[News] Tavares tells the Islanders he is leaving

[Poe969]

Find a way Brad, find a way.

[Roof-Daddy]

If he signs in Tampa hopefully we can get Tyler Johnson from them. Another right RW/C still in his prime and locked up with term at a decent $5 million cap hit.

[keenan87]

Am I the only one who thinks this list is not concrete? I mean, these teams might have the highest chance but what is stopping Tavares from picking up a phone call from other teams. I still think it is fairly up in the air on where he ends up.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Am I the only one who thinks this list is not concrete? I mean, these teams might have the highest chance but what is stopping Tavares from picking up a phone call from other teams. I still think it is fairly up in the air on where he ends up.

It's not concrete. It even says right in that tweet that his camp will chat with a few other teams and maybe even have a meeting with them if they like what they hear.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

If you're Tavares, how do you not sign with the Leafs?

Hometown team
Babcock
Matthews
Andersen
Marner
Whichever D they trade Nylander for

And there really are few cities better to be a winner in than Toronto. The Big Smoke goes full-on cult worship for a trip to the first round - if you actually won the Leafs a Cup, I don't think you'd actually be allowed to touch the ground as you moved about town. They would carry you like Xerxes in 300. I don't even think you'd need to pay them.

How do you not sign with the Leafs? Because sure the team is ok right now, but its a city filled with jerks built on a foundation of jerks and its history is filled up to its $$$ with jerks.



Sure the fans will worship them for getting to the first round, but they will rage monster every loss. You won't be able to go to your favorite coffee shop/restaurant/"Massage Therapist" without 8 billion jerks jostling you and your cup of coffee made by some jerk and spilling it all over your sleeve. There's a reason why its a struggle to get people to sign in Toronto, the only guys that sign there . . . . complete jerks.

[Machiavelli]

I can still see him signing in Nashville

[iloveicedhockey]

Extra teams probably include Nashville given that the trend tends to be the rich getting richer.

Edit: beaten to it

[FlamesAddiction]

Tampa seems to check all the boxes. He stays in the east, plays for a contender, and gets to live somewhere warm.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Tampa seems to check all the boxes. He stays in the east, plays for a contender, and gets to live somewhere warm.

Plus taxes.

[Toonage]

Also in Toronto's division so he gets the hometown visits without the hometown baggage

[Flamenspiel]

Of all the teams, Tampa is the most challenging from a cap standpoint. I just don't see that as workable, 4 guys to add and 11.5 million. Boston is up against it as well.

[Icon]

I think he ends up in Tampa or Boston. Either team would need to move out a piece to get the cap room, but you do it for Tavares.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

Of all the teams, Tampa is the most challenging from a cap standpoint. I just don't see that as workable, 4 guys to add and 11.5 million. Boston is up against it as well.

For today? They would easily make room if it meant adding Tavares. They already have 19 players signed and one player of consequence left to sign in Miller. If they can get the Tampa Bay tax special (I.E. Stamkos at 8.5M) they really don't have to do anything.

But let's say they have to convince Tavares to sign at 10M. That just means one of Johnson, Palat or Killorn are traded. Which would make sense as their top six is already stacked.

It becomes a harder exercise in the next two years when their entire defense group needs new contracts (except Hedman), Vasilevskiy will as well and Kucherov is going to get a huge raise. But Callahan's massive contract would be off the books.

[Flamenspiel]

^Its still quite a stretch, the other teams have no issues. I would put Boston and Tamp at the bottom of the 4-5 teams. So really I would say its NY, Toronto, San Jose/Dallas in that order.

I suggest that Tampa and Boston are in it to drive the price up for the other teams in the division. I simply don't see it

[ClubFlames]

Let's hope Brad calls him up atleast and hands the phone to Conroy and Hamonic.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

^Its still quite a stretch, the other teams have no issues. I would put Boston and Tamp at the bottom of the 4-5 teams. So really I would say its NY, Toronto, Dallas/San Jose in that order.

How is it a stretch? You sign Tavares, you trade Johnson to anyone of the other 30 teams who would love to him. That's not an issue, it's a bonus. Team still has more than 6 top 6 players if they move one and they get back the assets that Johnson nets them.

It's not cap implications, not for this year, that would be the hold up on Tampa Bay getting Tavares.

And with Stamkos and Hedman, two of the pillars of the organization, signed longterm for a combined 15M, it's going to be easy to build around them if they don't end up with any bad contracts like Callahan.

[Mattman]

Boston may have to move people if they sign Tavares with $12 mil cap space and 2 notable UFAs Riley Nash and Rick Nash.

Tampa will have to move players to make space - $10.5 mil in cap space and they have RFAs Erne, Pacquette, JT Miller and Koekkoek. As well as UFAs Sustr and Kunitz

Dallas looks like they might too as they have $19.8 in cap space but 3 RFAs who played on the team last year, only 5 defensemen under contract and no back up goalie as of today. (IMO Dallas makes the most sense cap wise)

Toronto looks like they could sign him today and be okay cap wise with almost $25 mil in cap space. But (and it's a big but) they have numerous UFAs and RFAs who's contracts are up this year or next.
JVR, Komarov, Bozak, Hainsey, Gardiner, Marner, Moore, Plekanec, Matthews, Levio, Kapanen, and McElhinney.

San Jose may have a fair shot to sign him with $19 mil in cap space, but they only have 2 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 goalie under contract after the 2019-20 season. They could put themselves in cap hell by signing Tavares for $11mil/year.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Mattman

Dallas looks like they might too as they have $19.8 in cap space but 3 RFAs who played on the team last year, only 5 defensemen under contract and no back up goalie as of today. (IMO Dallas makes the most sense cap wise)

Problem with Dallas is that they're about to sign a Tyler Seguin extension that could see him in the 10 million zone.

San Jose may have a fair shot to sign him with $19 mil in cap space, but they only have 2 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 goalie under contract after the 2019-20 season. They could put themselves in cap hell by signing Tavares for $11mil/year.

It really depends. They've got Burns and Vlasic, they've got Jones, and up front they're about to re-sign Couture to go with Kane. Add Tavares, and there's your core. And it's not a bad core, really. All the forwards and the goalie are under 30. You then fill in around them, including RFAs like Meier, Labanc and Goodrow.

There's an open question about what happens to Pavelski and Donskoi and whether you can fit them, but it's not a bad situation to be in, if you ask me. Particularly given that they would have done it without any top ten picks for the last god knows how long.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Mattman

San Jose may have a fair shot to sign him with $19 mil in cap space, but they only have 2 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 goalie under contract after the 2019-20 season. They could put themselves in cap hell by signing Tavares for $11mil/year.

No. No team, especially a team with no real bad contracts, will be in cap hell because of Tavares at 11M.

When Brad Richards was signed at 7.8M in 2006, he took up 18% of the cap. With today's 79.5M cap hit, the equivalent cap percentage would be over 14M.

An 11M contract would be worth 13.8% of the cap today. When Phaneuf signed his extension, his 6.5M RFA second contract, the salary cap was still 50M (although expected to rise in the summer). 6.5M is exactly 13% of 50M. I don't recall too much talk of cap hell because of Phaneuf when he first signed, most people were happy to get him locked up long-term. And again, that was as an RFA.

If a team is in cap hell with a franchise center like Tavares at 11M, they are in cap hell in-spite of Tavares, not because of him.

[dissentowner]

I love how Dallas continues to think adding more offensive players and continuing to ignore the fact their D besides Klingberg is rubbish is the way to go.