Official Tank Thread of the Toronto Maple Leafs

[gabeliscious]

lou went all in on kovy. i dont see why he wouldnt on stamkos. i would be shocked if the thing stopping stamkos coming to toronto is management refusing to losen the ourse strings.

sure it may be a huge cap commitment but given his age plus we will have most of the new core on elc i think it shouldnt be an issue.

jvr stamkos marner
lupul bozak komorov
tkachuck nylander brown
winnik spaling gauthier

 

[mallory67]

lou went all in on kovy. i dont see why he wouldnt on stamkos. i would be shocked if the thing stopping stamkos coming to toronto is management refusing to losen the ourse strings.

sure it may be a huge cap commitment but given his age plus we will have most of the new core on elc i think it shouldnt be an issue.

jvr stamkos marner
lupul bozak komorov
tkachuck nylander brown
winnik spaling gauthier

Awesome lines ... super exciting! Except for one ... Which one could it be?
Yeah, its the Bozak line ...

 

[Menzinger]

I'd still sign Stamkos, but what number makes sense for both sides?

I'm not so sure I want to make him the highest paid player in the league - would be willing to accept Kane/Toews money?

 

[Canada4Gold]

anyone have to do a double take on this tweet

 

[Gary Nylund]

The Stamkos euphoria is getting to be a bit much. If he wants to sign for a discount, awesome. If he wants an 7 year deal that makes him the highest paid player in the NHL, that's a potential disaster.

Just imagine for a moment if that happened, and 3 years from now it becomes apparent that his best days are behind him and he's un-tradeable (unless of course we retain salary). What does that do to our rebuild?

If you think this isn't a possible scenario, think again.

 

[-DeMo-]

lou went all in on kovy. i dont see why he wouldnt on stamkos. i would be shocked if the thing stopping stamkos coming to toronto is management refusing to losen the ourse strings.

sure it may be a huge cap commitment but given his age plus we will have most of the new core on elc i think it shouldnt be an issue.

jvr stamkos marner
lupul bozak komorov
tkachuck nylander brown
winnik spaling gauthier

except it wont be Lou's decision to make. people seem to forget that, this is a team for a front office, yes Lou has the GM tag but if Shanahan/Dubas/Hunter etc. don't think it's a good idea it wont happen.

 

[LV*]

The Stamkos euphoria is getting to be a bit much. If he wants to sign for a discount, awesome. If he wants an 7 year deal that makes him the highest paid player in the NHL, that's a potential disaster.

Just imagine for a moment if that happened, and 3 years from now it becomes apparent that his best days are behind him and he's un-tradeable (unless of course we retain salary). What does that do to our rebuild?

If you think this isn't a possible scenario, think again.

So stammer will suck when hes 28? The age players usually are in their prime

 

[KapG]

So stammer will suck when hes 28? The age players usually are in their prime

From a goal scoring perspective I'm pretty sure players peak in their earlier years.

 

[Menzinger]

So stammer will suck when hes 28? The age players usually are in their prime

Nobody is saying that. But history shows he likely won't be as good at 28 than he was at 24.

He's not going to be a 50 goal scorer for he rest of his career. Players decline as they age - it happens to everyone. I don't think Stamkos is the exception to the rule. We've likely already seen his peak in terms of offense.

That doesn't mean the Leafs shouldn't try to sign him, but it does call into question whether they should throw 11+ million at a guy, especially since the Leafs will likely be lousy for another year or two even after signing him.

 

[OvenMittz*]

This fanbase never seems to amaze me..

We are rebuilding!! shut up already with the Stamkos talk. He isn't coming here unless he takes a huge pay cut and agrees to a shorter term.

Why are we going to put so much money into one player when the rest of our team is still in construction. HECK we are still trying to learn a new style of play right now!! whats with all this FA stupidity when we've been snake bitten that direction FOR YEARS!

Look Stamkos is great, but he can't turn a franchise around on his own.. im sorry, i don't care what you short-minded people believe.. he can't. We are planning on putting all that money aside into home grown players coming up.

WE STICK WITH THE PLAN!.. Rentals = Trade = Draft picks = Develop = Find your home grown core.

NO SHORTCUTS.. This franchise committed to a real rebuild.. right from the gutter. We have a huge prospect pool with tons of cap space for rentals and putting that money in EARNED contracts to young talent coming up.

We don't give in to short term temptation.. We bring up the kids with stamkos, then when it comes to signing them... we can't because our money is all in 1 aging player that could be past his prime already? we want a Dynasty.. and the way we do that is to grow our own.

IF you want to throw away the plan this franchise committed to make, then just shut up and eat your waffles!!

