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

[PredsV82]

Dude... they're not Kucherov. The guy who has 3 of the top 4 assist seasons from a winger all time and just hit 100 assists in a season.

Production will drop. The question is does it drop to 35 goals or 30. The first you can live with. The second is going to be rough.

Lol you don't know our offensive history. Stammer getting "just" 30 goals would be a godsend

 

[Armourboy]

I don't know if he will hit 30. High 20s or 30 if you give him a good role on the PP. I'm not sure if you'll want to because Forsberg is better in that spot.

Forsberg primarily plays on the opposite side that Stamkos does, has pretty much his entire career so that isn't a problem.

 

[DFC]

Forsberg primarily plays on the opposite side that Stamkos does, has pretty much his entire career so that isn't a problem.

If Stamkos is at the top of the left circle, be should hit 30 then. He still has the one timer. No arguments there.

 

[Armourboy]

If Stamkos is at the top of the left circle, be should hit 30 then. He still has the one timer. No arguments there.

Yeah Forsberg's one timer is not that great. They tried it there at times this season but frankly he looked like a fish out of water. He's much better being able to move around and use his wrist shot which is about as nasty as Stamoks or Ovi's one timers.

 

[DFC]

Yeah Forsberg's one timer is not that great. They tried it there at times this season but frankly he looked like a fish out of water. He's much better being able to move around and use his wrist shot which is about as nasty as Stamoks or Ovi's one timers.

Yeah, Stamkos isn't the guy you want moving with the puck. His decision making is below average. You want him touching the puck long enough to fire, and then he will score goals even at times when it seems like he can't.

In TB though, it was really good for Stamkos when Point became just as big, if not a bigger, threat to score on the PP. Teams had to defend the play to Point, which often left Stamkos open. You might see Nashville wind up with a similar structure. I feel like Marchessault shoots right? Maybe the plan is to stick him in the bumper spot, thus giving Forsberg and Josi more options. Seems like you might wind up with similar weapons to TB, if that's the case.

5v5 Stamkos will... well, disappoint. But if you put him in a favorable position on the PP, he will score. I think his 5v5 scoring will decline a bit, especially as you find better options, but I would imagine he will be a threat on the PP as long as he's in that spot. Ovy Lite.

 

[Armourboy]

Yeah, Stamkos isn't the guy you want moving with the puck. His decision making is below average. You want him touching the puck long enough to fire, and then he will score goals even at times when it seems like he can't.

In TB though, it was really good for Stamkos when Point became just as big, if not a bigger, threat to score on the PP. Teams had to defend the play to Point, which often left Stamkos open. You might see Nashville wind up with a similar structure. I feel like Marchessault shoots right? Maybe the plan is to stick him in the bumper spot, thus giving Forsberg and Josi more options. Seems like you might wind up with similar weapons to TB, if that's the case.

5v5 Stamkos will... well, disappoint. But if you put him in a favorable position on the PP, he will score. I think his 5v5 scoring will decline a bit, especially as you find better options, but I would imagine he will be a threat on the PP as long as he's in that spot. Ovy Lite.

Yeah honestly at this point at long as he can score on the PP and get a few points 5 vs 5 its a net positive for us. He's basically pushing a guy like Jankowski down the line up, which ain't exactly hard to match.

I don't think many of us are expecting his game from 5-6 years ago, if he gives us a scoring threat on that side of the PP we will be mostly happy with anything else being a bonus really.

 

[DFC]

That's just not true. You just chose Guentzel over him.

We could never pay that to Stamkos. His 5v5 game just isn't good enough, and our PP honestly doesn't skip a beat when he's gone. We paid Guentzel for his 5v5 game, which was a big weakness for us last year. The PP will be fine as long as Kucherov stays healthy. To a lesser extent, Point, for his zone entries.

 

[DFC]

Stamkos holds so many franchise records, captain of their dynasty years. Most teams keep him out of respect and fans are ok with it. They chose to try and keep contending and I respect it but it must piss off that core

Took hedman about 12 seconds to sign a team friendly deal. So I doubt it.

 

[Astyanax]

Horrible contract. Lightning are much better team with Guentzel than Stamkos

Yes, because of what both bring at this point in their careers, but is Guentzel better than Stamkos and Sergachev?

 

[Murzu]

Hey at least the guy trains his f***ing ass off




Edit: just realized this is an old video, but he still trains with the same folks and is, by all accounts, very fit

Wouldn't read too much into info like this. This is what some Avs fans said when we signed the corpse of Iginla. "He's in iron shape!". Yeah, first three months he was great and then was a huge burden untill we traded him to LAK during his third and final season as an Av.

FTR I think Stamkos will do okay, but that 8M AAV is way too rich for him.

 

[JPT]

Wouldn't read too much into info like this. This is what some Avs fans said when we signed the corpse of Iginla. "He's in iron shape!". Yeah, first three months he was great and then was a huge burden untill we traded him to LAK during his third and final season as an Av.

FTR I think Stamkos will do okay, but that 8M AAV is way too rich for him.

