Where will Stamkos end up?

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Ever since Lebron James went back to Cleveland there has been a fascination that star players want to play for their home town team. Big difference here is James actually played for, then bailed, on his home town team before returning to redeem his reputation in his home state.

Toronto media began to speculate that Stamkos would want to do the same thing. I just don't see why a guy wants to leave his contending team to go to a pressure cooker that is a bottom dweller. Stamkos is going to be 26 next year does he really want to go to a team with an incredibly demanding coach, and an even more demanding fanbase and pull them out of the gutter?

If the Leafs do offer him the most money that only adds to the pressure he will have. Kessel faced the barrage in Toronto and only could hold on for so long. Does Stamkos want that pressure only amped up a few notches?

His team isn't contending and are not reportedly offering him enough money AND insist on him playing a position he does not want to. So I'm sure with all those circumstances you can see why we are in late December and still they are not close on a contract.

And you add Stamkos to Marner and Nylander and a top pick and you have a team that won't be close to a bottom feeder any longer.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Marner and Nylander are as talented as Gaudreau??????????

HAAAAAhahahahahhahahaahaaha

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

All hail Leafs. They're amazing. They have amazing prospects. Media hates them. No one though Babcock would go there but Leafs are so amazing that he went there. Doesn't matter that in the modern NHL era they havent even made it to the Finals once. All hail the Leafs.

Now back to your regular programming. Where will Stamkos end up? I think Leafs have the best odds but a dark horse could be the Devils. They will have 30+ million in cap space and only have Zajac, Henrique, Cammi, Motteau signed up front. He will be close to New York for sponsorships, team with one of the best netminders, good young developing D.

Cammi-Stamkos-Palmieri
Henrique-Zajac-Zacha

Greene-Larsson
Merrill-Severson

Schneider

Looks like a fast rebuild to me.

It's funny to hear the Devils being hailed for young prospects but not the Leafs. the Devils have one of the weakest prospect pools and literally have NOTHING upfront going forward to play with Stamkos. They're big star forward this year is 34 years old. It'll be YEARS before the Devils have any quality young forwards for Stamkos to ever play with.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Has there been any kind of actual evidence that leads to all this Stamkos to Toronto speculation or is it just the fact hes from the area? I really haven't seen anything that would convince me he's going to Toronto other than it seems like everyone has jumped on this bangwagon. It makes sense and it doesn't to me. If winning a Cup is at the top of his priority list it seems like a bit of a risky choice but I guess if they did do it the pay off would be as good as he could ask for.

3 "Liked" tweets confirmed to be from Stamkos' official account. Already posted in this thread.

And what "Contender" can afford Stamkos? If you're UFA, chances are you're going to a team like the Leafs.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

3 "Liked" tweets confirmed to be from Stamkos' official account. Already posted in this thread.

And what "Contender" can afford Stamkos? If you're UFA, chances are you're going to a team like the Leafs.

3 "liked" tweets isn't really evidence of anything other than trolling. I still see him in Toronto though

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

Is that true though? Let's also be reminded that Johnny was a 4th round pick being compared to 2 top 10 selections.

Johnny was a young draft pick for his class and at 18 scored a ppg in a league filled with 22 year olds and also won rookie of the year, and tournament mvp. At 19 he was over ppg and lead the world junior tournament in goals leading USA to a gold medal.

Sven Beartschi had an amazing draft+1 year and scored 3 goals in 5 NHL games. He is now a fringe NHLer. You can predict all you want but the fact is Johnny is coming off a 64pt season at 21 and is over a ppg in his second year.

That doesn't even mention Monahan and Bennett who are also superior to your Leafs duo

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

It's funny to hear the Devils being hailed for young prospects but not the Leafs. the Devils have one of the weakest prospect pools and literally have NOTHING upfront going forward to play with Stamkos. They're big star forward this year is 34 years old. It'll be YEARS before the Devils have any quality young forwards for Stamkos to ever play with.

