Speculation: Stamkos Ask from Toronto was 14M AAV

[Funk21]

I take these reports with a grain of salt but I'm sure he was looking into the 11 million ish rain due to the no state tax benefit if playing in Florida. Burke/Nonis would have been all over that just to land the big fish. Thank god we have a smarter brain trust.

I like Stamkos but not at that price or even above 10.5. He has not won anything, coming off two sub par seasons for his standards and people questioning his health (leg).

 

[Human]

Why bother going to the meeting? Why bother testing UFA? /if he didn't want to entertain the thought -- why go to the meeting?

I don't maybe. maybe he prefered other teams that haven't offered him a deal...

 

[Boxscore]

I don't believe this for a second. Nobody - even Toronto - is paying Stamkos 14 mil a pop. Stamkos wouldn't demand that either. Most likely, a reporter put their own reckless spin / speculation on a source who said something like, "Toronto would have to pay Stamkos a huge amount to get him to leave Tampa..."

Anymore, sports reporting is outlandish or wonky at best. Like everything else, it's become way too sensational in an ongoing attempt to gobble hits, page views and retweets.

We're in the age where a complete rumor monger (cough, fraud) like Eklund can make a living putting out nonsense. Unfortunately, a good portion of the "legit" media isn't much better these days.

 

[Hictor Vedman*]

Tampa is his home now.

Markham is the home that he grew up in, but Tampa Bay is the home that he built. It's funny how people always seem to forget that and think there's some mystical allure to playing at home. If I were a pro player, there's no way in hell I'd want to play for the Senators. I'd take the opportunity of being a millionaire athlete and live somewhere new, and love every second of it.

 

[Hictor Vedman*]

The thing that amused me the most out of the Stamkos situation was that he apparently declined to even discuss a contract with Detroit, who probably could've (after tax differential) given him the equivalent of 14 million per. I think a Detroit deal at 10.5 would've equalled a Toronto offer of 14?

Ouch for Detroit.

Proves he only wanted to use a few teams as leverage to get more from Tampa. He had no desire of actually leaving. I think that is plain to everybody, now.

 

[sully1410]

It's probably like Daniel Craig and playing Bond again. He doesn't want to deal with all the crap that comes with it, so only way to convince him is giving an offer he can't refuse. For Craig, $75M per movie still isn't enough

The world is not enough.

 

[GoJetsGo55]

I thought Edmonton was the one that had to overpay to lure UFA's

Well of course Edmonton would have to.

Not many people live there. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family.

I've been there for just once, maybe twice, when I play in minors. It was really cold. I used the tunnels between the buildings to get to the arena. Because it was minus 40-something. Real cold.




















Extra points to anyone who gets it

 

[DFC]

So that's what the hometown discount Leafs fans kept talking about was.

 

[oobga]

While i totally agree, i'm old enough to remember the good times...and if you win in TO (not the cup, but just make the playoffs and compete) as a player, you can get God status here. Bower/Keon/Mahovolich/etc....all icons. Bobby Baun will be forever remembered for his broken ankle goal....guys like Clark/Gilmour/Roberts/Domi/Cujo/Potvin....never brought a cup, all local heroes. During the Ballard years...we iced some garbage teams, but guys like Sittler/Lanny/Salming/Vaive/Palmateer are revered. Hell, Allan freaking Bester can still get paid for autograph sessions...so this garbage about pressure in TO, while real, is a tad overstated. If you play like Kessel did here? Ya, you get called out. But if you play with heart and win some games, you are loved.

Yeah, that is why Babcock went with the Leafs, he wants to be that guy that turned the team around. Obviously I have no idea about Stamkos personally, or what his family wants their life to be like. But, if it's true he wanted that much money to go to TO, I think the easiest explanation is that he and perhaps his family feels the loss of privacy compared to playing in Florida and added stress the environment will put on him to succeed requires some significant extra compensation. All assumptions based on this 14M number actually being true of course

 

[ACC1224]

This is actually being believed??

 

[Benedict Kovalchuk]

So that's what the hometown discount Leafs fans kept talking about was.