I’m not sure Iginla is a fair comparison considering how physical he was. Besides, like I noted in my edit, that video is 12 years old and I just didn’t notice.

All Nashville needs from Stamkos is help on the PP and good 2nd line goal production. 8m AAV is steep for that right now, but it’s also the price you pay for one of the top free agent forwards when you’re looking to open a Cup window for a few years. The cap will go up, dead cap will come off of the books, and the AAV won’t seem as bad in a few seasons.

 

[Murzu]

I’m not sure Iginla is a fair comparison considering how physical he was. Besides, like I noted in my edit, that video is 12 years old and I just didn’t notice.

All Nashville needs from Stamkos is help on the PP and good 2nd line goal production. 8m AAV is steep for that right now, but it’s also the price you pay for one of the top free agent forwards when you’re looking to open a Cup window for a few years. The cap will go up, dead cap will come off of the books, and the AAV won’t seem as bad in a few seasons.

It will if/when Stamkos regresses as he ages.

But if this deal was like 6-6,5M x 4-5yrs there wouldn't be many people complaining. It's clearly an overpayment but nothing outrageous.

 

[JPT]

It will if/when Stamkos regresses as he ages.

But if this deal was like 6-6,5M x 4-5yrs there wouldn't be many people complaining. It's clearly an overpayment but nothing outrageous.

It seems like the only people complaining aren’t Preds fans, and the people whose money actually pays the bill are fine with it.

Yeah if/when he regresses it’ll *look* bad to the same people who are already talking about how bad it looks, but in terms of actual impact on the cap situation in Nashville it will be softened by an increasing cap and shedding dead cap dollars as things come off of the books.

And if Nashville is able to get a Cup in the next few years, no one is going to care about Stamkos’s contract terms.

 

[triggrman]

It seems like the only people complaining aren’t Preds fans, and the people whose money actually pays the bill are fine with it.

Yeah if/when he regresses it’ll *look* bad to the same people who are already talking about how bad it looks, but in terms of actual impact on the cap situation in Nashville it will be softened by an increasing cap and shedding dead cap dollars as things come off of the books.

And if Nashville is able to get a Cup in the next few years, no one is going to care about Stamkos’s contract terms.

No we'll just hear about no state income tax...

 

[Murzu]

It seems like the only people complaining aren’t Preds fans, and the people whose money actually pays the bill are fine with it.

Yeah if/when he regresses it’ll *look* bad to the same people who are already talking about how bad it looks, but in terms of actual impact on the cap situation in Nashville it will be softened by an increasing cap and shedding dead cap dollars as things come off of the books.

And if Nashville is able to get a Cup in the next few years, no one is going to care about Stamkos’s contract terms.

Yeah, fans of other teams are looking from the outside. I 100% understand Preds fans are excited about what happened in free agency.

If you win a cup, your GM will be applauded.

 

[DFC]

It will if/when Stamkos regresses as he ages.

But if this deal was like 6-6,5M x 4-5yrs there wouldn't be many people complaining. It's clearly an overpayment but nothing outrageous.

I think the red flag is ES production. Stamkos won't have a problem scoring on the PP, at least in the short term, as long as Nashville can put him in his spot.

But you're not gonna get 2nd line production out of him. His 5v5 game has been declining for a while, and last year's numbers are somewhat inflated based in a big finish, and some time spent with Kucherov (the man who nearly turned post-2015 Tyler Johnson into a 30 goal scorer). His 5v5 scoring is about even with CIrelli's.

 

[cheesymc]

How in the world did Tampa let him walk? He could have retired playing only for the Lightning.

 

[JPT]

How in the world did Tampa let him walk? He could have retired playing only for the Lightning.

Well they were trying to hook Toronto fans up, but it backfired in a hilarious way

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

My feeling is, and this is entirely speculative, Trotz and Brunette wanted a couple of forwards to take pressure off of the top line by forcing other teams to choose their defensive match ups more wisely. It helps that one of them is a PP specialist and the other is a play off gamer.

As a nucks fan I came of impressed with the Preds and their ability to take away time and space. Whether it was Vancouver's ability defensively which definitely is a strength of the team the Preds did struggle 5on5 so I do agree ith your premise.
The issues I have with these deals (not that mine matter) are fit , age, and team direction.

The Preds already had a top pp since February and as much as I like Stammer, most of his value comes from the pp so I'm not sure in his case how much better he makes you guys better 5on5, with JM he should help in that regard.

I'm not one of those ageists but both these guys are definitely hovering around an age where they could fall off at anytime which brings me to my last point.

A couple of years ago the Preds seemed destined for a rebuild and since then have really only gotten older with not a lot of youth in the pipelines to replace guys as they age out. Without that and with these two additions there is a really brief window before a lot of these contracts will become anchors.

It's way to soon to judge Trotz but it seems like he hasn't planned things out very well long-term and while on paper they look better offensively as long as both players don't fall off a cliff, they have no cap, no real blue chip prospects and aside from Forsburg (29) everyone of their best forwards are 33+

I hope things workout but if I'm being honest Trotz seems to be way in over his head as a GM.