Did you not the first paragraph of my previous post? I said the laughs are amazing at everything.

[nemanja2306]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

Well, what have they shown in the NHL? Saying that they have the same talent as a guy who's 7th in NHL scoring is hilarious. Also, I wasn't aware that Marner and Nylander are in college.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by nemanja2306

Well, what have they shown in the NHL? Saying that they have the same talent as a guy who's 7th in NHL scoring is hilarious. Also, I wasn't aware that Marner and Nylander are in college.

No kidding, it's absolutely ludicrous to compare those two to Johnny unless it's pie in the sky dreaming. It's what you would hope they would become if everything goes right AND the Leafs get lucky.

Honestly, I winced at the Kane to Gaudreau comparisons all last year and for the first part of this year. Now, it's looking more and more like those were apt comparisons. It took me over 100 NHL games to see it, maybe let's see what the Leafs duo can do in the bigs before we even go there? What players do in juniors/college at the same age means nothing. Lots of players look great early and fizzle out in the NHL. Going from being a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in a big pond has a way of seperating the wheat from the chaff.

Only time will tell with Marner and Nylander, but the odds are certainly against them ever becoming elite like Johnny. Not to say they won't make it or be decent players, but there's a huge difference between an elite player and a generic top 6 guy. How much they tear up lower leagues isn't much of a basis to make a prediction like that as the annals of hockey history are littered with prodigious juniors that became generic pros... or worse.

[Camronius]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

Are you kidding? At Marner's age, Johnny was dominating the NCAA as a freshman! He was playing against guys who are 22-23 years old, not the OHL with a bunch of 17-19 year olds.

Nylander's playing great in the Marlies, but it's a big step to say he'll be an elite NHL player, like Johnny already is.

[Camronius]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

And you add Stamkos to Marner and Nylander and a top pick and you have a team that won't be close to a bottom feeder any longer.

Agreed, except you need a few complementary pieces to complete this winning group. Lowe, Katz and MacT.

[Scornfire]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

What is wrong with that? Both have Johnny beat at the same point if you compare all 3 at 18/19.

If the WJC so far is any indication, pretty much everything is wrong with that statement

[Vulcan]

I think he'll go to Toronto. The only problem is he'll want $10M per and if this season is any indication, he'll produce at a 60 point rate.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Scornfire

If the WJC so far is any indication, pretty much everything is wrong with that statement

1 point in 1 game for each. And the Leafs 5th rounder is second in overall points.

You're judging them on having 1 point in only 1 game? seriously?

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

Did you not the first paragraph of my previous post? I said the laughs are amazing at everything.

Not as amazing as that stack of young talent on the Devils apparently.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Not as amazing as that stack of young talent on the Devils apparently.

I agree with you, Devils do seems to have better talent plus management is probably better too. Don't you think?

[saillias]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Nylander was one of the best Leaf player sin training camp and the preseason. They simply want to develop him. His performance spoke for itself. There's nothing people can point to as in performance to say he wasn't good enough to be on the Leafs. He deserved to be on the team. I understand what they're doing. There's guys that are 18/19 on teams right now in the NHl that would not have been left on the Leafs if picked by them.

Would Hanifin be in the NHL if picked by the Leafs? No. Does that mean anything? No.

You bought the company line I see.

If a player is good enough he makes the team. Outside of dominating training camp there must've been something that coaches and management knew that fans weren't able to see- probably physical development or maturity related. No team keeps a player who can help them win now off the roster.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by saillias

You bought the company line I see.

If a player is good enough he makes the team. Outside of dominating training camp there must've been something that coaches and management knew that fans weren't able to see- probably physical development or maturity related. No team keeps a player who can help them win now off the roster.

I do not judge players on not making the team as a teenager. In that line of thinking, all of Detroits prospects suck.

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

I agree with you, Devils do seems to have better talent plus management is probably better too. Don't you think?

I truly think the New Jersey Devils are a young team on the cusp of greatness. Mike Cammelari is the type of player you can count on to do this for years to come.