More like a hometown premium. Playing for the Leafs seems to necessitate being paid more to deal with the circus.

 

[Kelly]

If he actually asked Toronto for 14 million then I find that insulting. I didn't want him at anything over 10, so thank heavens Leafs stayed away from that albatross. Seriously he wanted to be the most paid player in the league? What a joke.

Though, if he did get that, after taxes wouldn't he technically be taking home the same amount he's making in Tampa now? What a crock of ****.

 

[Red Piller]

From what I have heard from various "insiders" no one knows for sure, but it seems he wanted to come in and have it be "his" team, and the Leafs weren't willing to structure the team around him.

Of course I understand ignoring all of this and taking shots at the Leafs whenever possible.

That's exactly what Tampa fans and everyone else were saying to you before he signed somewhere. That he wasn't a guy you build a team around. You took it to mean they think he isn't good because he may leave. Now your saying the exact same thing because he didn't sign with you. Tampa fans knew what they were talking about apparently since your team felt exactly the same way. What a world.

 

[Del Preston]

That's in Canadian Tire money.

 

[LarKing]

Did anyone make the hometown discount joke yet?

 

[Rectify]

This has sour grapes written all over it, move on Leafs.

 

[Kelly]

This has sour grapes written all over it, move on Leafs.

Why would Jeff Marek be sour?

He isn't a leaf fan, and he wouldn't throw out baseless speculation.....

 

[Rectify]

Why would Jeff Marek be sour?

He isn't a leaf fan, and he wouldn't throw out baseless speculation.....

Toronto insider - "Hey Jeff, Stamkos wanted 14M to sign in Toronto"
Jeff on Twitter - "Hey everyone, Stamkos wanted 14M to sign in Toronto"

Do I need to explain further?

 

[Kelly]

Toronto insider - "Hey Jeff, Stamkos wanted 14M to sign in Toronto"
Jeff on Twitter - "Hey everyone, Stamkos wanted 14M to sign in Toronto"

Do I need to explain further?

Sure.

 

[TGWL]

Not all that much for his bank account given the tax implications.

I think there's a pretty significant difference here. 30 million - while playing a year less. Even with the higher taxes, if you add in being paid in US currency, living in Canada, that additional money seems like a decent increase in his bank account.

 

[Seachd]

Uh yeah, if that's true, he wanted 65% more to play in Toronto than he would play for in Tampa.

That's definitely a "he passed on them" situation.

 

[Kurtz]

It's more that the Leafs are that kind of team. They had nothing to offer except money.

True, Toronto didn't have anything to offer but money.

Well, that and the most livable city in North America (along with Vancouver).
Oh, and arguably the best management team in the NHL.
Oh, and probably the best coach in the NHL.
Oh, and the best prospects in the league.
And the most loyal fan-base.


But outside of those trivial things, Toronto didn't have much to offer.

By the way, earlier rumour was that the Leafs offered him the same money as TB and less years. I imagine the truth lies somewhere in between.

 

[thethinglonger]

$14 million per year? That's a little rich for my blood.

And I'm not on blood thinners

 

[aemoreira1981]

I think it['s necessary to denote a difference between Canadian dollars and American dollars. At the current exchange rate, CDN$14M is about US$10.9M...which would seem to be about equivalent to what he is getting from Tampa Bay in take-home pay (after income taxes, keeping in mind that because of how the contract is structured, most of the money is parked in Florida). Unless I see some other evidence, I will presume $14M in Canadian dollars. To equal the total amount of the money Stamkos will get from Tampa Bay for the term Toronto could offer (take-home), Toronto would have had to offer US$12.37M, or close to CDN$16M. Remember though, Florida has no state income tax...most of Stamkos' earnings would only be subject to the top US tax rate of 39.6 percent.

 

[pezcore]

Im having a hard time believing this is truth.
Yes Stamkos probably wanted more from the Leafs than from Tbay but that amount is just insane. Might as well just say no.

I know team are allowed to meet with the players prior to July 1st but isnt it prohibited to discuss terms and salary? Anyone wants to clarify this for me?