If there's one thing I've learned from the Benning area is handing out a bunch of long-term deals on July 1st to an aging core, usually doesn't work out in the end.

If I'm way off I apologize and if there's a strategic aspect that I'm not seeing I stand corrected.

 

[DFC]

How in the world did Tampa let him walk? He could have retired playing only for the Lightning.

Honestly he's basically a PP cannon at this point. Makes our 2nd line worse, and that's saying something.

I mean, I don't know where I stand or how much I'd pay for him. The reality is I don't think our PP will suffer much and we will probably get better 5v5. I think that's where Jbb is coming from?

 

[JPT]

As a nucks fan I came of impressed with the Preds and their ability to take away time and space. Whether it was Vancouver's ability defensively which definitely is a strength of the team the Preds did struggle 5on5 so I do agree ith your premise.
The issues I have with these deals (not that mine matter) are fit , age, and team direction.

The Preds already had a top pp since February and as much as I like Stammer, most of his value comes from the pp so I'm not sure in his case how much better he makes you guys better 5on5, with JM he should help in that regard.

I'm not one of those ageists but both these guys are definitely hovering around an age where they could fall off at anytime which brings me to my last point.

A couple of years ago the Preds seemed destined for a rebuild and since then have really only gotten older with not a lot of youth in the pipelines to replace guys as they age out. Without that and with these two additions there is a really brief window before a lot of these contracts will become anchors.

It's way to soon to judge Trotz but it seems like he hasn't planned things out very well long-term and while on paper they look better offensively as long as both players don't fall off a cliff, they have no cap, no real blue chip prospects and aside from Forsburg (29) everyone of their best forwards are 33+

I hope things workout but if I'm being honest Trotz seems to be way in over his head as a GM.

If there's one thing I've learned from the Benning area is handing out a bunch of long-term deals on July 1st to an aging core, usually doesn't work out in the end.

If I'm way off I apologize and if there's a strategic aspect that I'm not seeing I stand corrected.

If we are going to criticize Trotz's ability to plan for the future it's worth noting that he has something like 7 picks in the first three rounds of the next draft.

He's going for it now with a solid prospect pool and a boat load of picks. The plans may not work, but he does seem to have a short term and a long term plan for the team.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

It seems like the only people complaining aren’t Preds fans, and the people whose money actually pays the bill are fine with it.

Yeah if/when he regresses it’ll *look* bad to the same people who are already talking about how bad it looks, but in terms of actual impact on the cap situation in Nashville it will be softened by an increasing cap and shedding dead cap dollars as things come off of the books.

And if Nashville is able to get a Cup in the next few years, no one is going to care about Stamkos’s contract terms.

In a vacuum there's nothing wrong at all with the contract.
The only problem like with the other ones Trotz has done since Sarros is so these additions make them cup favourites in the next two years? Because there isn't much coming up and the team has no cap to make any significant adds.
Every team with competitive windows has ageing players that when signed you knew the last year's might suck but the Preds in two years will have almost their entire core 35 and over and it's only for those reasons I question these deals.

That being said at least the team and fans got rewarded for a hell of a run last year.

 

[Soundgarden]

A couple of years ago the Preds seemed destined for a rebuild and since then have really only gotten older with not a lot of youth in the pipelines to replace guys as they age out. Without that and with these two additions there is a really brief window before a lot of these contracts will become anchors.

It's way to soon to judge Trotz but it seems like he hasn't planned things out very well long-term and while on paper they look better offensively as long as both players don't fall off a cliff, they have no cap, no real blue chip prospects and aside from Forsburg (29) everyone of their best forwards are 33+

I hope things workout but if I'm being honest Trotz seems to be way in over his head as a GM.

If there's one thing I've learned from the Benning area is handing out a bunch of long-term deals on July 1st to an aging core, usually doesn't work out in the end.

If I'm way off I apologize and if there's a strategic aspect that I'm not seeing I stand correcte

I think you underestimate our prospects, we have a top 5-10 prospect pool and 2 1sts and 2 2nds in this upcoming draft.

 

[JPT]

In a vacuum there's nothing wrong at all with the contract.
The only problem like with the other ones Trotz has done since Sarros is so these additions make them cup favourites in the next two years? Because there isn't much coming up and the team has no cap to make any significant adds.
Every team with competitive windows has ageing players that when signed you knew the last year's might suck but the Preds in two years will have almost their entire core 35 and over and it's only for those reasons I question these deals.

That being said at least the team and fans got rewarded for a hell of a run last year.

Saros is 29. Forsberg is 30. Skjei is 30. ROR is 33. Josi just recently turned 34, but shows no signs of slowing down. Only Stamkos and Marchy will turn 35 this season. Other than that, Schenn is the only player on the team who is 35. Just a touch hyperbolic there. I'd also argue that they are sitting pretty well with prospects.

 

[Plural]

Stammer doesn't really play C anymore. Also you had Peter Forsberg at one point.

And Paul Kariya