 

[rdawg1234]

This fanbase never seems to amaze me..

We are rebuilding!! shut up already with the Stamkos talk. He isn't coming here unless he takes a huge pay cut and agrees to a shorter term.

Why are we going to put so much money into one player when the rest of our team is still in construction. HECK we are still trying to learn a new style of play right now!! whats with all this FA stupidity when we've been snake bitten that direction FOR YEARS!

Look Stamkos is great, but he can't turn a franchise around on his own.. im sorry, i don't care what you short-minded people believe.. he can't. We are planning on putting all that money aside into home grown players coming up.

WE STICK WITH THE PLAN!.. Rentals = Trade = Draft picks = Develop = Find your home grown core.

NO SHORTCUTS.. This franchise committed to a real rebuild.. right from the gutter. We have a huge prospect pool with tons of cap space for rentals and putting that money in EARNED contracts to young talent coming up.

We don't give in to short term temptation.. We bring up the kids with stamkos, then when it comes to signing them... we can't because our money is all in 1 aging player that could be past his prime already? we want a Dynasty.. and the way we do that is to grow our own.

IF you want to throw away the plan this franchise committed to make, then just shut up and eat your waffles!!

And adding stamkos would only help us, not hurt us, in the short term you have him and Kadri down the middle, then Nylander, Marner, Brown, Kapenen etc will all start to make the team+ whoever we get in the bottom 5 this year.

We've already added alot of great pieces, being a bottom 5 team in the last 3 of 4 seasons here, on top of that adding another bottom 5 pick this year as well.

There's no way imo we're as bad as we are now next year, too many prospects are on the verge of making it and the team will only improve after this bottom-out year.

I would much rather start adding some winning pieces next season instead of yet another bottom out finish. It's not like you add him and we become a top team, but we would start to progress in a positive direction.

 

[one77]

JVR - Matthews - Marner
Nylander - Stamkos - Brown
Bracco - Kadri - Kapanen
Komarov - Gauthier - Winnik

Rielly - Phaneuf
Gardiner - Harrington
Percy - Dermott
-Loov/Marincin/Valiev

 

[FlareKnight]

I'm not betting on getting Stamkos here, but I'm not going to think the world will end if we actually do. I think if a franchise center ends up on the free agent market then it's time to say "thank you, here's your money." Especially if that guy is not exactly in his last days as a hockey player.

It's a good thing to keep the rebuild in mind, that's a pretty key thing in getting us on the right track. But tunnel vision doesn't help anything. "Oh you aren't one of our draft picks? Get the heck out? What your name is Crosby? I don't care." Your entire NHL roster isn't going to be made of guys you drafted. A rebuild like anything has a mix of pieces from various sources. Having as many guys in the core being ones we drafted is great and key, but it doesn't have to be exclusive.

In the end let's just see how the season goes. The better the pick the more options we have. Will draft a lot this summer and just continue to add. Whatever happens with free agents or trades we can figure out when they happen.

 

[Ovate]

The Stamkos euphoria is getting to be a bit much. If he wants to sign for a discount, awesome. If he wants an 7 year deal that makes him the highest paid player in the NHL, that's a potential disaster.

Just imagine for a moment if that happened, and 3 years from now it becomes apparent that his best days are behind him and he's un-tradeable (unless of course we retain salary). What does that do to our rebuild?

If you think this isn't a possible scenario, think again.

To be the highest paid player in the league, he'd only need to be making $10.6M AAV.

10.6x7 for a superstar center seems very reasonable to me.

In Toronto, he'd get more endorsement deals, but the taxes are also higher, so I'd say those two are a wash.

Even if his best days are behind him, and he's just a 35 goal scorer, we'll have enough cap flexibility due to our many ELCs that we can afford it. And if he doesn't dramatically decline and stays in 45 goal shape, he's a key piece of a cup winning team that we got without giving up anything but cap space.

 

[Durrr]

Uhh, can anyone here honestly say that if they were making millions of dollars as a elite athlete, that they would give up on a proven cup contending team in Florida to come to a dumpster fire in Toronto, a team that is in year 1.5 of a rebuild?

Not only would Stamkos be giving up his current lifestyle and about 20% more of his cash, but he's also gambling on his legacy and career sucess.

Unless Tampa is undercutting Stamkos because of all the talent on the roster and wont pay the guy, he's not coming here. Why are people planning a team around him? Yes he's from Toronto, but professional loyalty and personal lifestyle preference trump him being from our city.

 

[OvenMittz*]

To be the highest paid player in the league, he'd only need to be making $10.6M AAV.

