic that they just won a Stanley cup, still primed to contend for a B2B, lives a comfortable life, likes where he lives, took a team discount to keep the team competitive, has had only one season at 50+ goals with an ungodly shooting percentage. f*** the fact that yes another team would have had to offer him 11 because guess what genius, there wasn't an extra year. Like seriously? How brain dead are you to not piece this together. Nashville got a real discount on Stammer, Tampa got a real discount on Guentzel, Seattle got a real discount on Stephenson, Dallas got a real discount on Dumba.

The tax boogeyman really rotting your brain from the inside out. Hell, one of the best deals signed today was Domi from Toronto, he took a discount and guess what, there was no taxes. Kane took a discount in Detroit, no tax advantage. It's like...now hear me out because I know it's hard for some people who lack critical thinking skills, maybe taxes aren't the only reason players take discounts, and that while they will because of taxes it's usually a whole picture of multiple factors that make players decide to take less.

But continue to blow all your money on Tissues to wipe away all the tears while you cry about taxes.

There is a tax advantage. I’m not crying. Maybe you are crying

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Reports have the number he was offering us much lower.

This is a disaster on many fronts. Not the least of which? We knew we sucked last year. If JBB was intent on letting Stamkos go, we should have traded him.

How much lower? Would he have accepted the 6x4 contract that Malkin got a couple years ago

 

[ThunderRoad]

How much lower? Would he have accepted the 6x4 contract that Malkin got a couple years ago

Absolutely from all accounts. Seems he was willing to take even less than that.

 

[JTBF81]

Complete rumor that Stamkos was willing to take 4 or 5. 6 to 7 is much more believable( yet still just speculation), and the point remains, JBB wasn't interested in extending him for his twilight years at that number. Whether or not the team is more successful in the coming seasons remains to be seen, but after two consecutive 1st rd exits, JBB felt the status quo wasn't working well enough and a shake up/re-tool was in order.

 

[Zwui21]

Hedman is basically locked up, but they wanted to wait to be able to announce it so it wouldn't conflict with all of the free agent hoopla of today. I do not believe Stamkos was taking 4.5 to stay in Tampa, nor was an 8 year deal all that realistic.

Sometimes cores have to be shaken up, and Stamkos did decline outside of the powerplay the last year and change. It sucks that he won't play his whole career in Tampa, but that's pretty rare in sports. JBB had more than just one avenue to keep the team competitive, and keeping Stamkos wasn't the best path forward in his view. He corrected a couple of his weaker moves by trading Jeannot and his big overpay in Sergachev. The goal was to improve on defense from last year, and then when it looked like one of the top 2 F ufa's wasn't re-signing, he saw a clear opportunity to once again upgrade at F. He's working to make the team better and competitive beyond just another season, and his moves the last few days have accomplished that for the most part imo. Taking emotional connection out of business.decisions, which this is, is what a good GM has to do at times for the overall betterment of the team.

Good luck to Stamkos in Nashville! I hope they do well(except against Tampa of course). Great for him to get the bag this time around and good for Tampa to not pay him in that range for his 35-38 year old seasons.

Very well said.
"Taking emotional connection out of business.decisions, which this is, is what a good GM has to do at times for the overall betterment of the team." this is exactly what many Bolts fans seem to forget.
I'm honestly proud to have a GM that has the balls of doing a move that is emotionally unpopular, but that objectively is the right choice in order to have a team as competitiveas possible.

Stamkos even strenght game became awful in the last couple of seasons, and so his decisions with the puck on the stick when on the PP. Still a deadly shot when dished the puck, but not much to like anymore outside of that sadly.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

What 2C are the Preds trading Askarov for? No way Stammer and Marchessault signed in Nashville to play with Novak

 

[LCPreds]

We have a Vezina caliber goalie in his prime, a Norris winning 80-95 point defenseman in his prime, a 48 goal scorer in his prime and a Selke and Conn Smythe winning center, we need to go for it. Adding Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei to our roster adds a lot of quality and depth. We have three top 15 goals scorers from last year now.

We've also got a top 5 prospect pool and 2 1sts and 2 2nds in the next draft.

Signing one of the best goal scorers in the league for four years is hardly a back breaking deal, even if he just regresses into a 20 goal PP specialist three years from now.

Yep. I think too many look at this like it's a video game simulation and don't consider the human/fan element. A lot of us pay a lot of money to actually go to these games for a full season.

There are multiple paths to take here:

1) Go for it. Kick the suck can down the road. We'll probably be terrible eventually but might as well delay that as much as possible. - Far more favorable for me as a sth

2) Another path would be to do not much of anything which pretty much ensures we basically repeat last season at best or maybe finish a spot or two out of the playoffs at worst. Still stuck in the middle. Still picking 10-15 so more likely than not picking a prospect who will help us years down the road. This likely occurs over the range of the contracts being discussed today regardless (next 3-5 years) Boring. - We could still end up here when 'going for it' but at least it doesn't feel boring right now

3) Another option is to jettison assets and tank. I'm sure others around the league could use Saros, Josi, Forsberg, etc. But then we're left in the hell of sucking with no guarantee of getting out. I mean look at this years SCF. I'm really happy that FLA and EDM made it. But look what those fan bases had to go through to get there over the past decade+. That's a tough ticket to sell. I know I wouldn't be buying if we went through a stretch of only making the playoffs a handful of times over a 10-15 year period.