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Stamkos's last ride as a visitor TB @ Tor 730pm TSN4

trujaysfan

Well-known member
Last time we see this at the ACC:

tOg1IdMq.jpeg


Until we see this:

61655070-9f83-11e5-8175-39a265bd347f_Leafs-Stamkos.jpg
 
You guys are aware that no big name in his prime free agent player has signed in Canada for at least 20 years, right?
 
Should probably not even bother asking then, eh?

Do or do not,there is no try. -Winston Churchill. *

Oh, go ahead and ask. Just don't get your hopes too high, it hurts more when they fall back down to cold harsh reality.

*I know it wasn't, but it would have been cool.
 
At this point last year, we were being told by helpful fans of other teams that we shouldn't get our hopes up about Babcock, because there was no chance he would come here.

So, personally, I'll take my chances when it comes to the possibility of "falling back down to cold reality", and keep on thinking that there is in fact a realistic chance that Stamkos will be trading in that cheap knock-off blue & white jersey he's been wearing for the genuine article come July 1st.

I could also care less about the past failures of other Canadian NHL front offices and previous Leaf management groups when it comes to attracting elite UFA talent.
 
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You guys are aware that no big name in his prime free agent player has signed in Canada for at least 20 years, right?

Curtis Joseph in 98, Mogilny in 2001.

I'm not a mathemagician, but both of those appear to the be within the last 20 years. Now, if you want to talk about simply within the salary cap era, a lot fewer players of that calibre have become free agents.
 
Do or do not,there is no try. -Winston Churchill. *

Oh, go ahead and ask. Just don't get your hopes too high, it hurts more when they fall back down to cold harsh reality.

*I know it wasn't, but it would have been cool.

Ah yes, fall back down to the cold, harsh reality of only having Nylander, Rielly, Marner, and a top 4 pick to start to build around.

Cold, harsh reality's looking pretty ****ing good.
 
Curtis Joseph in 98, Mogilny in 2001.

I'm not a mathemagician, but both of those appear to the be within the last 20 years. Now, if you want to talk about simply within the salary cap era, a lot fewer players of that calibre have become free agents.

20 ish years? My bad.

Whatever. The only feather in your cap during the salary cap era was Clarkson.

For the Habs it was Cammalleri.

Canada sucks at bringing in elite free agents.
 
Ah yes, fall back down to the cold, harsh reality of only having Nylander, Rielly, Marner, and a top 4 pick to start to build around.

Cold, harsh reality's looking pretty ****ing good.

It's cute that you gloat about being among the worst teams in the nhl for years now. Cute in a Connor McDavid to edmonton kind of way.
 
Who are the truly elite FA since the cap era began?

Kovy, Suter, Parise, Richards... I'm probably missing a bunch as i'm just going off the top of my head but 2 of those 4 went back to their home town team and the others were cap circumvention deals no?
 
It's cute that you gloat about being among the worst teams in the nhl for years now. Cute in a Connor McDavid to edmonton kind of way.

There is no cold, harsh reality to return to if we miss out on Stamkos. You can gloss over it all you want but the Leafs are in great shape moving forward - great prospects, great coach and, at last, competent management.
 
20 ish years? My bad.

15
Whatever. The only feather in your cap during the salary cap era was Clarkson.

I'd argue that both Kubina & Blake were better players and bigger signings

For the Habs it was Cammalleri.

Canada sucks at bringing in elite free agents.

There haven't really been many elite free agents to sign. I mean, what are we actually bashing Canadian teams for missing on? Kovy, Richards, Parise, Suter, Hossa?

That's basically the list over the last 6-7 years. All cap circumvention deals, 2 that the signing clubs regret already, another one (Hossa) that the club is going to regret in the long run (he's 37, has lost a step or two, and is signed for 5 more years after this, with only one of them being at a reasonable salary....but if he retires his contract will carry the full cap hit for it's duration). Avoiding those is just good management. Parise is another bad deal....so that basically leaves Suter.

I'm just never sure who people are crying about missing out on when this conversation comes up.
 
Why would Stamkos go to a team that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild, in a city with horrible winters, where he will be under a microscope every time he steps out of his house?

Where he'll pay sky high taxes for that privilege?

Why wouldn't he just stay in Tampa, enjoy the climate, the relative anonymity, the bigger paycheck and overall lifestyle?
 
I'm not convinced of Stamkos signing here but if I was going to be argue he wouldn't be, I'd sure hope I could come up with a more logical reason than it hasn't happened before in a long time?
 
Why would Stamkos go to a team that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild,

Because we're a lot further along than most people would give us credit for. Shanny will sell him on that


in a city with horrible winters,

Wha? No worse than the other non sun/bible belt teams like Chicago, NY, Boston, Detroit, etc.

where he will be under a microscope every time he steps out of his house?

Digs the attention?

Where he'll pay sky high taxes for that privilege?

Ontario has taxes pretty comparable to most US states.

Why wouldn't he just stay in Tampa, enjoy the climate, the relative anonymity, the bigger paycheck and overall lifestyle?

Because apparently he's decided that he doesn't want to be there. You'd have to ask him what his reasons are.
 
Why would Stamkos go to a team that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild, in a city with horrible winters, where he will be under a microscope every time he steps out of his house?

Where he'll pay sky high taxes for that privilege?

Why wouldn't he just stay in Tampa, enjoy the climate, the relative anonymity, the bigger paycheck and overall lifestyle?

That's a little better of an argument. Although we heard the "beginning stages of a rebuild part" with Babcock too.

Not sure what you mean by bigger paycheck though. Bigger paycheck if they're offering the same money as Tampa maybe.
 
Why would Stamkos go to a team that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild, in a city with horrible winters, where he will be under a microscope every time he steps out of his house?

Where he'll pay sky high taxes for that privilege?

Why wouldn't he just stay in Tampa, enjoy the climate, the relative anonymity, the bigger paycheck and overall lifestyle?


Some aren't just in it for the money and the lifestyle. They're rare, but some guys want to become legends and have statues built. We'll find out shortly if Stamkos is one of those guys.
 
One thing I'm kinda confused about was why someone went through all the trouble of figuring out that 8.5 million dollars in Tampa would be equal to an offer of 10 million in Toronto once you take Florida taxes into account, but they didn't bother to factor in that a player in Canada is still getting paid in US dollars but spending mostly CAD dollars on housing, lifestyle, cars, etc. $10 million USD = $13 million+ in Canada right now.

Anyways, I stand by my previous statements - this ship's getting turned around Stamkos or no Stamkos.
 
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