10.6x7 for a superstar center seems very reasonable to me.

In Toronto, he'd get more endorsement deals, but the taxes are also higher, so I'd say those two are a wash.

Even if his best days are behind him, and he's just a 35 goal scorer, we'll have enough cap flexibility due to our many ELCs that we can afford it. And if he doesn't dramatically decline and stays in 45 goal shape, he's a key piece of a cup winning team that we got without giving up anything but cap space.

And then those ELC's are up and money is tied in Stamkos... and then what?

great more short term thinking.. lets bring out the waffles.

 

[OvenMittz*]

And adding stamkos would only help us, not hurt us, in the short term you have him and Kadri down the middle, then Nylander, Marner, Brown, Kapenen etc will all start to make the team+ whoever we get in the bottom 5 this year.

We've already added alot of great pieces, being a bottom 5 team in the last 3 of 4 seasons here, on top of that adding another bottom 5 pick this year as well.

There's no way imo we're as bad as we are now next year, too many prospects are on the verge of making it and the team will only improve after this bottom-out year.

I would much rather start adding some winning pieces next season instead of yet another bottom out finish. It's not like you add him and we become a top team, but we would start to progress in a positive direction.

I think you missed the point... Once our ELC are up and we have to pay these young great talented players.. we can't, and have to give up some of them because our money is tied with an aging Stamkos for x amount of years. Do you really believe hes going to sign here at a discount for less than 5 years? No hes going to cash in big.

I for one want a Dynasty and you do that by sticking to our plan. Why don't you think long term, and wonder what we are going to do once Nylander/Marner/Brown/Matthews? ELCs are up and they are younger, hungrier and earned their big contract? ... we are going to have to cut some of them loose because you wanted a big FA that will be past his prime by then?

Think man, i love Stammers.. but that ship has sailed we are not contending and are actually doing it right for once, the way chicago/pitts did it, we don't want him here unless its for a huge discount AND IF that doesn't mean he will be taking a spot away from a younger up and comer while hes past his prime.

Would you trade Nylander, Brown or Marner and (this years pick) for Stamkos now? because thats what it will look like if we sign him and left stuck with him and have to let some of those young players go.

 

[Visnovsky]

How about we run an "Maple Leafs draftee only" -team:

Matthew Tkachuk - Mitchell Marner - Julien Gauthier
Dmytro Timashov - William Nylander - Connor Brown
Josh Leivo - Nazem Kadri - Andreas Johnson
Leo Komarov - Frederik Gauthier - Sam Carrick

Morgan Rielly - Travis Dermott
Rinat Valiev - Stuart Percy
Viktor Loov - Jesper Lindgren

Antoine Bibeau
James Reimer

Here we have a hopeful scenario, where we get Tkachuk with our pick, and Gauthier with Pittsburgh's pick (if needed, they could move up).

I'm really hopeful that Bibeau will pan out. I hope we'll get a RHD to pair with Rielly in the future, but at the moment there's no one to take that spot - I think it's Dermott's to take.

There's a huge amount of talent, competitiveness, and grit in this team. And if there were any injuries in the top-six, there are many guys in the bottom-six that could replace temporarily one of the injured players.

 

[rdawg1234]

I think you missed the point... Once our ELC are up and we have to pay these young great talented players.. we can't, and have to give up some of them because our money is tied with an aging Stamkos for x amount of years. Do you really believe hes going to sign here at a discount for less than 5 years? No hes going to cash in big.


Think man, i love Stammers.. but that ship has sailed we are not contending and are actually doing it right for once, the way chicago/pitts did it, we don't want him here unless its for a huge discount AND IF that doesn't mean he will be taking a spot away from a younger up and comer while hes past his prime.

Would you trade Nylander, Brown or Marner and (this years pick) for Stamkos now? because thats what it will look like if we sign him and left stuck with him and have to let some of those young players go.

If this problem arises it means a few things, A: if they require massive contracts that means they have built very high value and would be worth alot in a trade.
B: Chicago seems to be doing fine dealing with problems like this, as soon as a player that isnt core needs a new contract, they are dealt for cheaper but still solid players that can fill the hole.

Bringing in Stammer at a solid price(let's say 8-10m) gives this team depth, gives young prospects a top centre to build around etc.

you keep your core and trade the expensive secondary pieces(Saad's, Dave bollands, Andrew Ladd's) etc. that can easily be replaced with cheaper UFA's and ELC prospects.

There is no way that this management would turn down Stamkos at 8 or 9m a year, he's worth it and would instantly push the teams rebuild a year forward at least as we wouldn't have to wait for Nylander or Marner or whoever to become our 1C, we'd have one.

 

[Canada4Gold]

How about we run an "Maple Leafs draftee only" -team:

Matthew Tkachuk - Mitchell Marner - Julien Gauthier
Dmytro Timashov - William Nylander - Connor Brown
Josh Leivo - Nazem Kadri - Andreas Johnson
Leo Komarov - Frederik Gauthier - Sam Carrick

Morgan Rielly - Travis Dermott
Rinat Valiev - Stuart Percy
Viktor Loov - Jesper Lindgren

Antoine Bibeau
James Reimer

Here we have a hopeful scenario, where we get Tkachuk with our pick, and Gauthier with Pittsburgh's pick (if needed, they could move up).

I'm really hopeful that Bibeau will pan out. I hope we'll get a RHD to pair with Rielly in the future, but at the moment there's no one to take that spot - I think it's Dermott's to take.

There's a huge amount of talent, competitiveness, and grit in this team. And if there were any injuries in the top-six, there are many guys in the bottom-six that could replace temporarily one of the injured players.

or we could actually use our assets to ice the best team possible even if that includes trading for players drafted by other teams and/or signing free agents. That should be the goal, do what you can to ice the best team you can, not to have some ideological Leaf only drafted team for no reason.

 

[Visnovsky]

Just thought it would be fun.

 

[GBLeaf]

If we were fortunate enough to win the Matthews stakes. Then i'm not sure adding Stamkos would be cutting short the rebuild. I agree with those who would be against making him the highest paid player in the league. But at $8/9m for 6/7 years, I could definitely see the temptation.

Having an attacking core in a couple of years of Matthews, Stamkos, Nylander, JVR, Marner, and hopefully seeing Brown, Kapanen add to it... would be looking pretty damn sweet.

On the Defensive end is where we'd need to be smart or get lucky. If Zaitsev was to come and be the top 4 RHD which people hope he could be, then it would help a bucketload.

Then it's down to a Goaltender?

For me, that is a core of a team that could be very competitive for 4/5/6 years, with other hopefuls such as Bracco, Tymashov, Dermott... etc hopefully then coming into it too.

Obviously it's a lot of speculation. But it's nice to fantasise occasionally.

All that said, you wont find me crying if we don't get Matthews and/or Stamkos. Because ultimately, I feel the Leafs are in good hands and the right choices will be made.

 

[Gary Nylund]

To be the highest paid player in the league, he'd only need to be making $10.6M AAV.

10.6x7 for a superstar center seems very reasonable to me.

In Toronto, he'd get more endorsement deals, but the taxes are also higher, so I'd say those two are a wash.

Even if his best days are behind him, and he's just a 35 goal scorer, we'll have enough cap flexibility due to our many ELCs that we can afford it. And if he doesn't dramatically decline and stays in 45 goal shape, he's a key piece of a cup winning team that we got without giving up anything but cap space.

And what if he's only a 25 goal scorer 5 years from now with 3 years left on a contract paying him 10m + a year?

I have no problem with signing him if the price is right but paying him top dollar at max term is risky.

 

[colchar]

We are rebuilding!! shut up already with the Stamkos talk.

So you have a problem doing that rebuild with a young superstar as the centerpiece?

He isn't coming here unless he takes a huge pay cut and agrees to a shorter term.

Huh?

whats with all this FA stupidity when we've been snake bitten that direction FOR YEARS!

So because of their past they should never sign free agents again?

Look Stamkos is great, but he can't turn a franchise around on his own.

Nobody said he could.

We are planning on putting all that money aside into home grown players coming up.

You don't have the first clue what they are planning, none of us do.

We have a huge prospect pool with tons of cap space for rentals and putting that money in EARNED contracts to young talent coming up.

Stamkos hasn't earned a contract?

We bring up the kids with stamkos, then when it comes to signing them... we can't because our money is all in 1 aging player that could be past his prime already?

Stamkos is aging?

IF you want to throw away the plan this franchise committed to make, then just shut up and eat your waffles!!

 

[WTFMAN99]

Throwing it out there -

If the Leafs won 1st overall, and *knew* Stamkos was coming here.

Would you trade Matthews/The pick for an established top pairing right handed defenseman? (or one with potential)

Doughty-Ekblad-Jones (just as examples) - if it was someone like Jones, i'd want a plus and they'd have to take a cap dump. I don't think Ekblad is available (they have great centres in Barkov and Bjugstad already). I'm just spitballing here.

Just want to see what peoples thoughts are on something like this. I don't want to try to fast forward a rebuild but there is a lot of time to go between now and the draft, so it is fun to discuss scenarios.